God's Good News

God's Good News

Revised on September 25, 2013

Scriptures taken from the New King James Bible

I started this project in July 2005 as a way to help my mother trust in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. It grew from a few pages to its present length as I realized that other people might benefit from a more complete presentation of the good news of Jesus Christ. I refine it from time to time.

I've tried to answer most questions that a sincere seeker of the truth might have, including questions regarding homosexuality, abortion, murder, self-defense, Charismatic faith healers, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Creationism, and Eschatology.

Regardless of how well written, truthful, and informative I believe my project to be, I'm convinced that, of the many people who will read this, only a few will come to a saving knowledge of the Lord.

Matthew 7:13 (Jesus speaking)
13. "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.

As a Christian, I'm not responsible for the results. My job is just to plant the seeds and water the soil. The Lord is responsible for the increase.

1 Corinthians 3:7
7. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

The Lord knows who will be saved before we are born.

2 Thessalonians 2:13
13. God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,

Until God gives the unsaved, natural man the faith to believe, the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ will be foolishness to him.

1 Corinthians 2:14
14. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Sadly, many church leaders, theologians, and scholars who have studied the Bible for years, are still unsaved, natural men. The longer they read the Bible and hear the good news about salvation through Jesus Christ without turning from their sin and asking for God’s forgiveness, the more hardened they will become to the gospel. Despite all of their great learning, they may never come to the saving knowledge of the truth.

2 Timothy 3:7
7. always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Some unbelievers will miss Heaven by a mile and some will miss Heaven by eighteen inches … that’s the distance between the head and the heart.

Mark 7:6 (Jesus speaking)
6. He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: `This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.

The heart of man’s problem is man’s heart.

Jeremiah 17:9
9. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;

Only God can give you a new heart.

Ezekiel 36:26
26. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

If an unbeliever continually refuses to receive the truth, at some point, God will delude him so that he can believe the lie.

2 Thessalonians 2:10
10. they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,

God is abandoning us because we first abandoned Him.

Proverbs 1:24
24. Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
25. because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my reproof,
26. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes,
27. when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
28. "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

When we, as individuals or as a society, reject God’s Word, we invite God’s wrath.

Isaiah 45:6
6. I am the Lord, and there is no other;
7. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.'

Ezekiel 25:17
17. "I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them.'' ' ''

Nahum 1:3
3. the Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. the Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.
4. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.
5. The mountains quake before Him, the hills melt, and the earth heaves at His presence, yes, the world and all who dwell in it.
6. Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him.

Matthew 10:28
28. "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

There are five kinds of wrath.

***** Eternal Wrath is the wrath of the Lake of Fire:

Revelation 20:10
10. And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

***** Eschatological Wrath is the wrath of the Last Days:

Matthew 24:29 (Jesus speaking)
29. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

***** Cataclysmic Wrath is the wrath of floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.:

Psalm 18:7
7. Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.

***** Consequential Wrath is the wrath of sowing and reaping:

Whatever you sow, you will reap. If you're a drunkard all your life, you may die of cirrhosis of the liver. If you live in sexual sin, you may die of AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. Elections have consequences too and if you help to elect someone who supports abortion or acts of perversion, you sow God’s wrath against yourself and the rest of society. Even though they're not elected, presidential appointees such as Cabinet members, various regulators, Supreme Court justices, and federal judges can also issue rulings that contradict God’s clear instructions.

Galatians 6:7
7. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

***** Abandonment Wrath is the wrath that results in a judicial act of God:

With this judicial act of Abandonment Wrath, the Lord finally lets an unbelieving sinner or a society go. First we abandon God and then God abandons us. When God finally turns His back and abandons a sinner or a society, He stops convicting of sin … He stops calling for repentance. There comes a point when God says, "That's it … that’s enough; I'm finally letting you go."

Genesis 6:3
3. And the Lord said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever,

When homosexuality happens on a societal level, when a society affirms it, when it becomes normal in a society, it's proof that God is turning that society over. First, a society descends into fornication, pornography, and adultery, and then it plunges deeper into sins of perversion such as homosexuality, sodomy, and pedophilia. Finally, God gives that society over to a debased and reprobate mind and its conscience no longer inhibits it from sinking all the way into total depravity. It would seem to be impossible for some people in our society to become more depraved than they already are. It's as if somebody opened the sewer of sin and let it run through society. The only question remaining is how many more people are going to join them and live their lives in the sewer.

God continually condemned homosexuality in the Old Testament.

Genesis 19:4
4. Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.
5. And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.''

Leviticus 18:22
22. You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.
23. Nor shall you mate with any beast, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before a beast to mate with it. It is perversion.

Leviticus 20:13
13. `If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
15. `If a man mates with a beast, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the beast.
16. `If a woman approaches any beast and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the beast. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them.

To the Jews, a dog was not a pet; it was an unclean animal. When the Jews wanted to call someone the most distasteful word they could think of, they called them a dog. The Jews called Gentiles dogs and they also used the word dog to refer to an effeminate male prostitute. They considered male prostitutes to be scum … the lowest of the low.

Deuteronomy 23:18
18. "You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the price of a dog (Hebrew - keleb - a male prostitute) to the house of the Lord your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.

Judges 19:22
22. Now as they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, "Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!''

In the New Testament, God continued to condemn acts of perversion.

Romans 1:26
26. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
27. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. (AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases)
28. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;

1 Timothy 1:9
9. knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10. for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,

2 Peter 2:4
4. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell (Greek - Tartaros - the deepest abyss of Hades) and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
5. and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
6. and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly (Greek - asebes - wickedly);

Jude 1:7
7. as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality (Greek - ekporneuo - to go awhoring) and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Revelation 22:15
15. But outside are dogs (Greek - kuon - a male prostitute) and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

God hates the sin of homosexuality because of its baseness and perverseness but, at the same time, it's a sin like any other sin and we have to call that sinner to repentance and offer him the grace and forgiveness of God. While God may be abandoning us as a society, He is still saving individuals who respond to the gospel. When God finally gives them up, gives them over, or hardens their hearts, He is done trying to restrain them from darkness and depravity.

Romans 1:21
21. although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22. Professing to be wise, they became fools,

When the homosexuals, sodomites, and pedophiles pervert God’s divine plan, they bring judgment on themselves. Sinful choices lead to deadly diseases. Thousands of deaths from disease and suicide are the caboose on this long train of increasing depravity. Finally, God gives them over to a debased mind to commit unspeakable acts against themselves and against nature.

Romans 1:24
24. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,

All of us are sinners to one degree or another. All of us have a daily battle with the temptation to sin. Some people have an irresistible desire to steal things. Psychiatrists call these people “kleptomaniacs” but the Lord still requires that they quit stealing. Some people have an addiction to alcohol or drugs and, in order to quit, sometimes they have to be hospitalized and endure terrible withdrawal symptoms but the Lord still requires that they turn from their sin and say no to their addiction. Just by an act of the will, no one is able to change the color of their skin but every year thousands of homosexuals change their behavior and turn from a life of perversion to following Jesus Christ. Homosexuals have to learn to say no to their sin just like everyone else. When you say no to sin … any sin … and keep saying no without giving in to the temptation, you build up spiritual muscle and the temptation to sin becomes less and less.

1 Corinthians 6:9
9. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators (Greek - pornos - general sexual sin), nor idolaters, nor adulterers (Greek - moichos - sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife), nor homosexuals (Greek - malakos - effeminate, a passive partner, a male prostitute, a soft one, a boy or an adult male), nor sodomites (Greek - arsenokoites - arsēn - male and koitē - sexual relations - males who defile themselves with mankind, an active partner, a male who has sex with an effeminate male),
10. nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
18. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

The Church of Jesus Christ is full of ex-fornicators, ex-idolaters, ex-adulterers, ex-homosexuals, ex-sodomites, ex-thieves, ex-liars, ex-drunkards, ex-drug addicts, etc. When writing to the Christians in Corinth, the Apostle Paul used the phrase “and such were some of you” to teach that all sinners could be transformed and redeemed.

1 Corinthians 6:11
11. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

There's nothing gay, happy, or joyful about being a pervert. Even the word homosexual is too clinical. I prefer to use the biblical term of sodomite, which is more descriptive. When someone is given over to acts of perversion, it's usually only the tip of the iceberg and, just like an iceberg, other unspeakable acts are unseen but are just below the surface. Sodomites, sodomettes, and pedophiles are so proud of their depravity that they form organizations so they can get together and share ways to improve their perversion. The North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) is just one illustration of the depth of depravity to which a pervert can sink. Normal men and women should not be forced to work with, eat with, live with, sleep with, or have their privacy violated by showering with a pervert, especially in the military where their lives depend on the moral character and performance of others.

There's an ongoing war of words and the sodomites and sodomettes are trying to control the language. Whenever we use the nicer sounding words that the sodomites and sodomettes use, such as gay, bisexual, and transgender, we may win some battles but we'll confuse the ignorant and, in the end, possibly lose the war.

If you can control the language, you can control the way people think.
-- George Orwell, “1984”

Regardless of what the reprobates say, sodomites and sodomettes aren’t gay, they’re perverts. No matter how the sodomites and sodomettes try to make it sound safe and acceptable, homosexual acts are very unhealthy. Here are some statistics: Eighty percent of the people engaged in homosexual acts say fifty percent of their partners are total strangers. The latest statistics indicate that the average homosexual has had more than 300 sexual partners in his lifetime. Sixty percent of the 2,300 male homosexuals who took part in the study reported that they occasionally had three-way sex and half of these had sex with four or more males at the same time. Their promiscuity was launched in gay bath houses where they used to have contact with ten to thirty anonymous partners in one day. Similar kinds of behaviors have now found their way into other venues. Every conceivable and inconceivable act is included, most of which are too filthy to even talk about. Homosexuals comprise only one to two percent of the population but fifty percent of them have AIDS. One in twenty of these people is a child molester but for the normal population it’s about one in 500. They're 1,000 times more likely to get AIDS, 100 times more likely to be murdered, and eighty percent have sexually transmitted diseases. The average age of death in our population is now 75. The average person who engages in homosexual acts dies at 39 and only two percent live to age 65.

Many mass murderers were sodomites and sodomettes. One illustration: Dr. Milton Helpern is a former chief medical examiner of New York City. The New York Times said Dr. Halpern knows more about violent death than anyone else in America. Dr. Halpern wrote a biography called "Where Death Delights." Dr. Halpern explained, “It’s not my role to condemn homosexuality as such and I leave it to the psychiatrists and psychologists to try to figure out why people practice homosexuality, but having performed sixty thousand autopsies, it is high time that those who deviate from the norms should understand the risks. I don’t know why it is so, but it seems that the violent explosions of jealousy among homosexuals far exceed those of the jealousy of a man for a woman, or a woman for a man. The pent-up charges and energy of the homosexual relationship simply cannot be contained when the explosive point is reached. The result is brutally violent but this is the normal pattern of these homosexual attacks. The multiple stabbings and the senseless beatings obviously continue long after the victim dies. When we see these brutal multiple wound cases in a single victim, we automatically assume that we are dealing with a homosexual victim and a homosexual attacker.”

Sexual sin is the antithesis God's divine plan, which is to have one man join to one woman and become one flesh.

Genesis 2:21
21. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
23. And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.''
24. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Sexual sin doesn't exist between a man and a woman in the marriage bed. Married couples are free to do as they please. Homosexuals want to be able to be legally married so they can claim that their sexual acts have the approval of the Lord. Even though no sexual act between a man and a woman in the marriage bed would be a sin, there are health and medical reasons why certain sexual acts are ill-advised.

Hebrews 13:4
4. Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled (Greek - amiantos - pure) but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

Another illustration of God’s divine judgment and how God abandons someone, gives them over, or hardens their heart was demonstrated in the time of Moses when Pharaoh said he wouldn't let God’s people go out of Egypt.

Exodus 8:32
32. But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

Pharaoh continued to harden his heart after every miracle. Despite the many miracles that God performed, Pharaoh wouldn’t let Israel go. Pharaoh wouldn’t let them go and then, in an act of God's divine judgment, Pharaoh couldn’t let them go. Finally, the tables were turned and, instead of Pharaoh hardening his heart, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. God cemented Pharaoh in his fallen condition.

Exodus 10:20
20. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.

Romans 9:15
15. For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.''
16. So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
17. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "Even for this same purpose I have raised you up, that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be declared in all the earth.''
18. Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

The last plague that God used to free the Jews from Egyptian captivity was the Angel of Death who was sent to execute all the firstborn males. Forewarned, the Jews did as God instructed and marked their doors with the blood of a lamb and, as a result, the Angel of Death passed over their homes.

Exodus 12:21
21. Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb.
22. "And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.
23. "For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.
24. "And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever.

Unfortunately, the Jews still celebrate the Passover without acknowledging that Jesus is the Christ … the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

John 1:29
29. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

1 Peter 1:18
18. knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
19. but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

The holiest day of the year for the Jewish people is Yom Kippur, which is the Day of Atonement, where, once a year, when the Jews had a temple, the high priest used to enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle blood on the Mercy Seat to take away the sins of their nation, Israel. Unfortunately, it is not possible that the blood of bulls, goats, and lambs could take away sins.

Hebrews 10:4
4. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

God used the blood of animals to demonstrate that sin demanded a sacrificial death. God the father so loved us that He sent His Son to be the only proper sacrifice that would satisfy His justice and make atonement for our sins.

1 John 4:10
10. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (Greek - hilasmon - satisfaction, atonement) for our sins.

Abortion is another horrible sin that provokes God's wrath. If we get still get upset over 58,000 killed in just one Vietnam, shouldn't we get more upset over 1,000 Vietnams? The deaths associated with 1,000 Vietnams are almost equal to the 56 million innocent babies who have been murdered in America in the forty years since the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision, on January 22, 1973, that made abortion legal. Our society has allowed 1,500,000 babies, about 30 Vietnams, to be murdered every year in this ongoing tragedy of epic proportions.

More Americans were killed by abortionists on 9-11-2001 (about 3,700) than were killed by Islamic terrorists (about 3,000). On September 11, 2001, it would have been safer to be a worker in the Twin Towers than it would have been to be a baby in a mother's womb.

One out of three preborn babies dies by abortion every day. 1% of all abortions occur because of rape or incest; 6% of abortions occur because of potential health problems regarding either the mother or child, and 93% of all abortions occur for social reasons (i.e. the child is unwanted or inconvenient). An estimated 43% of all women will have at least 1 abortion by the time they are 45 years old. 47% of all abortions are performed on women who have had at least one previous abortion. All abortion numbers are derived from pro-abortion sources courtesy of The Alan Guttmacher Institute and Planned Parenthood's Family Planning Perspectives.
http://www.abortionno.org/Resources/fastfacts.htm

Some babies are still being murdered by a barbaric, three-day-long, abortion procedure called "Partial-Birth Abortion." As a live, full-term baby is about to be born, it's turned so that the feet are delivered first and then long scissors are thrust into the base of the skull while only the baby's head remains inside the mother. A tube is inserted, the baby's brain is sucked out, and the head collapses to make delivery of the dead baby easier. Laws outlawing this evil practice were vetoed multiple times by President Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

A little baby in the womb is no longer just another part of its mother’s tissue. At the moment of conception … once that fertilized egg multiplies from one cell to two cells … a new life is begun which has new DNA molecules that are different from the mother's DNA and are unique to this world. A new little person has a God-given, inalienable right to life which begins at conception.

Luke 1:31
31. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.

At conception, a mother’s relationship to that new little person who is growing inside her body must change. A mother has a stewardship (management of another person’s property entrusted to her care) responsibility to protect that tiny new life. It’s the same concept as the fiduciary relationship that your financial adviser has to you. If he acts irresponsibly … if he makes any decisions that are against your best interests … he can be prosecuted. God knew the name of that new little person before He created the heavens and the earth.

Jeremiah 1:5
5. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;

Psalm 139:13
13. For You have formed my inward parts; You have covered me in my mother's womb.
14. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
15. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

All children are a gift from the Lord.

Psalm 127:3
3. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is His reward.

The Lord allows some babies with birth defects to be born so that we can show mercy and kindness to them. We'll be judged by our actions and attitudes toward these special people. If a fertilized egg somehow does not attach properly or other complications occur, then the new life might be ended through a miscarriage. Even though the Lord ends some lives early, all little babies, and children under the age of accountability, who die are, by the special grace of God, taken home to be with Jesus.

Matthew 19:13
13. Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.
14. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.''
15. And He laid His hands on them

In the Old Testament, a baby in the womb was considered to be a person and if the baby were to die, the person who caused its death was also put to death … a life for a life.

Exodus 21:22
22. "If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no lasting harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman's husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23. "But if any lasting harm follows, then you shall give life for life,

All governments, the good ones and even the bad ones, are ordained by God and have the right and obligation to bear the sword against those who practice evil.

Romans 13:3
3. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
4. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

Whenever we don't execute murderers, we build up unrequited blood against ourselves. Every murder that goes unanswered causes judgment to build up against ourselves and against our nation. The Lord demands a reckoning from animals who kill men and from men who kill men.

Genesis 9:5
5. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.
6. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.

In the Old Testament, killing was not only allowed by God but was instituted and required by God. So, the issue is not: is it wrong to kill but what are the conditions in which it is wrong? In the 1611 King James Version of the Bible, the translation that most people are familiar with, the sixth commandment reads:

Exodus 20:13
13. Thou shalt not kill.

The word “kill” was an incorrect translation of the Hebrew word “ratsach" which is correctly translated “murder.” In all modern translations of the Bible, this error has been corrected. The New King James Version was finished in 1982 and the sixth commandment now reads:

Exodus 20:13
13. "You shall not murder.

There is no place for premeditated murder but Scripture is very clear that there is a just retribution … a just self-defense.

Exodus 22:2
2. "If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed.

A Christian has the right to take a life. A Christian is instructed to turn the other cheek to avoid a fight but when a Christian’s life is threatened or he sees innocent people about to be murdered, he has the right to protect himself and an obligation to protect innocent life. That's the difference between a Christian and a criminal … a Christian protects innocent life but a criminal takes innocent life.

For three years, Jesus knew that Peter carried some form of knife. Jesus never told Peter, or the rest of His disciples, to not carry some form of knife, as was the custom of all men. For most of his life, Peter probably used the same knife to repair fishing nets, clean fish, and for self-defense. When Peter cut off the servant’s ear, he was actually trying to kill him. The Lord didn’t tell Peter to throw away his knife but merely told him to put it back into its sheath. After Jesus supernaturally reattached the servant’s ear, He reminded Peter that deadly force was only to be used in self-defense or in the defense of others if their lives were at risk. If Peter had killed the servant, the law would have required that he be executed because the servant was not threatening Jesus’ life.

Matthew 26:51
51. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword (Greek - machairan - a knife, dagger, or short sword), struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
52. But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

The world did not have police officers until the last several hundred years. For the previous thousands of years, a man was expected to have the weapons necessary to defend himself and his family. If someone were murdered, God’s law required that a blood relative, an “avenger of blood,” be sent to avenge the death of a family member who was murdered.

Numbers 35:16
16. ‘But if he strikes him with an iron implement, so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall (mandatory) surely be put to death.
17. And if he strikes him with a stone in the hand, by which one could die, and he does die, he is a murderer; the murderer shall (mandatory) surely be put to death.
18. Or if he strikes him with a wooden hand weapon, by which one could die, and he does die, he is a murderer; the murderer shall (mandatory) surely be put to death.
19. The avenger of blood himself shall (mandatory) put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall (mandatory) put him to death.

Can God bless America? God is no longer blessing America as He once did. God is removing His hand of blessing from America because our leaders will not execute convicted murderers and sexual perverts. There should be no life sentences or “death row.” Justice delayed is justice denied. One of the ways that the Lord can punish a nation is to have that nation destroyed by another nation. Another way to punish a nation is to spiritually blind the people of that nation so that they elect bad leaders for themselves. This is the moral equivalent of you shooting yourself in your foot. This is a perfect example of Consequential Wrath … the wrath of sowing and reaping. That explains why we were saddled with a president such as Bill Clinton who is a serial adulterer, an impeached and disbarred perjurer, and a baby killer. In actuality, we didn't deserve someone as good as Bill Clinton. We deserved someone much worse.

Instead of glorifying God and turning away from sin, our society has persisted on the downward path by continuing to condone the killing of babies and acts of perversion. In addition to all the rest of the adulterers, perverts, liars, and thieves in congress, God has seen fit to punish America even further with the reelection of Barack Obama who's an inexperienced, unqualified, pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, anti-Christ, pro-Marxist, Black Liberation Theology believing disciple of the racist, Jew-hating, and bigoted Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

Before he was elected president, Obama voted to allow sodomites and sodomettes to marry and voted four times against the “Born Alive Infant Protection Act.” Babies who were to have been aborted, but were still alive when delivered, should have been protected. Instead, the doctors and nurses did not provide care for those newborn little people but took them into a dirty laundry room where they were left alone to die without any further medical help. Obama is so radical that he believes in killing babies after they have been born … this is infanticide, pure and simple. Just like Bill Clinton, Obama also voted numerous times to allow “Partial-Birth Abortion” killings to continue. Obama and his cronies may be the wicked people who will finally bring about the end of America, as we have always known it.

Proverbs 16:4
4. The Lord has made all things for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.

Satan and his helpers want to weaken America morally, militarily, and financially so that we can no longer help the 8 million Jews in Israel, who are outnumbered by over 200 million Muslims, in their struggle against those neighbor nations who want to destroy God's chosen people.

The real question is not, "Is God on our side" but "are we on God's side." Is it still possible to reverse our punishment? Anything is possible, but I don’t think it's probable. It all depends on the sincerity of our repentance. Only a very Merciful God could forgive us long after He should have permanently turned His back on us. Make sure that you don’t confuse mercy with weakness.

2 Chronicles 7:14
14. "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Almost all Biblical and historical document controversies arise from the fact that most people are ignorant of the principles of hermeneutics. If we're going to follow the teachings of the Bible, we must have confidence in the Bible and be convinced that it's being used properly in order to correctly interpret each verse.

The science of Hermeneutics is the study of the general principles of interpretation used when examining historical documents such as the Bible. Hermeneutics encompasses the principles of exegesis. In trying to arrive at the truth taught by the Bible, it's necessary to practice the five basic principles of exegesis. First, we must exegete lexically … study and understand the meanings of the words as they were understood and used by the original author. Second, we must exegete syntactically … understand the syntax or grammar as it was used and practiced by the original author. Third, we must exegete historically … study and understand the historical background of the original author and his audience. Fourth, we must exegete contextually … study the passage carefully in both its immediate and remote contexts. Fifth, we must exegete harmoniously … the final interpretation placed upon the passage under consideration must be in harmony with all other passages of Scripture.

We have to take into account these principles of exegesis as we examine each sentence or verse in order to find out what the Holy Spirit was originally saying through the various writers of the Bible. According to the laws of hermeneutics, there's only one proper interpretation of each Bible verse however; each verse can have more than one application. The next time someone says, “Well, this verse means this to me” or “That’s just your opinion,” ask them, “What would the verse mean if you and I were never born?” Remember, the Bible will never contradict itself.

The best way to understand the Bible is to let the Bible explain the Bible and this is accomplished by comparing Scripture to Scripture. Just use the verses from one book of the Bible to help explain the verses from another book of the Bible. Since the Holy Spirit wrote the entire Bible, just let God speak for Himself.

The Bible is God's written revelation to man. The 66 books of the Bible (39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books) were written by forty men from various backgrounds and cover a variety of topics over a period of 1500 years. These forty men never contradict each other because God does not argue with Himself. God the Holy Spirit spoke in His written Word by a process of dual authorship. The Holy Spirit so superintended the human authors that, through their individual personalities and different styles of writing, they composed and recorded God's Word to man without error in the whole or in the part.

2 Peter 1:20
20. knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21. for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Some prophets didn't know the meaning of what they were writing and so they had to study what they had just written. Even the angels want to know what the Bible says.

1 Peter 1:10
10. Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
11. searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
12. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things which angels desire to look into.

The Bible is the product of God breathing out His Word so that what He wanted written was written. The Word of God is verbally inspired in every word, absolutely inerrant in the original documents, infallible, and God-breathed. The Bible is all we need to be complete.

2 Timothy 3:16
16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (Greek - Theopneustos - God-breathed), and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17. that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

God wants us to know Him and is not hiding Himself or His laws from us. There are no secret meanings in the Bible. It's intended to be clear and understandable by normal rational minds using normal language while talking about real people and actual historical events. You should approach the understanding of the Bible in the same, natural manner as you would understand a letter written from home. Pastors need to teach the whole Bible so that Christians can be prepared for all the dangers awaiting them.

Acts 20:27
27. "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.
28. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
29. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Christians need to study the Bible in order to guard against false teachers. It’s the same as reading the owner’s manual when you buy a car. Since God created us, He only wants what is best for us and the Bible is His way of teaching us how to avoid costly mistakes.

Matthew 7:15 (Jesus speaking)
15. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

2 Peter 2:1
1. But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

Christians are not to judge according to appearances but we are to judge people's actions with a righteous judgment.

John 7:24 (Jesus speaking)
24. "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.''

Christians must earnestly contend for the faith against false teachers.

Jude 1:3
3. Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
4. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritually immature believers who aren't grounded in the knowledge of Christ through God’s Word are inclined to uncritically accept every sort of beguiling doctrinal error and fallacious interpretation of Scripture promulgated by deceitful, false teachers in the church.

Ephesians 4:14
14. that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive,

The Apostle Paul was a leather tent maker and, in order to make a good tent, all of the pieces had to fit perfectly together. Paul used the words “rightly dividing” to instruct us that when we study the Bible, just like a tent, all the verses must fit perfectly together. Verses from one book of the Bible must fit together with verses from all other books of the Bible.

2 Timothy 2:15
15. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing (Greek - orthotomeo - to make a straight cut, to cut correctly) the word of truth.

The Lord isn't waiting for someone to give Him the latest news. God isn't the least bit surprised by world events. The Lord knows everything. In fact, He's already written the history of the world. The Lord knows the end from the beginning.

Isaiah 46:9
9. Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,
10. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done,

Jesus spoke in parables so that only His chosen people would be able to understand what He was saying.

Matthew 13:10 (Jesus speaking)
10. And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?''
11. He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12. "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
13. "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Because of man's spiritual blindness which is caused by his sin nature, no one seeks after God. All sinners are unwilling and unable to come to God on their own.

Romans 3:11
11. there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.

Not only do we not seek after God on our own but God has to drag us to Himself with a compelling force.

John 6:44 (Jesus speaking)
44. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws (Greek - helkuo - compels, drags) him;

Some people say they found Jesus.
Jesus wasn’t lost.
They didn’t find Jesus.
Jesus found them.

John 15:16 (Jesus speaking)
16. You did not choose Me, but I chose you

God chose and foreknew all believers before time began.

2 Timothy 1:9
9. who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

Many books have been written on the great biblical truths of foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, sanctification, and glorification.

Romans 8:28
28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
29. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Ephesians 1:3
3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4. just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
5. having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

Before the end of time, everyone the Lord wants to save will have been saved.

Acts 13:48
48. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

Wait a minute! Did God choose me or did I choose Him?

From God’s point of view, He chose us before He created the heavens and the earth and gave us the faith to believe but from our point of view, we came to Christ by an act of our free will.

John 6:37 (Jesus speaking)
37. "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

Since God sacrificed His Son to save us, will He not also do what is necessary to keep us?

Philippians 1:6
6. being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Our salvation is guaranteed for eternity because Jesus will not lose anyone.

John 6:38 (Jesus speaking)
38. "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39. "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
40. "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.''

John 10:27 (Jesus speaking)
27. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28. "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29. "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
30. "I and My Father are one.''

When God sovereignly calls us, at that same time He also gives us the saving faith to believe in Christ. God uses existing Christians as the means of bringing the message that activates the faith of His elect. Believers have an obligation to study the Bible so that they can share the good news with an unbelieving world.

1 Peter 3:15
15. and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you

Always be ready to boldly share the good news.

2 Timothy 4:2
2. Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Christians are called to be ambassadors of Christ and are given the ministry of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:18
18. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
19. that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

The Christian’s mission is to give all people the opportunity to hear the saving gospel so they can trust in Christ and be redeemed.

Matthew 28:18
18. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20. teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Why were we created? We were created to have fellowship with God and to give glory to God in everything that we do.

1 Corinthians 10:31
31. Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Before time began and before anything existed as we know it, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit made a decision. The plan was this: God the Father perfectly loved the Son and He wanted to demonstrate His love for the Son. To do this, as a love gift, He would get a bride for His Son who would be a redeemed humanity to love, worship, and have fellowship with His Son forever. He would bring that redeemed humanity home where they would live together forever.

Revelation 21:3
3. Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit created the heavens and the earth to be merely the stage on which the plan would unfold. The glory, grandeur, and graciousness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can be seen in the incredible detail, beauty, and majesty of a creation that is just too amazing for words. But what really displays God’s glory for all to see is His graciousness in saving unworthy sinners.

In order to demonstrate the depravity of sin, God allowed the angels and mankind to have a free will so that they could do anything they wanted.

Beginning with the angels, one-third of the angels used their free will to revolt against God and follow the greatest angel, Lucifer, who is also called Satan. Fallen angels cannot be redeemed.

Adam's wife, Eve, used her free will to disbelieve God and was deceived by Satan. Adam also used his free will to disobey God, follow Eve, and sinned which resulted in the curse against all mankind.

Mankind fell into such depravity that, about two thousand years later, in the time of Noah, there were only eight righteous people on the earth and God destroyed all the rest, about three billion people, in the Flood.

About two thousand years later, the Jews used their free will to reject and murder their Messiah. Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty for the sins committed by Old Testament saints as well as future New Testament believers.

And again today, about two thousand years after Christ’s death and resurrection, even with knowledge of the risen Lord and God’s Word, His Holy Bible, to guide us, we are still as depraved as the people were in the time of Noah before the Flood.

At His Second Coming, when Jesus returns to rule His Kingdom for one-thousand years, which is called the Millennium, there will be people, who will be born in the Kingdom, who will use their free will to revolt against the Lord even though they can literally see Jesus on His throne in Jerusalem. You say, “How could those dolts be so depraved?” That’s the destructiveness of sin!

The Holy Spirit is in charge of seeing that God’s plan is perfectly fulfilled. Before the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit only empowered certain people so that they could perform certain tasks. Since the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit lives within all believers.

Romans 8:9
9. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

The Holy Spirit is a divine person, eternal, underived, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity, including intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10-13), emotions (Ephesians 4:30), will (1 Corinthians 12:11), eternality (Hebrews 9:14), omnipresence (Psalm 139:7-10), omniscience (Isaiah 40:13-14), omnipotence (Romans 15:13), and truthfulness (John 16:13). In all the divine attributes, He is coequal and consubstantial with the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 28:25-26; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Jeremiah 31:31-34 with Hebrews 10:15-17). Since the Holy Spirit is a person, He cannot be given out in pieces so every believer has the same amount of the Holy Spirit. Since God the Holy Spirit is omnipresent, He can dwell in all believers at the same time.

John 3:34 (Jesus speaking)
34. "for God does not give the Spirit by measure.

Before the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven, He promised His disciples that He or the Holy Spirit would always be with them or in them. Jesus is the original Comforter and the original Helper. When Jesus went away, He sent another Comforter back. As believers, we have two Advocates, two Helpers, and two Comforters … the Spirit of God within us on earth and Christ the Son Of God at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. When we're saved, the Holy Spirit comes to abide in us forever so that we can never lose our salvation.

John 14:16 (Jesus speaking)
16. "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another (Greek - allon – another of the same kind) Helper (Greek - parakleton - an intercessor, a comforter, one who comes alongside to help, a defender, an advocate), that He may abide with you forever,
17. "even the Spirit of truth (God the Holy Spirit), whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

At the moment of salvation, all Christians are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Can Christians at some later point, lose their salvation? Obviously not, since they were sealed with the Holy Spirit when they believed. The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit acts as an engagement ring until all Christians are joined to Jesus Christ in Heaven at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Ephesians 1:13
13. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14. who is the guarantee (Greek - arrabon - an engagement ring, a pledge, a non-refundable down payment, part of the purchase-money or property given in advance as security for the rest) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

In order to understand how Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit function as our Advocates, we need to understand our salvation. There's more to our salvation than just the elements of love, grace, and mercy; there's the matter of justice. God can never disregard His own perfect, holy Law and justice. Some have wrongly thought that God's love somehow overpowers His justice. That's not true. Both love and justice are equally satisfied in God's salvation plan. While justice demands punishment, mercy cries out for rescuing the sinner. The gospel or good news is not that God is going to punish every sin. The good news is that every sin will be punished and yet the sinner will be forgiven. God will save sinners, satisfy His mercy, and satisfy His justice.

Christians are saved but saved from what? Saved from sin? No, we're saved from the justice of God. We need to be saved from the Judge because He has the power and the right to condemn us to the Lake of Fire. Don't be afraid of those who can destroy the body; be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in the Lake of Fire.

Matthew 10:28 (Jesus speaking)
28. "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Greek - Gehenna - the Lake of Fire).

Ultimately, we have to be saved from God. We have to be saved from His holy justice. And so, in saving us, God saves us from Himself. Satan is constantly going before the throne of God in Heaven and accusing Christians of sin but we have an Advocate, a Divine Defense Attorney, who has already paid for our sins, to defend us before the Father.

1 John 2:1
1. My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

Jesus Christ is our Attorney and Defender and we couldn’t have a better one because He has never lost a case. Not only that, the Judge is His Father. In addition, the Judge is our Father and He is sympathetic to His own children. Also, our Attorney knows our weaknesses because He became one of us. Some people think that Christ is for us and God is against us, but Christ convinces Him. Because we were so poor and spiritually destitute, we couldn't afford an attorney. God the Father chose a court-appointed Public Defender for us and He chose Jesus Christ, the best attorney in all of creation, as the only One who could successfully argue our case. He did that because God by nature is merciful as well as just. He's ready to forgive us, He's ready to pardon us and He can legally do so because, at the cross, Jesus already paid the price for our sins and the wages of sin is death.

Romans 6:23
23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Instead of worrying about his own salvation, the unsaved, natural man always wants to know what will happen to a man in the most remote part of the earth. Can he find God? Can he be saved?

Genesis 18:14
14. "Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Jeremiah 29:13
13. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Nature declares the glory of God

Psalm 19:1
1. The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Job 12:7
7. "But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8. or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you.
9. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this,
10. In whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?

All men worship a god in one form or another. This proves that they are aware of a force outside of themselves.

Acts 17:22
22. Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;
23. "for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to the unknown God. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
24. "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
25. "Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

No one will have an excuse. Man could have worshipped God but instead he decided to worship idols.

Romans 1:18
18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19. because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
20. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
21. because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22. Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23. and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things.

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on the trees, the flowers, and the stars. The Jews who have the law will be treated the same as the man in the most remote part of the earth who doesn't have the law written down but has the law written in his heart.

Romans 2:11
11. For there is no partiality with God.
12. For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law
13. (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;
14. for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things contained in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves,
15. who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)
16. in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

Does the created man have the right to tell the Creator what to do?

Romans 9:20
20. But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?''
21. Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22. What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
23. and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,
24. even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Many people think that, if their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds, God will let them into His kingdom. The balance scale concept is just one of Satan’s many lies. God’s standard is so high that He cannot look upon sin.

Habakkuk 1:13
13. You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.

From our first parents, Adam and Eve, we inherited two arms, two legs, and a sin nature. Because of our sin nature, a Holy and Righteous God is justified in executing everyone from the moment of conception. Ultimately, it isn’t a matter of whether or not we sinned, we were born in sin.

Psalm 51:5
5. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

Because of our sin, God has the right to put us to death at any time. Why doesn’t He do that?

2 Peter 3:9
9. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Bad things don't happen to good people because there are no good people! Everyone is a sinner. Why do good things happen to bad people? Good things happen to bad people because God is, by nature, merciful and compassionate. Remember this, the next time you almost have an accident or are actually in a car, train, or plane accident or some natural disaster such as a flood, earthquake, or tornado and should have been seriously injured or killed but lived to tell about it … you weren’t lucky! A Merciful God was just showing you how quickly and easily your life could have ended. After an experience such as that, some people might say that you are living on borrowed time. In reality, everyone is living on borrowed time. You might die at any moment and you need to use your remaining time wisely.

Numbers 14:18
18. ‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty,

God’s holiness and justice demand that all sin be punished by death. That’s why simply changing our pattern of behavior can’t solve our sin problem or eliminate its consequences.

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

Every unsaved, natural man is guilty before God. Don’t abuse the kindness of God or wait too long, He may not give you another opportunity to repent. Some criminals are sorry … sorry that they were caught … but this isn't the true repentance that leads to life.

Romans 2:4
4. Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

Ezekiel 33:11
11. “As I live,” says the Lord God, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die,”

Isaiah 55:6
6. Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.
7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him;

Jeremiah 13:13
17. But if you will not hear it, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,

Another one of Satan’s great lies is that maybe you'll have better luck in the next life. Will there be second chances? What about reincarnation?

Hebrews 9:27
27. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

There are no prayers that can be said for the dead … it’s too late for them. There is no Purgatory or second chance after death. There is no Limbo or halfway holding place. After the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, there are only two options: Believers in Christ are either at home in the body or present with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:6
6. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.
7. For we walk by faith, not by sight.
8. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
9. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

Philippians 1:21
21. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.
23. For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
24. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.

Before the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, with the exception of Enoch and Elijah, two people in the Old Testament who didn't die, all the souls of those who died, since the beginning of time, used to go to a temporary place called Sheol. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, the Greek word “Hades” was used to translate the Hebrew word “Sheol” which means a grave, a pit, or a waiting place. Hades is divided into two parts: One part is the realm of "the doomed and the damned" where the souls of all the unbelievers go to be tortured until the final Lake of Fire and the other part is called Abraham's bosom or Paradise where the souls of the righteous people originally went to be lovingly cared for until the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paradise is a general term and can be used to mean Heaven or the righteous side of Hades which has been unpopulated since the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus used the word Gehenna to illustrate what the final Lake of Fire will look like only on a more massive scale. Gehenna is the Greek word that was derived from the Hebrew word Hinnom. The valley of Hinnom is on the south side of Jerusalem and was used as a dump where fires burned day and night. Hell is a general word that can be used to mean the tormented side of Hades which is temporary or the Lake of Fire which is permanent. At the end of the Millennium, all the souls in the tormented side of Hades will be taken out of Hades, given bodies suitable for being eternally tormented, and then will appear before the Great White Throne of Judgment where they will be sentenced to spend an eternity in the Lake of Fire. Then Death and Hades will be thrown into the Lake of Fire where unbelievers, the Antichrist, Satan, and his fallen angels will be tortured for eternity.

While Jesus was still on the cross, He promised the thief who was being crucified next to Him that he would be with Him that very day in Paradise.

Luke 23:43
43. And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.''

After Jesus died and while His body was still on the cross, He took the soul of the thief on the cross with Him when He went to the Paradise side of Hades and took all the righteous souls with Him to Heaven.

Ephesians 4:8
8. Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.''
9. (Now this, "He ascended'' what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10. He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

Then, before Jesus appeared to His disciples in His new glorified body, He went to the "doomed and damned" part of Hades to proclaim His victory over sin, death, and Satan.

1 Peter 3:18
18. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
19. by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
20. who formerly were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared,

Jesus was speaking to His disciples and the Pharisees when He told them about two men who were in Hades. Even though the rich man and Lazarus were separated by an impassable gulf, the rich man was able see Lazarus in Abraham's bosom.

Luke 16:19 (Jesus speaking)
19. "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20. "But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
21. "desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22. "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23. "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24. "Then he cried and said, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'
25. "But Abraham said, `Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26. `And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'
27. "Then he said, `I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house,
28. `for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'
29. "Abraham said to him, `They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'
30. "And he said, `No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
31. "But he said to him, `If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' ''

Even though Jesus did rise from the dead, most people will still not believe His warnings. Jesus taught that the teachings of “Moses and the prophets” (another way of saying the Old Testament) were sufficient to enable the unsaved, natural man to come to a saving knowledge of the Lord. Now that we have the revelation of the New Testament, there is no excuse … much has been given to us and much will be required from us. The more you know, the more you will be held responsible for when your actions and attitudes are judged.

Luke 12:47 (Jesus speaking)
47. "And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48. "But he who did not know, yet committed things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

Studies show that almost everyone trusts in a higher power. Most people call themselves religious, spiritual, or persons of faith as if it were enough to just trust in something … anything. There are only two religions in the world. The Christianity of the Bible is the religion of divine accomplishment, which is salvation by grace and is based on what Christ accomplished on the cross. Every other religion on earth is the religion of human achievement, which is salvation by works where you assume that if you do fewer bad works and more good works, you'll earn favor with God. The people in this false religious system are known by many different names such as, Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, Catholics, Christian Scientists, Mormons, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Salvation Army. Nobody wants to say, “Join our religion and go to Hell” but that's exactly what's happening … that's the deception. Many people are going to be with the big crowd on the broad way but only a chosen few will be able to squeeze through the narrow gate.

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

If you don’t choose to follow Jesus Christ through the narrow gate but choose to follow the many people on the broad way, any religion or no religion will get you to the same destination … Hell.

Unlike today’s televangelists, when Jesus preached to the multitudes, many walked with Him no more.

John 6:66
66. From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

His disciples were concerned that so few were being saved. Jesus wasn’t able to build a mega-church because it was too difficult to enter His church … the gate was too narrow. Anyone who wanted to enter Christ’s Church was going to have to strip down and, with much difficulty, squeeze through the narrow gate with just their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and leave all their self-righteous baggage behind.

Luke 13:23 (Jesus speaking)
23. Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?'' And He said to them,
24. "Strive (Greek - agonizesthe - agonize, struggle, contend as with an adversary, labor fervently) to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

Only true followers of Jesus Christ will keep His commandments.

John 14:15 (Jesus speaking)
15. "If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Studies indicate that four out of five people who claim to be Christians are not Christians. Everyone needs to continually examine themselves.

2 Corinthians 13:5
5. Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.

Every time you come to the Lord's Table, you need to examine yourself. Anyone who takes Holy Communion and is not saved brings judgment upon himself.

1 Corinthians 11:28
28. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.
29. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

Who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

Matthew 7:21 (Jesus speaking)
21. "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22. "Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'
23. "And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

In order to attract new members, many of today’s liberal churches hire rock bands and superstars to entertain the crowd. If and when they get around to any actual preaching, they present a superficial gospel, a gospel that doesn’t mention true repentance from sin, and then they proclaim that thousands walked down the aisle and were saved. Beware of “easybelieveism.” Don't let the crowd push you into something. You should give this major step in your life a lot of thought. You must be willing to turn from your sin and turn toward the Lord. This means making a lifetime commitment to obey all the teachings of Jesus Christ. You're not joining an organization or an institution; you're placing all your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said that we shouldn’t start something before we know what it will cost to finish it.

Luke 14:28 (Jesus speaking)
28. "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it
29. "lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all who see it begin to mock him,
30. "saying, `This man began to build and was not able to finish.'

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that most people haven’t given much thought as to what they believe or why they believe what they believe. That’s why most people try to stay away from discussions about where they will spend eternity.

Most people who call themselves Christians are phony-baloney “Christmas and Easter” type believers who would rather celebrate the coming of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny than the birthday and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Many people go to churches where the name of Jesus is barely mentioned. If they don’t want to follow all the teachings of Jesus Christ, why do they call themselves Christians? If they don’t want to learn what the Bible says about the Lord Jesus Christ, then why go to church at all?

Matthew 10:32 (Jesus speaking)
32. "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
33. "But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

Who is Jesus Christ? Is He the Lord, a liar, a lunatic, or a great moral teacher?

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he’s a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
-- C. S. Lewis

Most people are comfortable with calling Jesus a great moral teacher but, according to the laws of logic, that's not an option. If Jesus lied about what He did or who He was, why would you want to believe any of His teachings? Why would you want to have anything to do with Him at all? Jesus left no doubt about who He claimed to be. On numerous occasions, Jesus clearly stated that He was God: “I and My Father are one,” “No one comes to the Father except through Me,” “Before Abraham was, I AM.'' Jesus said His name was I AM which is the name that Jehovah/God the Father said was His name. Jesus was executed for blasphemy because He claimed to be God.

Exodus 3:13
13. Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, `What is His name?' what shall I say to them?''
14. And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM.'' And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, `I AM has sent me to you.' ''

When faced with only three remaining options; Lord, liar, or lunatic, only a fool would call Jesus a liar or a lunatic because someone who lived as Jesus lived, taught as Jesus taught, and died as Jesus died could not have been a liar or a lunatic. Now here’s the problem! That only leaves one option: The Lord Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. If Jesus Christ is Lord, then you have only two options: You can accept Him or reject Him.

1 Kings 18:21
21. "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.''

The lives and deaths of His disciples are a testament to the fact that Jesus is the Christ and that He rose from the dead.

***** Before the Resurrection:

Jesus’ disciples did not fully understand that He was God in human flesh even though they lived with Him day and night and watched as He performed thousands of miracles for three years. Every day, hundreds of people came to Jesus to be cured of diseases or healed of deformities. Jesus healed all of them with just a word or a touch. If someone were missing an arm, leg, or eye, they were instantaneously restored, healed, and made completely whole. On two separate occasions, Jesus fed about 36,000 people with just a handful of fish and a few loaves of bread. The same Jesus who created the heavens and the earth out of nothing is the same Jesus who created extra body parts and extra food out of thin air.

Mark 8:19 (Jesus speaking)
19. "When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?'' They said to Him, "Twelve.''
20. "And when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?'' And they said, "Seven.''
21. So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?''

Since only the head of the household was counted, in the first instance, instead of only five thousand people who were fed, there were probably about twenty thousand or more and, in the second instance, instead of only four thousand people who were fed, there were probably about sixteen thousand or more.

Matthew 15:38
38. Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus told His disciples that He was going to be killed and rise again.

Matthew 20:17
17. Then Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them,
18. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death,
19. "and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.''

His disciples didn’t really think that Jesus would allow Himself to be executed. Peter promised that he would never forsake Jesus.

Matthew 26:33
33. Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.''
34. Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.''

Matthew 26:73
73. And after a while those who stood by came to him and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them,
74. Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!'' And immediately a rooster crowed.

Matthew 26:56
56. Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

John 20:9
9. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

***** At Christ’s Death

The Jews reckoned twelve hours from sunrise to sunset so the third hour would be nine in the morning, the sixth hour would be noon, and the ninth hour would be three in the afternoon. Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross at the third hour on Friday.

Mark 15:25
25. Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.

At noon there was darkness over the land until the ninth hour while God laid the past, present, and future sins of all believers on His Son. Jesus died at the end of the darkness and then when it became light again, a Roman soldier thrust his spear into Jesus Christ's side to make sure He was dead.

Matthew 27:45
45. Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.

Hundreds of years earlier, Amos, an Old Testament prophet, prophesied that this darkness would happen.

Amos 8:9
9. "And it shall come to pass in that day,'' says the Lord God, "That I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight;

Some secular eyewitnesses also wrote about the darkness and said it was the result of a solar eclipse. The darkness couldn't be as a result of an eclipse of the sun because a solar eclipse couldn't take place at the time of a full moon and it was the season of the Paschal full moon when Christ died.

To further emphasize the fact that this was no normal death, at the end of the darkness there was an earthquake, graves were opened, and many people were raised from the dead. These risen saints walked into Jerusalem and appeared to many people. Also, an extremely large and thick woven veil (60 feet high, 30 feet wide, and 4 inches thick) that separated the rest of the great Jewish temple from the Holy of Holies was torn into two pieces from top to bottom to show that access to God in the Holy of Holies was now open to all people at all times and not just open to the Jewish High Priest once each year.

Matthew 27:51
51. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,
52. and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53. and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
54. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!''

***** The Burial

The Jews wrapped the dead body with long strips of linen and a 100 pound mixture of spices and aloe which turned into a sticky gum mixture. This sticky gum mixture was mixed in between all the linen strips and they served partially as a preservative and partially as a cement to glue the cloth wrappings into a hard shell surrounding the body like a mummy. There's no way that a person could ever unwrap himself because his body would have been totally immobilized with his hands and arms stuck firmly inside the sticky strips of linen.

John 19:38
38. After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.
39. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
40. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
41. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
42. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

When the body was discovered to be missing in the tomb, the linen cocoon was undisturbed as though the body had just evaporated. The cloth that had been covering His head had been folded and placed to the side.

John 20:6
6. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there,
7. and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.

Did someone steal the body? If they just took the body, they would have had to take the time to unwrap 100 pounds of those sticky strips of linen which had already cemented themselves together. If someone were to steal the body, why not take it wrapped in the linen cocoon?

***** After the Resurrection:

After the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Sunday, He remained on the earth for an additional forty days and appeared to as many as five hundred people at one time. Shortly after God raised Jesus from the dead, He appeared to His disciples in His new glorified body. After a close physical inspection of Jesus, the Apostle Thomas, who is universally known as the "doubting disciple," called Jesus, "My Lord and my God."

John 20:27 (Jesus speaking)
27. Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.''
28. And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!''

After seeing the risen Lord, His disciples changed from being a band of cowards to boldly preaching about Christ’s resurrection.

Acts 4:13
13. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Persecution purifies and strengthens the church. If the cost of believing in Jesus Christ were as high in America as it is in some parts of the world, it would separate the wheat from the chaff … all the pretenders would leave His church. Throughout all of history, the blood of the martyrs has always been the seed of the church.

Acts 5:17
17. Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him …
18. and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.
27. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them,
28. saying, "Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine …
29. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men.
40. and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.
42. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

The men who knew Jesus best were tortured, flogged, and finally put to death just because they wouldn't deny that Jesus is the Christ and that He rose from the dead. John the Baptist was the first to be beheaded. Peter was forced to watch as his wife was executed in front of him. Peter requested to be executed upside down because he wasn't worthy to die as his Master.

1. John the Baptist - Beheaded
2. Peter - Crucified upside down
3. Matthew - The sword
4. Mark - Dragged to death by horses
5. Luke - Hanged
6. John - Boiled in oil, then exiled to an island
7. James, son of Alphaeus - Crucified
8. Philip - Crucified
9. Andrew - Crucified
10. Simon - Crucified
11. Thaddaeus - Killed by arrows
12. James, half-brother of Jesus - Beaten to death by clubs
13. Jude, half-brother of Jesus - Killed with arrows
14. Thomas - Spear thrust
15. Bartholomew - Whipped to death
16. James, son of Zebedee - Beheaded
17. Matthias - Stoned, then beheaded
18. Paul - Beheaded

Even before the Apostle Paul was beheaded, he was in constant danger everywhere he went.

Acts 9:29
29. And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him.

2 Corinthians 11:24
24. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.
25. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26. in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27. in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness

Hebrews 11:36
36. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.
37. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword.

Who would die for a lie? Many people have died for a lie but they thought it was the truth. If the resurrection of Jesus didn’t take place … if Jesus hadn't been seen by up to 500 people for forty days after His resurrection … if the body of Jesus was still rotting in a tomb somewhere … the disciples knew it. Therefore, if the resurrection never happened, these disciples not only died for a lie but they knew it was a lie. They allowed themselves to be killed for no reason whatsoever. In all of recorded history, there never has been a group of people who died for a lie while knowing it was a lie. In order to keep from being whipped and killed, all they had to do was say that they were mistaken, that Jesus Christ isn't really God, and that He didn’t really rise from the dead. Since the disciples were killed, one by one, in separate places, no one would have known if one of them were to have taken the easy way out, turned against Jesus, and moved to a different part of the world to hide the fact that he denied seeing the risen Lord. Only eyewitnesses of Christ’s resurrection would have been brave enough to stand up to the authorities and risk death.

2 Peter 1:16
16. For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

1 Corinthians 15:3
3. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4. and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
5. and that He was seen by Cephas (Peter), then by the twelve.
6. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
7. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

Twenty-two of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament were written between 40 and 70 A.D. The Apostle John wrote the remaining five books between 80 and 95 A.D.

Josephus (37-100 A.D.), a Pharisee and Jewish historian, wrote:
“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.” (Antiquities XVIII.3:3)

Jesus has had a more lasting influence on the world than the three greatest philosophers of all antiquity. Socrates taught for 40 years. Plato taught for 50 years. Aristotle taught for 40 years. Jesus taught for less than three years, yet the influence of the three years of Jesus' ministry far outstrips the combined 130 years of these great men.

Some of the strongest evidence attesting to the fact that Jesus is the Christ is the fulfillment of messianic prophecies that were written hundreds of years before His birth. In the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms (the Old Testament), over 300 prophecies were written concerning Christ. At His first coming, Jesus fulfilled over 100 of the 300 Old Testament prophecies. Just to name a few of the prophecies that He fulfilled, Jesus had to be:

1. From the seed of a woman - Genesis 3:15
2. From the seed of Abraham - Genesis 12:2, Genesis 22:18
3. The son of Isaac - Genesis 22:12
4. The son of Jacob - Numbers 24:17, Genesis 35:10
5. From the tribe of Judah - Genesis 49:10
6. From the family line of Jesse - Isaiah 11:1
7. From the House of David - Jeremiah 23:5, Isaiah 9:7
8. Born in Bethlehem - Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1-6
9. Born of a virgin - Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:26-35
10. Jesus Christ would be crucified - Psalm 22:14-18, John 20:27-28

According to the laws of probability, the chances of 100 prophecies being fulfilled in just one person is one chance out of:

1,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

people (that’s a 1 followed by 900 zeros). Mathematicians say that anytime you have more than 15 zeros, you have proven your case.

Jesus said that all Scripture must be fulfilled. At His Second Coming, Jesus Christ will literally fulfill the remaining 200 prophecies. Only a fool would bet against odds like that.

Matthew 5:17 (Jesus speaking)
17. "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18. "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19. "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

On Sunday, the day of His resurrection, Jesus explained how His death and resurrection fulfilled Old Testament prophesies.

Luke 24:44 (Jesus speaking)
44. Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.''
45. And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
46. Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47. "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

By allowing Jesus to perform thousands of miracles such as walking on water, healing the sick, and raising the dead, God the Father was able to authenticate, verify, and announce that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh.

Acts 2:22
22. "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know

John 20:30
30. And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;
31. but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

When John the Baptist sent men to ask whether Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus told the men to go tell John what they had seen with their own eyes. The miracles themselves would verify that Jesus is the Christ.

Luke 7:20
20. When the men had come to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, `Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?' ''
21. And that very hour He cured many people of their infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many who were blind He gave sight.
22. Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Jesus asked life’s most important question, “Who do you say that I am?” This is the question that everyone must answer for himself.

Matthew 16:15 (Jesus speaking)
15. He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?''
16. And Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.''
17. Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah (Peter), for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said that Peter’s answer was a revelation from God. In order to be saved, you will have to agree with God the Father and say that the Lord Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. Jesus told the Pharisees that, because they did not believe that He was God, they would die in their sins.

John 8:24
24. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

The Pharisees finally quit asking Jesus questions because to answer this next question, they would have had to admit that Jesus existed before David and is therefore the Eternal God.

Matthew 22:41
41. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
42. saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?'' They said to Him, "The Son of David.''
43. He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him `Lord,' saying:
44. `The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool'' '?
45. "If David then calls Him `Lord,' how is He his Son?''
46. And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

You must be willing to give up your sins and follow Him or turn your back on the Lord and walk away like a dog returning to his own vomit.

2 Peter 2:21
21. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
22. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit,'' and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.''

Some people may claim to be a Christian but if they fall away, it's proof that they never were a Christian in the first place.

1 John 2:19
19. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

If you continue to follow Christ, only then are you really Christ's disciple.

John 8:31
31. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

When someone “gets religion” or "cleans up their act," they trust in their own self-righteousness to make themselves clean and presentable to God without trusting in Christ’s righteousness. When that fails, and it always does, the last state is worse than the first.

Matthew 12:43 (Jesus speaking)
43. "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
44. "Then he says, `I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.
45. "Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.''

Whenever the Bible says, “behold,” it is a much stronger word than we realize. Today, we might say something like, “Yeow! Look at this!” If you were standing in a crowd and had just seen two large, powerful angels appear out of nowhere and stand beside you in clothing as bright as lightning, you would be startled too. Of course, the most amazing sight of all would to be in a crowd talking to Jesus one minute and the next minute to watch Him lift off the earth and ascend up into the clouds.

Acts 1:9
9. Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white (Greek - leukos - brilliant, dazzling, bright as lightning) apparel,
11. who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.''
12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey.

Jesus is coming back in the same exact manner and to the same exact location from where He left. The prophet Zechariah spoke this prophesy in 520 B.C. and this is just one of the 200 prophecies that Jesus will fulfill at His Second Coming.

Zechariah 14:4
4. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.

Angels are created spirit beings who don't get old, become weak, or procreate. There are no female angels or little angels running around. Angels are big and incredibly powerful beings and just one angel could ruin your whole day.

2 Kings 19:35
35. And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand;

When a great multitude with swords and clubs came to capture Jesus, Peter wanted to fight but the Lord stopped him. Jesus said that He could have more than twelve legions of His angels fight to protect Him. A Roman legion contained 6,000 or more men and twelve legions would have been more than 72,000 angels. If Jesus had permitted His angels to protect Him, how could the Scriptures be fulfilled? Jesus had to die on the cross.

Matthew 26:53 (Jesus speaking)
53. "Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?
54. "How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?''

Jesus existed before all things and Jesus created all things. Jesus didn’t need to work up a sweat; He just spoke everything into existence.

Psalm 33:6
6. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
9. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

Evolutionists are willfully ignorant of the truth. They say that since they cannot see or touch the creator, how do they know that God really exists? Simple! God looks exactly like us. Why? Because God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit were there at the beginning and They made man in Their image.

Genesis 1:26
26. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.''
27. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

In the Old Testament, anytime someone saw Jehovah God and lived, they actually saw the ever-existing Jesus, the Son of God, before He was born and became a man. Theologically speaking, this is called a Christophany. This is one of my all-time favorite Christophanies. Notice how the Lord (Jesus) said He would not destroy Sodom if He could find ten righteous people. Once Lot and his two daughters were removed, then the Lord did destroy Sodom. In reality, the Lord would not have destroyed Sodom if only one righteous person had remained there. Back in the time of Noah, all the righteous people were also taken out of the earth and put into the Ark before the Flood destroyed everyone. The same principle will hold true in the future when all believers will be raptured from the earth before the Tribulation begins. Jesus is not an angel but He brought two angels with Him.

Genesis 18:1
1. Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
2. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
3. and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.
4. "Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
9. Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?'' And he said, "Here, in the tent.''
10. And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.'' And Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.
11. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
12. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?''
13. And the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, `Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?'
14. "Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.''
15. But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh,'' for she was afraid. And He said, "No, but you did laugh!''
16. Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.
17. And the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,
18. "since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19. "For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.''
20. And the Lord said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
21. "I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.''
22. Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
23. And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24. "Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
25. "Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?''
26. And the Lord said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.''
32. And he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?'' And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.''
33. So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

Abraham clearly knew he was speaking to God because he said, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Also notice how the Lord always spoke in the first person when He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.'' God the Father has said that no man can see Him and live.

Exodus 33:20
20. But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.''

No one has seen God the Father at any time.

John 1:18
18. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

God the Father is a spirit and does not have flesh and bones.

John 4:24 (Jesus speaking)
24. "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.''

1 Timothy 1:17
17. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:15
15. He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
16. who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

Jesus is the image of the invisible God.

Colossians 1:15
15. He is the image of the invisible God,
16. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Jesus, the eternal Son of God, is self-existent and uncreated.

John 1:1
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2. He was in the beginning with God.
3. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

"All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." Jesus didn’t need any help from Charles Darwin. Jesus made everything that was made. God doesn’t believe in the theory of evolution (remember, it’s still just an unproven theory). Since the discovery of DNA, it is difficult to find scientists, who still believe in evolutionism, who are willing to debate with scientists who believe that the facts support Creationism. Intelligent Design or Theistic Evolution tries to take a position in the middle and says that God just got the whole thing started and then sat down to watch for the next twenty billion years to see what was going to happen next. These people are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.

Matthew 22:29
29. Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.

If God can create one hundred gazillion, trillion, billion stars and all the light that's between them and the earth in one day, why did it take Him so long to create the whole thing? He shouldn’t have needed six days. The reason is that God wanted to create a pattern for us … work for six days and rest and worship God on the seventh day. We have days, months, and years because of the earth’s rotation and now you know why the whole world uses weeks to separate work and rest.

Genesis 2:1
1. Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.
2. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
3. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

The six days of creation are repeated in the Ten Commandments. This is the Fourth Commandment:

Exodus 20:8
8. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10. but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
11. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

Whenever the Hebrew word for "day" is used with a number, it always refers to a literal, twenty-four hour day i.e. first day, second day, third day, etc. and a further explanation of "evening and morning" shows that this is a definitely a literal, twenty-four hour day.

Genesis 1:3
3. Then God said, "Let there be light''; and there was light.
4. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
5. God called the light Day (Hebrew - yowm - day), and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day (Hebrew - yowm - day).

God the Father always manifests Himself as light.

James 1:17
17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Before God created the sun, stars, and all the light that is between them on the fourth day, even on the first day there was light from the Lord. When God destroys the old heaven and earth and creates the new heaven and earth, there will be no sun or moon in the sky but the Lord will illuminate everything just by His own light. From Genesis to Revelation, God's light remains a constant.

Revelation 21:23
23. And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light.

If you don’t believe what the Bible says about six, literal, twenty-four hour days of creation (only literal days have evenings and mornings), a real Adam and Eve, a real Noah, a real Ark, and a real world-wide Flood that killed everyone (about 3 billion people) except for eight people (Noah and his wife and their three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their three wives), a real Moses who parted the Red Sea so that the Jews could walk through on dry land, a real fire and brimstone destruction of Sodom, a real Daniel the prophet in a lion’s den, a real Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego who danced in a fiery furnace, a real Jonah, a real three day ride inside a big fish, and a real Lake of Fire where all unbelievers will be tormented for eternity then you would have to call Jesus a liar because Jesus spoke of all of these people and events.

If you think that Jesus is a liar then obviously, you are not and cannot be a Christian.

The first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) were written by Moses and form a complete literary unit called the Pentateuch, meaning “five scrolls.” Jesus verified the truthfulness of Moses and his writings.

John 5:46 (Jesus speaking)
46. "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.
47. "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

Jesus said that everything that Moses wrote was true and Moses said that God created the heavens and the earth in six literal days.

Exodus 20:11
11. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

God created the first two people, Adam and Eve.

Genesis 1:26
26. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.''
27. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Matthew 19:4 (Jesus speaking)
4. And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning `made them male and female,'

God saved Noah and his family from the Flood.

Genesis 6;13
13. And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14. "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.
15. "And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
16. "You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
17. "And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.
18. "But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.

Luke 17:26 (Jesus speaking)
26. "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man (the days of the Son of Man prophecy will be fulfilled at Christ’s Second Coming):
27. "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

The same God who created the heavens and the earth in six days didn’t have any problem creating a path through the Red Sea to save His chosen people, the Jews. Some estimates place the number of Jews who crossed through the Red Sea to be as high as two million.

Exodus 14:21
21. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.
22. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
23. And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24. Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians.
25. And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.''
26. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.''
27. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
28. Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.

Hebrews 11:29
29. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

The unbelieving people in Jericho had also heard how God had parted the Red Sea.

Joshua 2:10
10. "For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt,

In addition to the Red Sea, God also parted the Jordan River so that the Ark of the Covenant could be carried across on dry land.

Joshua 4:22
22. "then you shall let your children know, saying, `Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land';
23. "for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over,
24. "that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.''

God destroyed Sodom.

Genesis 19:24
24. Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.
25. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

Luke 17:28 (Jesus speaking)
28. "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;
29. "but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus taught that that Daniel was a prophet and that the book of Daniel was inspired. Daniel was placed in a lion’s den and was not eaten by the lions. In addition, Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, were put in a fiery furnace and were not burned.

Daniel 1:6
6. Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
7. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.

After Nebuchadnezzar the King had them thrown into the fire, he saw them dancing in the fire and knew that they were not consumed by the fire.

Daniel 3:26
26. Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.”

Jesus said that Jonah the prophet spent three days in the belly of a great fish.

Matthew 12:38 (Jesus speaking)
38. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.''
39. But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40. "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Unbelievers will be punished in the Lake of Fire for eternity.

Matthew 25:41 (Jesus speaking)
41. "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, `Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

Revelation 20:10
10. And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire (Greek - limnen tou puros - lake of the fire) and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Greek - aionas ton aionon - eons of the eons).

The same Jesus who spoke the heavens and earth into existence is going to be the same Jesus who will speak the heavens and the earth out of existence and it won’t take Him six days to do it.

2 Peter 3:10
10. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

When the Lord creates a new heaven and a new earth, it won’t take Him another twenty billion years to get the whole thing cranked up and running, it will be instantaneous.

Revelation 21:1
1. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.

Nobody knows the exact time it will take place but the next event on God’s timetable is the Rapture or the “catching away” where all believers on earth will be taken out of the earth to be with Christ in Heaven and then, the dreaded, seven-year Tribulation will begin.

Revelation 3:10
10. "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Our English word "rapture" is derived from the Latin word "raptus" which means "to be seized" and the Latin word "raptus" is derived from the Greek word "harpazo" which means "to carry off by force." At the Rapture, all the souls of Old Testament and New Testament saints who are with Jesus in Heaven will be with Him when He comes in the air above the earth to empty the graves and reunite these souls with their new, glorified, incorruptible, and immortal bodies. Job, an Old Testament saint, knew that even though his original body would decay and be destroyed, he would, once again, see God with a new glorified body made of flesh and bones.

Job 19:26
26. and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God,

When Christ comes in the air, all the Christians who are alive on earth will also be changed into new glorified bodies and rise up to meet the Lord. A mystery was something that was once hidden in the Old Testament but is now revealed in the New Testament.

1 Corinthians 15:51
51. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed
52. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory.''
55. "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?''

1 Thessalonians 4:13
13. But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up (Greek - harpazo - to carry off by force) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

God's resurrection power raised Jesus from the dead and His same power will also raise all believers at the Rapture.

1 Corinthians 6:14
14. And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.

These new glorified bodies will be just like the new body that Jesus has which has flesh and bones, is in perfect condition without aches and pains, and is able to eat food and pass through walls.

Philippians 3:20
20. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21. who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

At the Rapture, everyone who has just been given their new glorified body will rise up to meet Jesus Christ in the air and will then join Him in Heaven at the Judgment Seat of Christ where they can be rewarded with up to five crowns.

The first crown, The Crown of Life, cannot be earned but is given to all Christians as evidence of their salvation.

James 1:12
12. Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

The five crowns that can be received as rewards are:

The Crown of Righteousness - 2 Timothy 4:8 - To all who have kept the faith and longed and loved for His return

The Crown of Rejoicing - 1Thesssalonians 2:19 - To all who have helped bring others to Christ

The Crown of Life - James 1:12 - To all who endure temptation and are faithful through trials and to those that love Him

The Crown of Glory - 1 Peter 5:1-4 - To all who serve and shepherd God’s people

The Imperishable Crown - 1 Corinthians 9:25 - To those who have had self-control in all things and led a righteous life.

Since we will have our new sinless and perfect glorified bodies, the awards ceremony will not be a judgment for sins but rather a judgment to determine the amounts and types of rewards. The believer will also forfeit rewards which he could have received, but he will not be punished in the judicial sense of “paying” for his sins. When the Greeks competed in games and a winner was declared, he went to the Bema to receive his laurel wreath.

2 Corinthians 5:10
10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat (Greek - bema - awards platform) of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (Greek - phaulos - worthless).

During our lives as a Christian, certain activities we perform have eternal value and others do not. This doesn't mean that they're good or evil; it is just that they have no eternal value. The activities with eternal value are called, "gold, silver, precious stones" and the stuff with no eternal value is designated as "wood, hay, straw."

Here's an example: If you mow your lawn, that activity has no eternal value. If you went over to your parent's home and mowed their lawn with a loving attitude; that would be "gold, silver, precious stones" but if you begrudgingly mowed their lawn; that would be "wood, hay, straw" and it would also be a sin. It's not only the act but the attitude behind the act that matters.

At the Judgment Seat of Christ, all of our accomplishments will pass through the fire. Obviously, the "wood, hay, straw" will be consumed and only the eternal stuff, "gold, silver, precious stones" will remain.

1 Corinthians 3:11
11. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13. each one's work will become manifest; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.
14. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

At the mid-point of the seven-year Tribulation, the Antichrist will stand in the newly rebuilt Jewish temple and demand to be worshipped. He will also mandate that everyone must receive the "mark of the beast." During the last half of this Great Tribulation, some unbelievers will be saved but it won’t be easy because these new Christians won’t allow the “mark of the beast” to be put on their right hand or forehead and therefore they won’t be able to buy or sell anything on the open market. In a cashless society, any deals will have to be made in secret. With today’s technology, it would be fairly simple to place a computer chip with a bar-code containing all of a person’s personal, financial, and medical information under their skin. Without the chip, they wouldn't be able to shop at the mall, have a checking or savings account, a credit or debit card, have access to their healthcare, Medicare, or Social Security, have a driver's license, register their car, pay their property taxes, pay their utilities, use public transportation, pass security checkpoints, gain entrance to their job site, or log onto their computers.

Revelation 13:16
16. And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
17. and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

During the Tribulation on earth, God will place His seal on 144,000 Jews so that they cannot be killed and they will then become extremely powerful messengers of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the rest of the unbelievers on earth. Since the time of Jesus Christ, all of the records have been destroyed and today, no Jew knows to which tribe he belongs. That's okay … God remembers!

Revelation 7:4
4. And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
5. of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6. of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7. of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8. of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

All the believers in Heaven are the bride of Jesus Christ and they will be joined to Him at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb while the Tribulation is still taking place on earth.

Revelation 19:7
7. "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.''
8. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9. Then he said to me, "Write: `Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' '' And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God.''

At the end of the Tribulation, all believers in Heaven, including those who died during the Tribulation, will join with Jesus and His angels when He returns to earth for His Second Coming. When the promised Jewish Messiah returns, He will come in great power and glory.

Mark 13:24 (Jesus speaking)
24. "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
25. "the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in heaven will be shaken.
26. "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

Revelation 19:11
11. Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
14. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
15. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

In the philosophy of naturalism, uniformitarianism assumes that the same natural laws and processes that operate in the universe now, have always operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe. It's frequently summarized as "the present is the key to the past," because it holds that all things continue as they were from the beginning of the world. People who hold to this philosophy are willfully ignorant of the Flood.

2 Peter 3:3
3. knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
4. and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.''
5. For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
6. by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
7. But the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store by the same word, reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Anyone who still thinks that Noah's Ark and the great Flood are no more than just a couple of fairy tales will be very surprised when Christ returns at His Second Coming and brings all believers from the beginning of time and a whole lot of angels with Him. All the Christians who survived the Tribulation on earth will be separated from all the unbelievers who will be taken out of the earth and thrown into the Lake of Fire that is reserved for Satan and his fallen angels. The Christians who survived the Tribulation will remain on earth to populate Christ’s Kingdom.

Matthew 24:37 (Jesus speaking)
37. "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
38. "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39. "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
40. "Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
41. "Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
42. "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

Matthew 25:32 (Jesus speaking)
32. "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33. "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34. "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, `Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
41. "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, `Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

Jesus will sit on His throne in Jerusalem and rule for one thousand years … the Millennium.

Micah 4:1
1. Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it.
2. Many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.'' For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

All the saints/believers from all the ages will have been given their new glorified bodies and will reign with Jesus Christ for a thousand years. All the Old Testament saints, all the New Testament saints, all the saints who were raised at the Rapture, and all the saints who died during the Tribulation will return with Jesus Christ at His Second Coming and will reign in His Kingdom.

Revelation 20:4
4. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

These glorified saints who returned to earth will not marry nor have children but will help Christ rule over people, angels, and nations in the Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 6:2
2. Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3. Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

Since people who became Christians during the Tribulation haven't been given their new glorified bodies, they will be able to have children but their children may or may not become Christians and this will create problems in the Kingdom. In the Kingdom, all the animals will live together peacefully.

Isaiah 11:6
6. "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
7. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den.

There will be no more fighting or wars. Earthly governments cannot and will not ever achieve world peace. World peace can only be possible when the Lord Jesus Christ is on His throne in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 2:4
4. He shall judge between the nations, and shall rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

There will be two major resurrections; the resurrection of the believers who died before the Rapture and the resurrection of the unbelievers at the end of the Millennium.

John 5:28 (Jesus speaking)
28. "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice
29. "and come forth those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

At the beginning of the Millennium, Satan and his fallen angels will be cast into the bottomless pit of Hades for 1,000 years. Then, at the end of the Millennium, Satan and his fallen angels will be released from Hades to deceive as many people as possible one last time.

Revelation 20:1
1. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
3. and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
7. Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison
8. and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth,

At the end of the Millennium, the Antichrist, Satan, and his fallen angels will be cast into the Lake of Fire to be tormented forever and ever. Then, all the unbelievers since the beginning of time will be resurrected and given a new body which will be able to feel pain and will be capable of lasing for eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ will sit on the Great White Throne of Judgment and all of the unredeemed, self-righteous people will be judged to see it they have lived a sinless life. Since it's impossible for anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ to have lived a sinless life, they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire that was reserved for Satan and his fallen angels where they will be tormented forever and ever.

Revelation 20:10
10. And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire (Greek - limnen tou puros - lake of the fire) and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Greek - aionas ton aionon - eons of the eons).
11. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
12. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
13. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades (Greek - Hades - the realm of the dead) delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
14. Then Death and Hades (Greek - Hades - the realm of the dead) were cast into the lake of fire (Greek - limnen tou puros - lake of the fire). This is the second death.
15. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire (Greek - limnen tou puros - lake of the fire).

Everlasting punishment will last for as long as eternal life because both words, everlasting and eternal, are translated from the same Greek word.

Matthew 25:46
46. "And these will go away into everlasting (Greek - aionios - without end, never to cease, everlasting, eternal) punishment, but the righteous into eternal (Greek - aionios - without end, never to cease, everlasting, eternal) life.''

God chose who He would give to His Son as a love gift and He wrote their names in the Lamb’s Book of Life before the heavens and the earth were created.

Revelation 21:27
27. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

The old heaven and earth will pass away and Christ and His believers will move to their new home … the New Jerusalem.

Revelation 21:1
1. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
2. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Jesus Christ).
3. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Jesus has already prepared a place for all believers in the New Jerusalem.

John 14:1 (Jesus speaking)
1. "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2. "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Some people don’t believe that there is a God.

Psalm 14:1
1. The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God.''

Many people say that they believe in God or some nonsense such as “the man upstairs.” That doesn’t prove a thing. Even Satan and his fallen angels believe in God and they're terrified because they know they're slowly running out of time.

James 2:19
19. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble!

Satan and his fallen angels know that Jesus is the Son of God and that, at the appointed time, Jesus is going to throw them into the Lake of Fire.

Mark 1:23
23. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
24. saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are the Holy One of God!''

Matthew 8:28
28. When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.
29. And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?''

There is only one God. There is only one way to Heaven. The one and only true Jehovah God is the Jewish God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:12
12. "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.''

All false teachers and false religions including Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, and Islam try to deny the Deity of Jesus Christ.

The founding prophet of the Mormon cult, Joseph Smith (1805-1844) built his first temple in Kirtland, Ohio. For several years, Joseph Smith had an adulterous affair with Fanny Alger, an adolescent household servant. After a warrant was issued for Smith's arrest on a charge of banking fraud, Smith fled Ohio for Missouri in 1938. In Missouri, Joseph Smith spent four months in prison on a charge of treason and after several failed attempts, Smith finally escaped and traveled to Illinois. In Illinois, Smith married about thirty women, ten of whom were already married to other men, and about a third of them were teenagers, including two fourteen-year-old girls. A grand jury indicted Smith on a charge of polygamy and because Smith induced his followers to fight against the state of Illinois, a charge of inciting a riot was increased to a charge of treason and he was put in jail with his brother Hyrum where they were killed when an armed mob stormed the jail.

Joseph Smith taught that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers. The Mormon teaching that Jesus and Satan are brothers is based on their concept of God being the Father of all pre-existent spirits. Since Jesus is the son of the Father and all other spirits, including Satan, are sons and daughters of the Father, then all are brothers and sisters. This idea has been part of Mormon teaching from the time of Joseph Smith and continues today.

In the Discourses of Brigham Young, on pages 53-54, he lets it be known that Lucifer is the second son, the one known as "Son of the Morning."

"Who will redeem the earth, who will go forth and make the sacrifice for the earth and all things it contains?" The Eldest Son said: "Here am I"; and then he added, "Send me." But the second one, which was "Lucifer, Son of the Morning," said, "Lord, here am I, send me, I will redeem every son and daughter of Adam and Eve that lives on the earth, or that ever goes on the earth."

Jesus is God and before He died on the cross, He had a body made of flesh and bones. Even after His resurrection, His new glorified body is made of flesh and bones. Jesus said that God the Father is a spirit being and a spirit being does not have flesh and bones.

Luke 24:39 (Jesus speaking)
39. "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.''

John 4:24 (Jesus speaking)
24. "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.''

The Mormons believe that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones.

"The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's," (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22; Compare with Alma 18:26-27; 22:9-10).

Mormons also believe in speaking in tongues. The Seventh Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says, "We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth."

The Mormons put two other books, written by Joseph Smith, on a par with Scripture: The Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. From these "further revelations" come error after error concerning God, Christ, the nature of man, theological chaos, and other damnable heresies.

In addition to Mormonism, another popular cult is the Jehovah's Witnesses. The founding prophet of the Jehovah's Witness cult, Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916), claimed that his followers shouldn't pray to Jesus because Jesus is really Michael the Archangel, a created spirit being.

Jesus proved that He wasn't a created spirit being when He appeared to His followers after He was raised from the dead. A spirit being does not have flesh and bones.

Luke 24:39 (Jesus speaking)
39. "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.''

Russell predicted that Jesus would come to earth in 1844 and when that didn’t happen, a new date of 1874 was predicted and when that didn’t happen, a new date of 1914 was predicted.

"... we consider it an established truth that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished by the end of A.D. 1914." -- Charles Taze Russell, The Time is at Hand, page 99.

When that didn’t happen, Russell said that Jesus/Michael did come to earth this time but was invisible.

"The foremost angel, both in power and authority, is the archangel, Jesus Christ, also called Michael." -- The Watchtower, November 1, 1995, page 8.

The Watchtower’s next leader, Joseph F. Rutherford (1869-1942), predicted that the final world battle, Armageddon, would come in 1925.

"The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures because it is fixed by the law God gave to Israel. Viewing the present situation in Europe, one wonders how it will be possible to hold back the explosion much longer; and that even before 1925 the great crisis will be reached and probably passed." -- The Watchtower, 1 September 1922, page 262.

When Armageddon didn’t happen in 1925, a new date of 1975 was predicted and then, when that didn’t happen, a new date of 1985 was predicted and then, when that didn’t happen, a new date of 1989 was predicted and when that didn’t happen … Maybe it’s time for the false prophets of the Jehovah’s Witnesses to quit predicting dates.

Satan is the deceiver and the father of all false prophets and cults. We are to test the prophets to see if they are from God. Any prophet who denies that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.

2 John 1:7
7. For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

I cannot possibly understand how a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness cult member could read these verses and remain a member of those cults.

1 John 4:1
1. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3. and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

Colossians 2:9 is only one of many verses that the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses mistranslates in order to keep from having to admit that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. As with all false religions, their own writings are their worst enemies. The Watchtower and Tract Society has printed two interlinear Bibles, the first in 1969 and the newer one in 1985. An interlinear Bible is a great learning tool and I highly recommend using one. On one side of the page is the Greek text from which we get our New Testament and under each Greek word is the literal English translation. On the other side of the page is the English text of some version of the Bible. The independent and unbiased Westcott and Hort Greek text, on which many Bibles are based, was used in both of their interlinears. In the 1969 version, at the end of verse 9, the Greek word is Theotetos and the literal English word underneath it is Godship. Just to the right of it is their New World Translation with the errant translation of “divine quality.” Of course, the literal English word, Godship, created a lot of problems for the Watchtower because they will do anything to keep from having to admit that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh and any novice could plainly see that the translation of “divine quality” was incorrect.

In the newer version of their interlinear Bible (Kingdom Interlinear Translation - 1985) that they print and sell, the Jehovah’s Witnesses altered the Westcott and Hort text by changing the literal English translation of the Greek word Theotetos from Godship to “divinity” and their New World Translation of “divine quality” stayed the same as before in the 1969 version. To knowingly substitute the meaning of one word for the meaning of another word is blatant dishonesty and to be caught altering the Westcott and Hort text is truly a “gotcha” moment.

To give you an idea of how two quality Bibles translate Theotetos, the New King James Version of the Bible translates Theotetos as Godhead and the New American Standard Bible translates Theotetos as Deity. One more problem: The Watchtower will not identify the supposed Greek scholar(s) who did the translation for their New World Translation Bible so no one can check on their credentials. All other Bibles plainly identify the Greek scholars who contributed to the work of translating the various texts.

The Watchtower mistranslated the Greek word Theotetos as if it were theiotes - divinity, divine nature, the attributes of deity, the qualities of a lower level or ordinary deity instead of the actual word, Theotetos - Godship, Godhead, or Absolute Supreme Deity. To state it another way: Theotetos refers to the actual essence of Absolute Deity and not simply to the attributes or qualities of a deity. Although the two words appear to share the same etymology, they are derived from different root words.

Because of all of this, it's difficult to get a Jehovah’s Witness to sell you a copy of their Kingdom Interlinear Translation (KIT). They will generally say it’s on backorder. They will take your phone number, promise to call when it becomes available, but never call you back. Fortunately, both the 1969 and the 1985 KIT can still be downloaded for free from the internet. The word Theotetos is the strongest and the most unambiguously decisive word that the Greek language affords. There is nothing in Almighty God that is not in Jesus Christ.

Colossians 2:9
9. For in Him (Jesus Christ) dwells (Greek - katoikeo - to take up permanent residence) all the fullness (Greek - pleroma - completely full, like a sack of grain that has been filled to the top and then pounded down and then filled again to overflowing, stuffed full) of the Godhead (Greek – Theotetos - Absolute Supreme Deity) bodily (Greek – somatikos - in human flesh);

An expanded translation of the verse would read:

“For in Jesus Christ permanently resides all the stuffed fullness of Absolute Supreme Deity in human flesh”

It's absolutely impossible to say it any clearer than that! Just so that the false teachers cannot easily propagate their lies, God says it over and over again. Jesus Christ is God in human flesh.

Colossians 1:15
15. He is the image of the invisible God,
16. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

John 14:6 (Jesus speaking)
6. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
7. "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.''
8. Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.''
9. Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, `Show us the Father'?

1 Timothy 3:16
16. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.

In every instance where the Deity of Jesus Christ is mentioned, the Jehovah Witnesses add a letter or a word in an effort to change the meaning of the verse. Here is just another instance of their dishonesty:

This is what the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation Bible says:

John 1:1
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was "a" God.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that there are many gods and so they try to throw in an extra "a". Here is the correct version without the added “a”.

John 1:1
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Deity of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of Christianity. Jehovah Witnesses try to make it seem that Jesus is just one of many gods but not part of the Trinity composed of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In His time on earth, Jesus Christ voluntarily laid aside His prerogatives of being equal with God the Father, humbled Himself to become a man, submitted Himself to only do the will of God the Father, and acted only through the power of God the Holy Spirit. Carefully read where verse 10 says, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,” and understand that to bow is to worship. All the beings in Heaven and on earth are commanded to worship Jesus. Many times over, the Bible says that we are to only worship God. Therefore, it's plainly understood that Jesus is God.

Philippians 2:5
5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6. who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7. but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant (Greek - doulos - slave), and coming in the likeness of men.
8. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Only God can accept worship. Satan tried to get Jesus to worship him but failed.

Matthew 4:9
9. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.''
10. Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, `You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.' ''

It's a sin for a man to accept worship. Jesus accepted worship. Therefore, Jesus is God.

Matthew 8:2
2. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.''
3. Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed.'' And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Matthew 9:18
18. While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.''

Matthew 14:33
33. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God.''

John 9:35 (Jesus speaking)
35. He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?''
36. He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?''
37. And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.''
38. Then he said, "Lord, I believe!'' And he worshiped Him.

Jehovah’s Witnesses try to say that there are many lesser gods than the Almighty God but the Bible says that Jesus is equal to Jehovah/God the Father and is called “our great God.”

Titus 2:13
13. looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Jesus is also called “Mighty God.”

Isaiah 9:6
6. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Just one chapter later, Jehovah/God the Father is called the Mighty God.

Isaiah 10:20
20. And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, will never again depend on him who defeated them, but will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God.

Jehovah/God the Father called God the Son, “God.”

Hebrews 1:8
8. But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom.

Jehovah/God the Father called God the Son, “Lord” and said the Jesus created the heavens and the earth.

Hebrews 1:10
10. And: "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands;

Only God can forgive sins against God. Jesus is able to forgive sins. Therefore, Jesus is God. If you do something to wrong me, my friends cannot forgive you … only I can forgive you. The same is true with God. If you sin against God, only God can forgive you. Since Jesus Christ is God, He can forgive you of all your sins against God.

1John 1:7
7. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

In the time of Jesus, the Jews were under the rule of the Roman Empire and didn't have the power to put someone to death. The Jewish leaders incited the masses to the point of a riot in order to force the Roman rulers to execute Jesus. They said Jesus blasphemed by claiming to be equal with Jehovah/God the Father which was a capital offense.

John 10:30 (Jesus speaking)
30. "I and My Father are one.''
31. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
32. Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?''
33. The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.''

Matthew 26:64
64. Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.''
65. Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!
66. "What do you think?'' They answered and said, "He is deserving of death.''

It’s not blasphemy if it’s true. In the beginning, all three, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit created the heavens and the earth.

***** God the Father created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1
1. In the beginning God (Hebrew - ‘elohiym - plural - Gods) created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:26
26. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.''
27. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

***** God the Son created the heavens and the earth.

John 1:1
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2. He was in the beginning with God.
3. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Ephesians 3:9
9. which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;

Colossians 1:16
16. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Hebrews 1:1
1. God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets.
2. has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

***** God the Holy Spirit was also present at the beginning of creation.

Genesis 1:2
2. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

***** All of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit were together at the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry. Contrary to the popular perception, the Holy Spirit isn't manifested in the form of a dove. The Holy Spirit had some sort of a visible form and came to gently rest, like a dove, on Jesus as an affirmation that Jesus was the Son of God.

Luke 3:21
21. Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
22. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.''

God the Father also spoke and confirmed that Jesus is His Son at the Transfiguration of Christ.

Matthew 17:1
1. Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, brought them up on a high mountain by themselves,
2. and was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
5. behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!''

The word “Trinity” is just a theological term used to describe the triune or three persons in one God concept and this fact is mentioned many times in the Bible.

John 17:20 (Jesus speaking)
20. "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
21. "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22. "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
23. "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

2 Corinthians 13:14
14. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

The Trinity is also mentioned in the Old Testament. All three persons of the Triune God are mentioned in verse 16 when Jesus says that the Lord God and His Spirit sent Him. Jesus not only laid the foundation of the earth but He is also the First and the Last and our Redeemer.

Isaiah 48:12 (Jesus speaking)
12. "Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last.
13. Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand up together.
16. "Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord God and His Spirit have sent Me.''
17. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go.

The Holy Spirit is a person and is always referred to as He.

John 15:26 (Jesus speaking)
26. “But when the Helper (God the Holy Spirit) comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

John 16:13 (Jesus speaking)
13. "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

When you lie to the Holy Spirit, You lie to God.

Acts 5:3
3. Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit
4. You have not lied to men but to God.''

All believers are baptized in the name of all three persons of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19
19. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

It is fortunate that today’s believers don’t have to use the faith that the Old Testament saints had to use. It is easier for us to trust in God because, for the last two thousand years, we've had proof of the risen Lord. From the time that God created Adam and Eve to the time of the Flood, less than 2,000 years, it had never rained before but, on faith, over a period of about 100 years, Noah built a big rectangular box that was 300 cubits (450 feet - a cubit is 18 inches) long, 50 cubits (75 feet) wide, and 30 cubits (45 feet) tall. In our system of measurement, that’s 1,518,750 cubic feet! That’s a string of cubic-foot boxes extending for 287.6 miles. Obviously, the Lord thought that a very large box was needed to save eight people and a whole bunch of animals. Just imagine the faith that Noah had and the ridicule that he must have received from his friends and neighbors, decade after decade, while he and his sons built that big box.

Hebrews 11:1
1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

God made a covenant with Abraham, the father of the Jews, and the Lord will not go back on His word. God’s eternal plan will never be thwarted by anyone … Jews or Gentiles. After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait until God the Holy Spirit came to them. When the Holy Spirit came to the disciples and filled them with His Spirit on the day of Pentecost, Peter spoke to a large crowd and explained to the Jews that they had killed their Messiah. Peter then invited them to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and three thousand were saved.

Acts 2:22
22. "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know
23. "Him, being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
24. "whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
25. "For David says concerning Him: `I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken;
26. therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh will also rest in hope,
27. because You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
28. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of joy in Your presence.'
29. "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30. "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
31. "he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
32. "This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.
33. "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
34. "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: `The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand,
35. till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'' '
36. "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.''
37. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?''
38. Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39. "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.''
40. And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation.''
41. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
42. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

The Jews are and will forever be God’s chosen people. When the Jews rejected their Messiah, God cut the Jews out of the good olive tree and grafted the Gentiles into the good olive tree to spread the gospel. When the Rapture happens, Jesus will harvest all the believers, who are mainly Gentiles, out of the good olive tree and take them with Him to Heaven. Then God will graft the Jews into the good olive tree again. The Jews will finally do as they should have done 2,000 years ago and spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 11:17
17. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,
18. do not boast against the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19. You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.''
20. Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
21. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
22. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
23. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these, who are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25. For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
26. And so all Israel will be saved

God made a covenant with Abraham to preserve the Jews. There's a difference between one who physically lives in Israel and one who has spiritually identified himself with Israel and remained faithful to the true God.

Romans 9:6
6. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,

True Jewish circumcision is not of the flesh but of the heart.

Romans 2:28
28. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh;
29. but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart,

Since the beginning, starting with Adam and Eve, Satan has been trying to destroy God’s chosen people. It’s still the same old God verses Satan struggle. Satan wants to destroy Israel and anyone who tries to defend her. All individuals and nations should take heed because God will bless us or curse us based on how we treat His chosen people, the Jews.

Genesis 12:3
3. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.''

Hebrews 8:10
10. "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days,'' says the Lord, "I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Because the Jews at first rejected their Messiah, God turned to the Gentiles.

John 1:11
11. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

Acts 13:46
46. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

In the parable that Jesus told about a landowner who planted a vineyard and the tenants who killed his son, Jesus was speaking about the Jews who would reject Him and the Gentiles who would receive Him.

Matthew 21:33 (Jesus speaking)
33. "Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.
34. "Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.
35. "And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.
36. "Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.
37. "Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, `They will respect my son.'
38. "But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, `This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'
39. "And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40. "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?''
41. They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.''
42. Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: `The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?
43. "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.
44. "And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.''
45. Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.
46. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

Even though the religious leaders of Israel rejected their Messiah, when the fullness of the Gentiles has come, God will return His hand of blessing to His chosen people, the Jews. Since the 2,000 years of Christ's church exist as a parenthesis between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel's Prophesy, the Jews have to be in the Holy Land when the Rapture takes place so that the final 7 years, Daniel's 70th week, can immediately begin. Before or during the Tribulation, the Jews will rebuild their temple. This will create a major problem because the Muslims built a mosque on top of the old Jewish temple and it will have to be torn down before the new temple can be built.

Acts 15:13
13. And after they had become silent, James (the half-brother of Jesus) answered, saying, "Men and brethren, listen to me:
14. "Simon (Peter) has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.
15. "And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:
16. `After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David (the Jewish temple) which has fallen down. I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up,
17. so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who does all these things.'

It has always been God's plan that the nation of Israel will someday fulfill its intended destiny of introducing the world to the Messiah. At the Lord's Second Coming, all the nations in the Kingdom will be led by the Jews to Jerusalem to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

Zechariah 8:20
20. "Thus says the Lord of hosts: `Peoples shall yet come, inhabitants of many cities;
21. the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, "Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord, and seek the Lord of hosts. I myself will go also.''
22. Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.'
23. "Thus says the Lord of hosts: `In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'' ' ''

The one and only true Jehovah God is the Jewish God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The religion of Islam is satanic in origin and is utterly incompatible with Christianity. Some misinformed people say that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Nothing could be further from the truth. Muslims say that anyone who worships the God of the Bible is a blaspheming, infidel apostate. Allah is not another name for God. Allah is another name for Satan.

Muslims insist that Allah alone is the one true deity. Islam rejects the God of the Bible, the Deity of Jesus Christ, and the Trinity. Islam denies that Jesus died on the cross and that He was raised from the dead. Instead, Muslims say that Jesus was but one of thousands of prophets sent by Allah, the greatest of them being Muhammad. Clearly, Islam and Christianity are mutually exclusive. Both claim to be the only true way to God but both cannot be right.

John 14:6 (Jesus speaking)
6. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Before the everlasting and true Jehovah/God the Father changed Abram’s name to Abraham and saved him, Abram lived among pagans who had 360 different gods … a different god for every day of the 360-day year. According to Islam, Allah, the god of Muhammad, is the supreme pagan deity. He is the Moon-god who was married to the sun goddess and the stars were his daughters and that's why the Muslims have the crescent moon symbol on their flags and mosques.

Abraham had two sons, Isaac from his wife, Sarah, and Ishmael from an Egyptian slave girl. God’s covenant promise of a Kingdom and a Messiah went to Abraham’s son, Isaac. Then God’s promise was passed on to Isaac’s second son, Jacob and then God chose to give him the new name of Israel. Muhammad claimed that he was a descendent of Abraham’s other son, Ishmael, and thus he's not in God’s chosen lineage. Muhammad’s life wasn't what you would expect from someone who claimed to be a prophet.

Muhammad (570-632 A.D.) died from an illness when he was 62. At the age of 5, Muhammad’s mother gave him away to another tribe and they in turn gave him away to other tribes. He grew up feeling angry and rejected. When he was 25, Muhammad married his first wife when she was 40 but he quit seeing her when she became toothless. Muhammad made his son divorce his wife so he could marry her. In his lifetime, Muhammad was married to 11 or more wives and even today Islam still allows its followers to have four wives at the same time.

When Muhammad was 40 years old, he singlehandedly, began writing the Qur’an. It contains countless contradictions and a plethora of scientific and historical errors. The inspirational experience was described by Muhammad to be like a bell, clanging in his head, causing him to shake and sweat profusely. Following his first Qur’anic revelation, Muhammad claimed to have been demon possessed. By his own admission, he tried to commit suicide. Those who knew him best, his family and neighbors, said that he had gone mad.

When Muhammad was 50 years old, he married a 6 year old girl named Aisha and then when Muhammad was 53 years old he had sex with his 9 year old bride.

In Mecca, after a decade of preaching, as few as fifty men chose to follow Muhammad. But that all changed in Medina when Muhammad was 50 years old. There, according to the Qur’an and Hadith, Muhammad became a political tyrant, a terrorist, and a thief. His willingness to lead seventy-five armed raids against defenseless civilians swelled his ranks as swiftly as the spoils of “war” filled his pockets. Equipped with booty stolen from others, Muhammad and his followers conquered and then plundered their neighbors. The only choice they offered their victims was “your money or your life.” It’s not hard to understand why Muhammad is called a pedophile, pirate, and mass murderer.

For those who support the politically inspired notion that terrorism isn't condoned by Islam and that terrorists have corrupted an otherwise peaceful religion, consider this: The world’s foremost authority on the Qur’an is sheik Abdel Rahman. He was the senior professor of Qur’anic studies at Islam’s most prestigious university, Al-Azhar, in Cairo, Egypt. Today, the sheik is a convicted terrorist and is serving time in an American prison for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

The Qur’an may be the worst book ever written. It's jumbled together haphazardly almost as if verses were tossed into the air, blown by the wind, and then pieced together as they were plucked from the sand. Much of the Qur’an is plagiarized from uninspired Jewish writings, most often from the Jewish Talmud. Allah’s book is repetitive to a fault. The same stories are retold dozens of times.
http://www.ProphetOfDoom.net

There are three things you must know about Islam:

1. Islam is not a peaceful religion that has been hijacked

The Qur’an is only one book, written by one man in his own lifetime. It's meant to be taken literally, and it's not full of symbolism or vague analogies. It's mostly direct commands. The Qur’an contains contradictory statements, but the Qur’an itself provides the reader with a way to know what to do with the contradictions.

It's explained in the Qur’an that if you have two passages that contradict each other, the one written later supersedes the one written earlier. Most people are unaware that the peaceful, tolerant passages were written early in Muhammad’s prophetic career. According to the Qur’an, those passages have been abrogated by later, more violent and less tolerant passages.

In Islam, there's no picking and choosing which verse to believe. It says very explicitly and in no uncertain terms that a Muslim must not alter or ignore any part of its very clear and direct message or they will burn in a fiery torment forever.

2. Striving to introduce worldwide Shari’a law is a religious duty

Many people don’t realize how politically oriented Islam is at its core. In fact, Islam is less of a “religion” than it is a “religious ideology”. It includes a mandatory and highly specific legal and political plan for the whole of society: Shari’a.

There's no separation between the religious and the political in Islam; rather Islam and Shari’a constitute a totalitarian means of ordering society at every level, including ritual worship, transactions and contracts, morals and manners, beliefs and punishments.

In the Qur’an, Muhammad makes it clear that man-made governments (such as a democracy) and free speech (such as criticizing the Qur’an) are abominations and must be eliminated. The modern expression, “creeping Shari’a” is used to describe the slow, deliberate and methodical advance of Islamic law in non-Muslim countries.

As written in the Qur’an, Shari’a is the law of Allah. Any other form of government is a sin. It is the duty of every Muslim to keep striving until all governments have been converted to Shari’a law.

3. Muslims are allowed to deceive non-Muslims if it helps Islam

For non-Muslims this principle, called Taqiyya, is another surprising concept of Islam. While most other religions speak highly of truthfulness, the Qur’an instructs Muslims to lie to non-Muslims about their beliefs and their political ambitions to protect and spread Islam.

There're many examples of today’s Islamic leaders saying one thing in English for the Western press, and then saying something entirely different to their own followers in Arabic a few days later.

Deceiving the enemy is always useful in war, and Islam is at war with the non-Islamic world until the whole world follows Shari’a law. All non-Muslims living in non-Islamic states are therefore enemies. So deceiving Westerners is totally acceptable … even encouraged … if it can forward the goals of the spread of Islam.

Muslim organizations worldwide often declare that Islam is a religion of peace, but what does that really mean? It seems easy for a Muslim to quote a peaceful verse from the early parts of the Qur’an while, by following the principle of Taqiyya, neglecting to mention the fact that it has been officially abrogated by later, more violent verses.

According to the Qur’an, the world will be at peace only when Islam and Shari’a reign in every country … and never until then.

The religion of Islam isn't a peaceful religion that has been hijacked by extremists; it's a religion of violence and the true believers do exactly what the Qur’an teaches. The so-called “middle of the road” disobedient Muslims who don’t follow all the teachings of the Qur’an are just like the “middle of the road” disobedient Christians who don’t follow all the teachings of the Bible. Both groups treat their Bibles and Qur’ans as if they were at a smorgasbord. In Christianity, they're known as “Cafeteria Christians” and they pick and choose what they wish to believe. People should not delude themselves into thinking that they are Christians unless they accept the whole Bible. The Lord won't have anything to do with lukewarm believers.

Revelation 3:15
15. "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
16. "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth.

According to the laws of hermeneutics, the so-called Muslim extremists are merely doing exactly what the Qur’an teaches when they declare a Jihad, a holy war, against Jews and Christians. If a person follows Islam and does enough good deeds to outweigh the bad, Allah may allow him to enter paradise, but even then he can’t be certain. The only sure pathway to paradise is to be killed in a Jihad. This Jihad will not end until all Jews and Christians convert to Islam or are killed. Many Qur’an verses instruct Muslims to fight against unbelievers.

Qur'an 8:12. I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: Smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them.

Qur'an 5:33. The punishment of those who wage war against Allah is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides … that is their disgrace in this world.

Qur'an 5:51. O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them.

Qur'an 5:72. They do blaspheme who say: "Allah is Christ the son of Mary"

Qur'an 5:73. They do blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a Trinity: for there is no god except One God (Allah). If they desist not from their word (of blasphemy), verily a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among them.

Qur’an 9:5. (known as the verse of the sword) But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war);

Despite their many differences, Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, and Roman Catholicism have two things in common: All of them reject the Jesus of the Bible and all have Satan for their father. God pronounces a curse against all false teachers.

1 Corinthians 16:22
22. If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed.

Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, priest, and Doctor of Theology, was a professor of sacred theology at the Catholic university in Wittenberg, Germany. In 1517, He confronted the indulgence salesmen of the Catholic Church with his “95 Theses.” Luther strongly disputed their claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin could be purchased with money. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms meeting in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor.

Martin Luther was correct when he proclaimed, “Sola Scriptura” (the Bible only). All false religions err when they add or detract from the Bible. In Roman Catholicism, “the Word of God” encompasses not only the Bible, but also the Apocrypha, the Magisterium (the Catholic Church’s authority to teach and interpret divine truth), the pope’s ex-cathedra pronouncements, and an indefinite body of Catholic Church tradition, some formalized in canon law and some not yet committed to writing. Whereas evangelical Protestants believe the Bible is the ultimate test of all truth, Roman Catholics believe the Catholic Church determines what is true and what is not. In effect, this makes the Catholic Church a higher authority than Scripture.

Creeds and doctrinal statements are certainly important. However, creeds, decisions of Protestant church councils, all doctrine, and even the Protestant church itself must be judged by Scripture … not vice versa. Scripture is to be accurately interpreted in its context by comparing it to Scripture … certainly not according to anyone’s personal whims. Scripture itself is thus the sole binding rule of faith and practice for all Christians. Protestant creeds and doctrinal statements simply express the Protestant churches’ collective understanding of the proper interpretation of Scripture. In no sense could the creeds and pronouncements of the Protestant churches ever constitute an authority equal to or higher than Scripture. Scripture always takes priority over all Protestant churches in the rank of authority.

Roman Catholicism, on the other hand, teaches that the infallible touchstone of truth is the Catholic Church itself. The Catholic Church not only infallibly determines the proper interpretation of Scripture, but also supplements Scripture with additional traditions and teachings. That combination of Catholic Church tradition plus the Catholic Church’s interpretation of Scripture is what constitutes the binding rule of faith and practice for Catholics. The fact is, the Catholic Church sets itself above Holy Scripture in rank of authority.

Matthew 15:3 (Jesus speaking)
3. But He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?

Mark 7:7 (Jesus speaking)
7. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

The Roman Catholic Church also errs in its teaching on the most fundamental doctrines of justification and sanctification. According to Roman Catholicism, justification is a process in which God’s grace is poured forth into the sinner’s heart, making that person progressively more righteous. During this process, it's the sinner’s responsibility to preserve and increase that grace by various good works. The means by which justification is initially obtained is not faith, but the sacrament of baptism. Furthermore, justification is forfeited whenever the believer commits a mortal sin, such as hatred or adultery. In the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, then, works are necessary both to begin and to continue the process of justification.

The error in the Catholic Church’s position on justification may be summed up in four biblical arguments:

First, scripture presents justification as instantaneous, not gradual. Contrasting the proud Pharisee with the broken, repentant tax-gatherer who smote his breast and prayed humbly for divine mercy, Jesus said that the tax-gatherer “went down to his house justified” (Luke 18:14). His justification was instantaneous, complete before he performed any work, based solely on his repentant faith. Jesus also said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24). Eternal life is the present possession of all who believe … and, by definition, eternal life cannot be lost. The one who believes immediately passes from spiritual death to eternal life, because that person is instantaneously justified (see Romans 5:1, 9; 8:1).

Second, justification means the sinner is declared righteous, not actually made righteous. This goes hand in hand with the fact that justification is instantaneous. There is no process to be performed … justification is purely a forensic reality, a declaration God makes about the sinner. Justification takes place in the court of God, not in the soul of the sinner. It is an objective fact, not a subjective phenomenon, and it changes the sinner’s status, not his nature. Justification is an immediate decree, a divine “not guilty” verdict on behalf of the believing sinner in which God declares him to be righteous in His sight.

Third, the Bible teaches that justification means righteousness is imputed, not infused. Righteousness is “reckoned,” or credited to the account of those who believe (Romans 4:3-25). They stand justified before God not because of their own righteousness (Romans 3:10), but because of a perfect righteousness outside themselves that is reckoned to them by faith (Philippians 3:9). Where does that perfect righteousness come from? It is God’s own righteousness (Romans 10:3), and it is the believer’s in the person of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30). Christ’s own perfect righteousness is credited to the believer’s personal account (Romans 5:17, 19), just as the full guilt of the believer’s sin was imputed to Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). The only merit God accepts for salvation is that of Jesus Christ; nothing man can ever do could earn God’s favor or add anything to the merit of Christ.

Fourth and finally, Scripture clearly teaches that man is justified by faith alone, not by faith plus works. According to the Apostle Paul, “If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace” (Romans 11:6). Elsewhere Paul testifies, “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, that no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, emphasis added; see Acts 16:31 and Romans 4:3-6). In fact, it is clearly taught throughout Scripture that “a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Romans 3:28; see Galatians 2:16; Romans 9:31-32; 10:3).

In contrast, Roman Catholicism places an undue stress on human works. Catholic doctrine denies that God “justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4:5) without first making them godly. Good works therefore become the grounds for justification. As thousands of former Catholics will testify, Roman Catholic doctrine and liturgy obscure the essential truth that the believer is saved by grace through faith and not by his own works (Ephesians 2:8-9). In a simple sense, Catholics genuinely believe they are saved by doing good, confessing sin, and observing ceremonies. Justification is also referred to as receiving Christ. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that all you have to do to receive Christ is to drop your jaw, open your mouth, and stick out your tongue to receive a wafer of bread.

Adding works to faith as the grounds of justification is precisely the teaching that Paul condemned as “a different gospel.”

Galatians 1:6
6. I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,

A different gospel nullifies the grace of God, for if meritorious righteousness can be earned through the sacraments, “then Christ died needlessly.”

Galatians 2:21
21. "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.''

Any system that mingles works with grace, then, is “a different gospel,” a distorted message that is anathematized, not by a council of medieval bishops, but by the very Word of God that cannot be broken.

Galatians 1:9
9. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

In fact, it does not overstate the case to say that the Roman Catholic view on justification sets it apart as a wholly different religion than the true Christian faith, for it is antithetical to the simple gospel of grace.

Galatians 1:7
7. but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
8. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

As long as the Roman Catholic Church continues to assert its own authority and bind its people to “another gospel,” it is the spiritual duty of all true Christians to oppose Roman Catholic doctrine with biblical truth and to call all Catholics to true salvation. Meanwhile, evangelicals must not capitulate to the pressures for artificial unity. They cannot allow the gospel to be obscured, and they cannot make friends with false religion, lest they become partakers in their evil deeds.

2 John 1:11
11. for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

The only basis of true fellowship is agreement in doctrinal principles. A Christian cannot share a podium with a Catholic. Their appearance together would only serve to confuse the ignorant.

As one of its primary teachings, The Catholic Church pronounces anathema on anyone who does not believe in the Doctrine of Transubstantiation. This doctrine is just too bizarre to be believed. Catholics must believe that, at every mass, a magic show takes place: All ordinary priests supposedly have the power to change ordinary bread and wine into the actual flesh and blood of Jesus Christ even though the bread and the wine still look and taste the same as before.

Over the last few centuries, the teachings regarding the worship of Mary have been evolving. The Catholic Church now teaches that all Catholics have to believe, under penalty of anathema, that Mary also had a virgin birth, lived a sinless life of perpetual virginity, didn’t deliver Jesus through the birth canal, and didn’t die but just bodily assumed into Heaven.

Contrary to Catholic teachings, Mary was not a perpetual virgin. It’s absolutely true that Mary, being a virgin, gave birth to Jesus but then Joseph and his wife, Mary, had a normal life and had four more sons and at least two more daughters.

Matthew 13:55
55. "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers (Greek - adelphos - of the same womb) James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
56. "And His sisters, are they not all with us?

None of His half-brothers or half-sisters believed in Jesus until they saw Him after His resurrection.

John 7:5
5. For even His brothers (Greek - adelphos - of the same womb) did not believe in Him.

Incidentally, one of Jesus’ half-brothers, James, wrote the epistle James and another half-brother, Judas, wrote the epistle Jude.

Galatians 1:19
19. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother (Greek - adelphos - of the same womb).

The Roman Catholic Church also says that Catholics must believe, under penalty of anathema, that they can pray to and worship Mary and that Mary is a “co-redeemer” and “co-mediatrix” with Christ. There is only one Mediator, Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 2:5
5. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

Catholics say that we have to pray to Mary because only a mother could get her son to answer our prayers. The Bible says that Jesus hears and answers our prayers.

1 John 5:14
14. Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

I always ask Catholics if they ever get the feeling that Mary isn’t listening to their prayers. Only God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient and since Mary isn’t God, she is not omniscient. In fact, there is nothing in the Bible to indicate that people in Heaven have any knowledge or awareness of anything on earth. It is ridiculous to think that people who are in the presence of a sinless God would want to have their holy environment invaded with all the sins that are on the earth. All that aside, even if Mary wanted, she could only listen to one prayer at a time and could not possibly listen to the millions upon millions of prayers directed to her every day. In addition, since she doesn’t have supernatural hearing, for Mary to be able to hear those worshipers, they would have to shout loud enough to be heard all the way up to Heaven. Good luck with that!

Catholics also pray the rosary beads and they repeat the same prayers over and over again (vain repetitions). The rosary beads have five “Our Fathers” and fifty “Hail Marys” so Catholics say ten prayers to Mary for every one they pray to the Lord. Jesus taught His disciples that they could pray directly to the Father and they wouldn’t need to yell in order for God to hear them.

Matthew 6:5 (Jesus speaking)
5. "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
6. "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
7. "But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8. “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
9. In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10. Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11. Give us this day our daily bread.
12. And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13. And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Numerous mother/child cult religions existed before the time of Christ. Way back in Genesis chapter 10, Nimrod was born and he had a wife by the name of Semiramis. She supposedly conceived a son by a sunbeam. Her son’s name was Tammuz and she offered this son as a promised deliverer. When Tammuz grew up, a wild boar killed him. After forty days of his mother's crying, he arose from the dead. Lent was this forty-day period of weeping for Tammuz before the feast, which celebrated his resurrection in the spring. They worshiped Semiramis by offering a wafer to her and her title was the Queen of Heaven. The worship of Semiramis also involved priests, sacramental rites, burning of incense, dedication of virgins, and purgatory. This is the basis of the harlot’s worship and Roman Catholicism.

Jeremiah 44:17
17. "But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her,

Ezekiel 8:14
14. So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord's house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.

Satan is the father of all mother/child cults:
In Babylon, it is Semiramis and her son, Tammuz.
In Egypt, it is Isis and her son, Osiris.
In Phoenicia, it is Ashtoreth and her son, Baal.
In India, it is Devaki and her son, Krishna.
In Greece, it is Aphrodite and her son, Eros.
In Rome, it is Venus and her son, Cupid.
In Roman Catholicism, it is the Queen of Heaven and her son.

When the Roman Empire finally became the dominate world empire, Julius Caesar had all the priestesses and priests of Semiramis move from Pergamos to Rome. When the worship of Semiramis arrived in Rome, the chief priest in Rome took the title Pontifex Maximum and it was imprinted on his miter. The title had to do with the worship of a god called Dagon the Fish-god. From then on, every emperor in Rome wore the title Pontifex Maximum. It had nothing to do with Christianity; it meant you were the chief priest of the worship of Semiramis. Do you know who wears that title today? The pope! The pope isn't the direct successor of Peter; he's a servant of Satan, Dagon the Fish-god, and the Babylonian mystery religions. The chief priest of Dagon the Fish-god always wore a big hat with two tall peaks that looked like a big fish with its mouth open. All popes wear that same style hat even to this day.

Judges 16:23
23. Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice.

Satan couldn’t destroy true Christianity with killings and persecutions so when Julius Caesar brought the Babylonian mystery religion to Rome, Satan started to merge the names and events of the Babylonian religion with the names and events associated with Christianity and this is the basis of Roman Catholicism. In 325 A.D., Constantine, the ruler of the Roman Empire, said, by proclamation, that all Roman citizens were to automatically become Christians and all non-conformists were to be punished. Satan hoped that by adding millions of non-Christians to the true Christians, he would water down and destroy Christ’s Church. As a way to make sure that all future people were included, he introduced infant baptism. In 607 A.D., Boniface III was given the title "universal bishop," the pope of Rome. The word "pope" means father. This marked the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church. True Christians were never a part of Catholicism back then and true Christians are not part of Catholicism today.

Whenever I compare the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church to what is actually said in the Bible, I always think of the classic line from the Marx Brothers’ movie called “Duck Soup” where Chico Marx, who was dressed up as Groucho Marx, said, “Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?”

The Roman Catholic Church pronounces a curse on anyone who says that they can know that they have eternal life but what does the Bible say?

I John 5:13
13. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,

The dead in Purgatory are punished to purge (purge is the root word of Purgatory) them from their sins and enduring punishment gains merit points which are then added to their account. When they earn enough merit points, (Satan’s balance scale concept, when the good stuff outweighs the bad), they will be released to proceed to Heaven. In order to have even more merit points added to their account, the Roman Catholic Church wants their loved ones to give money to a priest to say a mass in their honor. Of course, since they will never know if or when their loved ones got out of Purgatory, they will have to keep giving money year after year. The selling of indulgences as a way to escape the penalties of Penance and paying priests to say masses so that the dead can escape the punishment of Purgatory and enter Heaven are two of the biggest sources of income of the Roman Catholic Church.

Where does the Catholic Church get all of this abundance of merit points to pass out? Simple … they get them from the Queen of Heaven and her son, of course. You see, the Roman Catholic Church says that the Queen of Heaven and her son were so righteous that they got into Heaven with all sorts of extra righteousness and merit points to spare. The Roman Church is then able to sell those excess merit points from these two people back to the billions and billions of ordinary people who didn’t have enough. Is it any wonder that the Roman Catholic Church pronounces the penalty of anathema (a curse) on anyone who does not believe in Purgatory or the Sacrament of Penance? It was just recently disclosed that Pope John Paul II continually flagellated himself with a belt and slept on the floor as acts of penance. Some people have been known to crawl on their bloody knees for miles or to wear a belt with nails in it under their clothes as acts of self-mortification. I have an old Catholic Bible that has the seal of the pope and in it they purposely mistranslated the last part of 2 Peter 3:9 to say, “come to do penance” as a way of trying to promote the unbiblical practice of self-mortification instead of the correct word, repentance, which means to turn from sin. In their newer Bibles, they have quit mistranslating the text.

2 Peter 3:9
9. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Gradual Development of Roman Catholic Errors

The distinctive features of Roman Catholicism originated hundreds of years after the early church. Though the Catholic Church argues that its roots can be traced to Christ, the historical facts don't substantiate this claim. Roman Catholic dogma has gradually evolved over the centuries. However, none of its major traditions and doctrines were taught, defended, practiced, or embraced by the apostolic church. The following list will indicate the approximate date when the various doctrines, rituals, decrees, and beliefs were instituted:

1. Prayers for the dead. (A.D. 300)
2. Making the sign of the cross. (300)
3. Wax candles. (320)
4. Veneration of angels and dead saints, and use of images. (375)
5. The beginning of mass as a daily celebration. (394)
6. The worship and exaltation of Mary and use of term "Mother of God"(431)
7. Priests begin to dress differently from laity. (500)
8. Extreme unction. (526)
9. The doctrine of purgatory, instituted by Gregory I. (593)
10. The Latin Language used in worship and prayer Gregory I. (600)
11. Prayers directed to Mary, dead saints and angels. (600)
12. Title of "Pope" or "universal bishop" first given to Boniface III. (607)
13. Kissing the pope's foot, began with Pope Constantine. (709)
14. Temporal power of the popes, conferred by Pepin, King of France. (750)
15. Worship of the cross, image, and relics authorized in (786).
16. Holy water, mixed with a pinch of salt and blessed by a priest. (850)
17. Worship of St. Joseph. (890)
18. College of Cardinals established. (927)
19. Canonization of dead saints, first by Pope John XV. (995)
20. Fastings on Fridays and during Lent. (998)
21. The mass developed as a sacrifice and attendance made mandatory. (11th Century)
22. Celibacy of the priesthood, decreed by Pope Gregory VII. (1079)
23. The rosary, used in prayer. (1090)
24. The Inquisition, instituted by the Council of Verona. (1184)
25. Sale of Indulgences. (1190)
26. Transubstantiation, proclaimed by Pope Innocent III. (1215)
27. Auricular (private) confession of sins to a priest, instituted by Pope Innocent III in Lateran Council. (1215)
28. Adoration of wafer (Host), decreed by Pope Honorius III. (1220)
29. Bible forbidden to laymen and placed on Index of Forbidden Books by Council of Valencia. (1229)
30. The Scapular, invented by Simon Stock, an English monk. (1251)
31. Cup forbidden to the people at communion by Council of Constance. (1414)
32. Purgatory proclaimed as a dogma by Council of Florence. (1439)
33. The doctrine of seven sacraments affirmed. (1439)
34. The Ave Maria (Hail Mary) invented and completed 50 years later. (1508)
35. Jesuit order founded by Loyola. (1534)
36. Tradition declared to be of equal authority with the Bible by Council of Trent. (1545)
37. The Apocryphal books added to the Bible by the Council of Trent. (1546)
38. Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, proclaimed by Pope Pius IX. (1854)
39. Syllabus of Errors, proclaimed by Pope Pius IX and ratified by the Vatican Council; condemned freedom of religion, conscience, speech, press, and scientific discoveries which are disapproved by the Roman Church; reasserted the pope's temporal authority over all civil rulers. (1864)
40. Infallibility of the pope in matters of faith and morals proclaimed by the Vatican Council. (1870)
41. Public schools condemned by Pope Pius XI. (1930)
42. Assumption of the Virgin Mary (bodily ascension into heaven shortly after her death), proclaimed by Pope Pius XII. (1950)
43. Mary proclaimed mother of the Church by Pope Paul VI. (1965)

Many other scriptural abuses and irregularities could be added to this list: Monks, nuns, monasteries, convents, forty days of Lent, holy week, Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, All Saints Day, Candlemas Day, fish day, meat days, incense, holy oil, holy palms, St. Christopher medals, charms, relics, novenas, and many more. This revealing list represents an overview of the many human inventions which have corrupted, distorted, and perverted the official positions presented as truth by the Roman Catholic Church.

If you’re a Catholic and you doubt anything that I have said about the Roman Catholic Church’s teachings regarding Mary as late as 1974, I’ll just let you read it for yourself.

“Dogmas of the Catholic Church regarding Mary”

Extracted from "Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma" by Dr Ludwig Ott; Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. 1974. This book contains the imprimatur (seal) of the pope.

Dogmas have to be believed by all Catholics under penalty of anathema (curse) by the Roman Catholic Church.

The Mother of the Redeemer

Mary's Motherhood of God

154. Mary is truly the Mother of God. (De fide.)

The Privileges of the Mother of God

155. Mary was conceived without stain of Original sin. (De fide.)
156. From her conception Mary was free from all motions of concupiscence. (Sent. communis.)
157. In consequence of a Special Privilege of Grace from God, Mary was free from every personal sin during her whole life. (Sent. fidei proxima.) She was immune from all sin mortal and venial.
158. Mary was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Jesus Christ.
159. Mary conceived by the Holy Ghost without the co-operation of man. (De fide.)
160. Mary bore her Son without any violation of her virginal integrity. (De fide on the ground of the general promulgation of doctrine.)
161. Also after the Birth of Jesus Mary remained a Virgin. (De fide.)
162. Mary suffered a temporal death. (Sent. communior.)
163. Mary was assumed body and soul into Heaven. (De fide.)

Mary's Co-operation in the Work of the Redeemer

164. Mary gave the Redeemer, the Source of all graces, to the world, and in this way she is the channel of all graces. (Sent. certa.)
165. Since Mary's Assumption into Heaven no grace is conferred on man without her actual intercessory co-operation. (Sent. pia et probabilis.)
166. Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces by her co-operation in the Incarnation. (Mediatio in universali.)
167. Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces by her intercession in Heaven. (Mediatio in speciali.)
168. Mary, the Mother of God, is entitled to the Cult of Hyperdulia. (Sent certa.)

Roman Catholic theologian John Hardon says this in his authoritative and popular catechism:

#44. What must a Catholic believe with divine faith?
A Catholic must believe with divine faith the whole of revelation, which is contained in the written word of God and in Sacred Tradition.

#45. Can a person be a Catholic if he believes most, but not all, the teachings of revelation?
A person cannot be a Catholic if he rejects even a single teaching that he knows has been revealed by God.

#46. What will happen to those who lack ‘the faith necessary for salvation’?
Those will not be saved who lack the necessary faith because of their own sinful neglect or conduct. As Christ declared, ‘He who does not believe will be condemned’ (Mark 16:16).

#47. Why is divine faith called catholic?
Divine faith is called catholic or universal because a believer must accept everything God has revealed. He may not be selective about what he chooses to believe (John Hardon, The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism (Garden City: Image, 1981).

In addition, The Bible never talks about an unmarried priesthood. The Apostle Paul said that he had the right to take along a wife on his missionary trips but chose not to do so. The half-brothers of Jesus and the Apostle Peter also had the right to take their wives with them.

I Corinthians 9:5
5. Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas (Peter)?

Jesus even healed Peter's mother-in-law.

Mark 1:29
29. Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon (Peter) and Andrew, with James and John.
30. But Simon's (Peter's) wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.
31. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

The Catholic Church says that Jesus Christ said that He would build His church on Peter but, as you can see, Peter is not the rock on which Jesus said He would build His church.

Matthew 16:13
13. When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?''
14. So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.''
15. He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?''
16. And Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.''
17. Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18. "And I also say to you that you are Peter (Greek - Petros - a masculine noun which refers to a detached smaller stone, a stone which comes from a bigger piece of rock, a piece of rock; a stone; a single stone; movable, insecure, shifting, or roll¬ing), and on this rock (Greek - petra - a feminine noun that refers to a mass of rock, a mother rock; huge mass; solid formation; fixed; immovable; and enduring) I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

The rock used in Matthew 7:24-25 is in connection with the bedrock upon which a wise man built his house. God built His church based on the fixed; immovable; and enduring fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

1 Corinthians 10:4
4. and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock (Greek - petra - a feminine noun that refers to a mass of rock, a mother rock; huge mass; solid formation; fixed; immovable; and enduring) that followed them, and that Rock (Greek - petra - a feminine noun that refers to a mass of rock, a mother rock; huge mass; solid formation; fixed; immovable; and enduring) was Christ.

If you want to find out all of the weird stuff the Roman Catholic Church teaches, just go to a Roman Catholic bookstore and buy Ludwig Ott’s Catechisms #1, #2, and #3. These books contain all the official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and have the Imprimatur (seal) of the pope. You would be amazed at how much extra stuff, not found in the Bible that a Catholic has to believe under penalty of anathema from the Church of Rome. Remember, before you join any organization or sign any document, always be sure to read the fine print.

As strange as it may seem … a devout Catholic cannot be a Christian but, a Catholic who is not devout might be a Christian. In order to be a devout Catholic, under the penalty of anathema, a Catholic has to commit himself to believe every weird thing the Roman Catholic Church teaches. However, a Catholic who is not devout, would not have committed himself to study and know all the stuff he’s supposed to believe and may have just decided in his heart to trust in the Jesus of the Bible.

If he were sincere about just wanting to follow Jesus Christ, God would help the non-devout Catholic leave that apostate religious system and find a church that just teaches the Jesus Christ of the Bible.

Who is a saint? To be called a saint (Greek - hagion - holy, set apart) simply means to be separated unto God. All believers are properly called saints and are equally justified (set apart) unto God at the time of salvation. Though one saint may be more sanctified (more obedient to the will of God) than another, no saint is more justified (saved) than another. The weakest saint is as much justified and pardoned before the throne of God as is the strongest saint. The righteousness of Christ is as much imputed to one saint as it is to another saint (Acts 20:32; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 30; 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 2:11; 3:1; 10:10, 14; 13:12; 1 Peter 1:2).

The theological term of positional sanctification has to do with the believer's standing, not his present walk or condition. Positional sanctification is instantaneous and shouldn't be confused with progressive sanctification. Progressive sanctification is the process by which the state of the believer is brought closer to the standing the believer positionally enjoys through justification. Through obedience to the Word of God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the believer is able to live a life of increasing holiness in conformity to the will of God, becoming more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ (John 17:17,19; Romans 6:1 22; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3 4; 5:23). In this respect, every saved person is involved in a daily conflict … the new creation in Christ doing battle against the flesh … but adequate provision is made for victory through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The struggle nevertheless stays with the believer all through this earthly life and is never completely ended. All claims to the eradication of sin in this life are unscriptural. Eradication of sin is not possible, but the Holy Spirit does provide for victory over sin (Galatians 5:16 25; Ephesians 4:22 24; Philippians 3:12; Colossians 3:9 10; 1 Peter 1:14 16; 1 John 3:5 9).

In the Catholic Church, the pope has to wait until several hundred years have passed before finally deciding whether someone performed enough miracles to be called a saint. Contrary to the pope, the Apostle Paul, in all his letters, greets ordinary saints/believers in every city.

I Corinthians 1:2
2. To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,

While Paul was a prisoner in Rome, he was under the control of the elite Praetorian Guard. The 16,000 members of the Praetorian Guard were Nero’s personal army and Paul was continuously chained to various guards by an eighteen-inch chain for six-hour shifts. Even though Paul was chained to a guard, in reality, it was a guard who was chained to Paul and he was forced to listen to Paul and get to know him in a most personal way. The guards soon learned that Paul was joyful under the worst of circumstances and he had a chance to explain to them that he wasn’t in prison for breaking any laws but for preaching about the life and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many guards believed, were saved, and spread the gospel to the rest of Nero’s household, which included many officials, a large staff of cooks, food tasters, musicians, custodians, builders, and people who handled the horses and cleaned the barns. Instead of worshiping the Emperor, the saints of Nero’s household now worshipped Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:21
21. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you.
22. All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar's household.
23. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

It would be difficult to think of a bigger waste of time and energy than to study human philosophy. If it agrees with the Bible, you don't need it. If it disagrees with the Bible, you don't want it. The wisdom of God which men think is foolishness is greater than the wisdom of men which God thinks is foolishness. If someone were to say, “You’re not foolish enough to believe the Bible, are you?” I would answer proudly, “Yes, I am! What are you foolish enough to believe?” The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.

1 Corinthians 1:18
18. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.''
20. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21. For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached (The message of a crucified Christ is foolishness to the world) to save those who believe.
22. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;
23. but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
24. but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
27. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; (in the world’s eyes, all believers are weak and foolish).

Much modern evangelism is built on the heretical idea that anyone can and will respond to the gospel if it is presented in a clever enough way. That's simply not true. The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing and it always will be foolishness to them unless they are the ones being saved to whom it's the power of God. There's a massive theological error in the foundation of contemporary evangelism that misunderstands the whole issue. Christians cannot save anybody. The greatest orator in the world cannot save anybody … only God saves. All a Christian can do is to use God's Word to present the truth and then the Holy Spirit will store those Bible verses in an unbeliever's heart. When another Christian happens to mention those same verses, God's Word will be driven deeper into the unbeliever's heart. God’s Word will always accomplish what He pleases.

Isaiah 55:11
11. So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

If it is the will of God, someday the Holy Spirit will use those Bible verses to convict the unbeliever of sin and lead him to salvation.

The Apostle Paul knew that it wasn’t his cleverness, good looks, style, or ability that converted people. It was just the simple gospel that touched the heart of the elect that brought about conversion.

1 Corinthians 2:1
1. And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.
2. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5. that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Christians are not called to persuade people by clever innovative speech. We are to simply present the gospel and then stand aside and let a sovereign God open blind eyes as He sees fit. Believers, who are the elect of Christ, must always remember that the gospel is veiled to those who are perishing. Satan is the god of this age and unbelievers are always going to follow a system that panders to their depravity.

2 Corinthians 4:3
3. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4. whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

Paul is saying if no one trusts in Christ, it's not due to a defect in the preacher or the message; it's the problem of the hearer. In the parable of the sower, Jesus explained the various responses that people can have to the gospel. The success of the gospel has nothing to do with who the sower is, the technique of the sower, or the quality of the seed. The success of the gospel has everything to do with the condition and receptivity of the soil and only God is in charge of the soil.

Matthew 13:3 (Jesus speaking)
3. Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.
4. "And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
5. "Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
6. "But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
7. "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
8. "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!''
10. And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?''
11. He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12. "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
13. "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14. "And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: `Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive;
15. for the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn, so that I should heal them.'
16. "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;
17. "for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
18. "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:
19. "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
20. "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21. "yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
22. "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
23. "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.''

In any church, you will always have the wheat and the tares. All the people in the church will not be saved and sometimes it’s difficult to tell them apart. That’s why the Lord says that we should wait for Him to make that decision at the end. Aside from that, it's extremely important that all the leaders be closely questioned and examined to make sure they are saved.

Matthew 13:24 (Jesus speaking)
24. Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
25. "but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
26. "But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
27. "So the servants of the owner came and said to him, `Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'
28. "He said to them, `An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, `Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'
29. "But he said, `No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
30. `Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.'' ' ''
34. All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them,
35. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.''
36. Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.''
37. He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38. "The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
39. "The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
40. "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
41. "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42. "and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus didn’t come into this world to be a great moral leader, to protest for civil rights, to march in immigration rallies, or to free the slaves. Jesus came to rescue doomed sinners from an eternity in the Lake of Fire. The Apostles weren't to waste their time on social issues. If Christ transformed a slave, he wasn't to revolt against his master but to be the best slave he could be and remain as a slave until his master set him free.

1Corinthians 7:20
20. Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called.
21. Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it.
22. For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave.

One of the greatest events that ever happened regarding slavery is that thousands and thousands of Negro slaves were brought to America where they heard the Good News of Jesus Christ and were saved.

I thank God that this group of people who might have never known God's saving grace were brought to America where their children and their children's children could hear the Word of God and be saved.

This is one of God's axioms:

Genesis 50:20
20. "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

Every major incident that Satan meant for evil, God ultimately meant it for good. God beats Satan at every turn. Just when you think that Satan's winning, he's losing. God's plan remains on schedule. God's plan will never be thwarted by anyone or anything.

In the New Testament, various words such as bondservant, servant, and slave are used to describe the Christian’s relationship to Jesus Christ. In almost all of these instances, the correct translation should have been slave since most words were translated from the same Greek word “doulos” which means an ordinary, regular, lower in rank slave.

Ephesians 6:5
5. Servants (Greek - doulos - slaves), be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;
6. not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as servants (Greek - doulos - slaves) of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,

Both masters and slaves were being saved and they attended the same church and sat side by side. Slaves were to be faithful to their masters and masters were to treat their slaves fairly.

Colossians 4:1
1. Masters, give your bondservants (Greek - doulos - slaves) what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

1 Peter 2:18
18. Servants (Greek - oiketes - household slaves: higher in rank than regular slaves), be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.

The Apostle Paul wrote to a Christian, Philemon, about one of his slaves, Onesimus, who had stolen money, run away, and turned up in Rome where Paul, who was being held as a prisoner, led him to Christ. Unlike the Catholic Church, which illegally hides slaves and illegal immigrants, Paul told Onesimus to return to his master, Philemon.

Philemon 1:10
10. I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains,
11. who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.
12. I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,
13. whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel.
14. But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.
15. For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever,
16. no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17. If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me.
18. But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account.

Christianity has no interest in your social standing or outward circumstances here on earth. Whether a Christian is rich, poor, slave, or free … it doesn’t matter … none of that has any spiritual value in the Kingdom of God. Jesus said that His Kingdom was not of this world.

John 18:36
36. Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

Christianity isn't the venue to solve all of society’s social injustices. Christianity isn't about starting a social or political revolution but a spiritual regeneration. Spiritually transformed people will change a society like a little leaven changes bread.

Matthew 13:33 (Jesus speaking)
33. Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.''

If you think that you're too good to become a slave for Jesus, just remember this; Jesus became a slave for you.

Philippians 2:5
5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6. who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7. but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant (Greek - doulos - slave), and coming in the likeness of men.
8. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

The Apostle Paul was a slave of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and he was proud of it.

Romans 1:1
1. Paul, a bondservant (Greek - doulos - slave) of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

Jesus is our most gracious Master. But, instead of just being slaves to our Master, Jesus has adopted us as His sons.

Galatians 4:4
4. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5. to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Not only have we been adopted as sons but Jesus has promised that we will be joint-heirs of all that He possesses.

Romans 8:16
16. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17. and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,

And, if that weren't enough, Jesus will invite us to sit with Him on His throne.

Revelation 3:21
21. "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

The Greeks relationship to their gods was as if they were friends. The idea of slavery was utterly distasteful to them. The Christian Church was given a task that looks like this: Take the gospel message to people who are spiritually dead and blind. Preach the good news to people who cannot understand in whom the god of this world has blinded their minds lest the light of the glorious gospel should shine unto them, who are dead in trespasses and sins. And to help you with that impossible task, take a message which is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks. Compounding that, the dominant metaphor for what you’re asking them to become is a slave and you have an almost impossible task … humanly! And that’s exactly what the gospel calls for. We are not asking people to let Jesus come into their lives so He can make them all they want to be. We’re asking them to become slaves. We are speaking to the dead and the blind about the foolishness of the cross and asking them to become slaves. What’s the difference between a servant and a slave? A servant worked for a wage and could go home. A slave was bought for a price, was owned, and couldn't quit. If he ran away, he could be arrested and executed. This was a hard sell in the ancient world. The only ones who ever responded to such an improbable message were … God’s elect! Even today, slavery hasn't been eliminated. All believers are a slave to Christ and all sinners are a slave to sin. All slaves of Christ will be made sons of the living God.

John 8:34
34. Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
35. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.
36. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Romans 6:22
22. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

Pastors such as the Reverend Martin Luther King, the Reverend Je$$e Jack$on, and the Reverend Al $harpton have been an embarrassment to God. God’s teachers should not be running all over the country protesting, being arrested, and thrown in jail. They should be at home tending to their church and preaching the gospel.

"There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs---partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs."
-- Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) - American educator and author.

The only proper reason for a pastor to ever be arrested is if he were to continue to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ after he had been prohibited. Pastors should be home spending thirty to forty hours a week studying the Bible and distilling what they have learned into a one-hour sermon. The good news of Jesus Christ is a pastor’s only message. Unlike some of today's preachers, the Apostle Paul didn't waste his time preaching about worthless things.

1 Corinthians 2:2
2. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

If you cannot distinguish between a Sunday sermon and an article in your local newspaper, you’re in the wrong church. Some liberal preachers try to increase their church membership by preaching the prosperity gospel, “seeker friendly” gospel, “cotton candy” gospel, or “Sermonettes for Christianettes.” If you just think positive thoughts, you can get on the health, wealth, and happiness bandwagon. The ever-smiling Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, and Robert Schuller never preach about negatives such as sin or Hell. If they use Jesus at all, they just use Him as a jumping off point in their sermons to teach the value of being kind, caring, and compassionate. Instead of using the Bible, they might as well use a nursery rhyme such as "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Do you think that becoming a Christian will make you more popular?

John 15:18 (Jesus speaking)
18. “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
19. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
21. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
22. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
23. He who hates Me hates My Father also.
24. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.
25. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’

Becoming a Christian might be the most divisive decision you will ever make. You might even be alienated from your own family. One evening, shortly after my salvation, most of my immediate family plus a few relatives sat around the kitchen table and told me I'd made a big mistake. In reality, they were working for Satan when they tried to get me to turn from being a Bible-believing Christian.

Matthew 10:34 (Jesus speaking)
34. "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
35. "For I have come to `set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.'
36. "And `a man's foes will be those of his own household.'
37. "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

My father attended the Roman Catholic Church all of his life and lived his life according to Christian principles but, he thought he had to pray to Mary and earn his way to Heaven. For many months, my father and I talked about the false teachings of the Catholic Church and sometime later, while my father was in the hospital awaiting surgery, he and I prayed together. Sometime later, when my father died on February 9, 1981, at the age of 66, I had the satisfaction of knowing that he was trusting in Christ and Christ alone for his salvation and not in Mary or the Roman Catholic Church.

The greatest disappointment of my life is that my mother maintained to her death on March 12, 2013, at the age of 94, that, just like Jesus, she lived a sinless life and therefore didn’t need a savior.

Ecclesiastes 7:20
20. For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.

Even Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, was a sinner and only a sinner needs a savior.

Luke 1:46
46. And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord,
47. and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

My mother told me that when she was a child, her mother spanked her for standing on some railroad tracks when she had been expressly forbidden because a very fast train would occasionally pass through without warning. In all of my mother’s years on earth, that may have been the only time that she ever received a spanking but in order to fully understand sin, we need to understand God’s definition of sin.

Sin (Greek - hamartia - miss the mark) is an archery term that means to miss the bulls-eye. There are action sins and attitude sins. You could diligently take aim at God’s bulls-eye and slightly miss just because you had the wrong attitude while doing the right thing.

James 2:10
10. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

God’s standard is so high and His bulls-eye is so small that all have missed the bulls-eye at some point and all have sinned.

1 John 1:8
8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

It is not that my mother was at war with God; it is that God was at war with my mother.

Matthew 12:30 (Jesus speaking)
30. "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

God is so angry with sinners that He will have all unredeemed sinners, including my dear mother, thrown into the Lake of Fire that is reserved for Satan and his fallen angels.

Matthew 13:41 (Jesus speaking)
41. "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42. "and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

My mother occasionally attended a very liberal Methodist Church so it's no mystery that she knew very little about the Bible and the teachings of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I gave her a Bible as a Christmas gift but she refused to accept it. I tried to share the good news of Jesus Christ with her for years but, because of her hard-heartedness, my good, dear, and honorable mother turned her back on Christ’s forgiveness. My mother sentenced herself to spending an eternity in the fires of Hell. My mother never did admit the truth that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23
23. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

The good news of Jesus Christ is that Jesus Christ came to save lost sinners.

Matthew 18:11 (Jesus speaking)
11. "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

All of heaven shouts for joy for every sinner who repents.

Luke 15:7 (Jesus speaking)
7. "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
10. "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.''

If I were walking down the street and noticed that your house was on fire, should I continue to walk by without sounding the alarm? You would be angry with me if your house burned down and your wife and children were killed. Well, I have some bad news for you: If you’re a Christ rejecter, like my mother, your house is on fire! Don’t get angry with me for telling you the truth.

I attended the Roman Catholic Church when I was growing up but quit attending when I was in my early twenties. In 1974, when I was twenty-nine years old, my best friend, Mike Smith, asked me to help the national football recruiter for the University of Nebraska, Rick Duval, on his recruiting trips to Southern California.

When Rick came to LA, he stayed at the Marriott Hotel near the Los Angeles International Airport. After having dinner, Rick, Mike, and I watched a bunch of game film that Mike and I had collected from various high schools and junior colleges. Since I was familiar with the streets and could take a couple of days off work, I agreed to pick Rick up at his hotel the following morning and drive him to the various high schools and junior colleges to meet the coaches and players, watch more game film, and meet the families.

When I picked Rick up at his hotel that first morning, he asked if I minded if he brought his Bible with him. I said to myself, "Boy, this is sure going to be a long day!" We had plenty of time to talk as I drove all over Los Angeles and its many suburbs. Rick would occasionally ask me if I had ever heard of a certain saying and then he would read to me the Bible story from which it came. I must say, that his reading of the Bible was very interesting and informative. On this first trip, Rick was to be in Los Angeles for several days and in order to keep him from asking a lot of questions, I told him about my Catholic background. I said that I might be willing to go to church again if I could find a church that just taught what the Bible said and not some preacher’s opinion of current events.

I was hoping that he would say that there weren’t any such churches so I could get off the hook but to my astonishment, he said that the church he attended was just like that. His church in Lincoln, Nebraska was an independent, nondenominational, evangelical church and there were thousands like it all over the country. Even though they were independent churches and not part of a large denomination, they all taught the same thing because they just taught what the Bible said. It’s just like using one tuning fork to tune a thousand pianos; it’s the same message wherever you go. One day, Rick had me stop at a shopping mall where we were able to find a Bible store and he cared enough to buy a Bible for me. That was the first Bible I ever read because, in the Catholic Church, you just needed a book to tell you when to stand up, kneel, and sit down. That Bible just sat there, in its box on a shelf in my closet, gathering dust for several years but the Lord kept making me meet Christian people and hearing Christians quote Bible verses.

In 1979, I remember being at a Saturday night, fast-pitch softball double-header in Long Beach where a Christian team, Athletes in Action, was going to play. They were a new team in the Pacific Coast League which was comprised of teams playing Saturday night double-headers all over Southern California. I was going to have to pitch against them in about a month so a few friends and I went to see what we were going to be up against. In the intermission period between the two games, they passed a microphone through the fence and their big, first-baseman, John, gave his testimony about how he trusted in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Normally my friends and I would have been laughing and cracking jokes about someone standing out in the middle of a field, all by himself, talking about the Lord. My friends were laughing but, amazingly, I was not. All of a sudden, it just wasn’t funny anymore! I stepped back for a second to soak in what I was seeing. I was offended by and felt embarrassed for my friends and the rest of the people in the grandstands who were laughing. That ballplayer was speaking the truth to me and I listened to his every word. I will always remember that very moment. I was angry and I felt as though I needed to defend the Lord. I wondered to myself … what just happened to me?

In the future, whenever I would hear someone quote a Bible verse, it was as if someone were grabbing me by the arm. It was just small things like an innocuous "God bless you" that grabbed at me.

I was in a Christian home one evening and as I was leaving, they said, "God bless you." For some strange reason, I paused halfway out the door and said, "Do you know the Lord?" We talked for about another hour and they told me the same things that Rick Duval had said years earlier. As I left for the second time, they gave me a paperback book entitled "More Than A Carpenter" written by Josh McDowell and that really helped me to crystallize my thinking.

I took my Bible out of the box and began to verify the Bible verses in that book. I didn't ask anybody for help. I’m not one to let anybody push me or lead me into anything. I’m pretty hard-headed. I like to do things on my own and at my own pace. I studied hard for several weeks and finally came to the point where I said to myself that I have all the information I need to make a decision. I felt like, if I didn’t make a decision then and just decided to wait awhile, I may never have the opportunity, or the Lord may never give me the opportunity, to do this much studying again. I was thirty-three years old and I was at the point where I needed to finally say yes or no.

I was somewhat apprehensive. I didn’t know what was going to happen if I asked the Lord to take charge of my life. There was no doubt that the Lord could do a better job than the job I had been doing. Even though I always considered myself to be a good person and had never been arrested, I was offended by some of my actions. Yes! Yes, I was a sinner who needed a Savior and I needed to get on my knees before the Lord and ask for His forgiveness. That evening, March 21, 1979, while I was alone in my apartment in Southern California, I placed my trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I entrusted myself to the mercy of God. I placed my trust in an actual person and not in a religious system. Almost as soon as I began praying, I felt as though I had stepped through a doorway and into a new life. After I became a Christian, it was as if someone had gone into the store window of life and changed all the prices. Some things that used to be extremely valuable had been marked way down in price and some things that had been of little value were now priceless.

After not hearing from me for several years, Rick Duval was surprised when I called the next day. Since he was the one who got me started, I wanted him to be the first to know and he shared in my joy. I guess you could say that I was one of Rick Duval’s most important recruits.

In order to find my first church, Rick told me to open the Yellow Pages and read to him the names of some evangelical churches in my area. I circled a few names and tried the first one the next Sunday. That first church was a great church and I really enjoyed it. During the following week, I talked to a Christian friend, Bob Shepherd, who also pitched for Athletes in Action, and he invited me to attend his church. The next Sunday, I met Bob at Grace Community Church in the San Fernando Valley with John MacArthur as the main pastor and I found a home. Thousands of other Christians and I believe that John MacArthur is the finest Bible teacher in the world today. His sermons, books, and CDs are translated into forty different languages and are heard all over the world. John MacArthur is also the president of the "The Master's College" and "The Master's Seminary" where hundreds of new pastors are trained each year to proclaim the Word of God.

Grace Community Church is one of the largest churches in Southern California with a membership of around 10,000 people but it feels like a small church because everyone is so friendly and helpful. When you are looking for a church, ask for a copy of their Doctrinal Statement so that you can see exactly what they teach and if that squares with what the Bible says. Go to: http://www.gracechurch.org/distinctives/ to read the Grace Community Church Doctrinal Statement. You will see that nothing has changed since the Apostles wrote the Bible 2,000 years ago. Go to: http://www.gty.org/ for free written, audio, and video downloads. I will be forever grateful for all of the materials and resources made available to help me study the Bible and learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ.

I was baptized at Grace Church shortly after I became a Christian. There is nothing magical about being baptized. Baptism is just an outward sign demonstrating to the world that an inward change of heart has already taken place. If someone says that they’re a Christian but they haven’t been baptized, I would doubt their salvation and they should doubt their own salvation too. Baptism is the first step in showing that you intend to follow Christ and if you won’t take that first step, something’s wrong! If someone is not willing to stand up as an adult, publicly identify himself with Christ’s Church, and confess his faith in Jesus Christ, I suspect his so-called faith is just an intellectual assent and not saving faith.

If you're looking for a church; independent, nondenominational, fundamental, evangelical churches are the best churches because they only teach what the Bible says. Of all the denominations, most Baptist churches faithfully teach all the truths of the Bible.

Avoid any churches that constantly ask for money. Stay away from Assembly of God, Foursquare, Pentecostal, or Charismatic churches that teach their people how to bypass their intellect and give themselves over to their emotions. These people are taught that by allowing themselves to be being lifted up to an emotional state of ecstasy, they are better able to commune with God. These false teachers teach their people how to speak in tongues, how to expect a miracle healing, and how to expect new words of prophesy. Because they let their emotions take control, Pentecostals and Charismatics are notoriously poor Bible students. They have a limited understanding of basic doctrinal truths and are easily swindled by hucksters. Assembly of God, Foursquare, Pentecostal, and Charismatic organizations such as the “700 Club” and its founder Pat Robertson, the “Trinity Broadcasting Network” (TBN) and its founders, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and Paul and Jan Crouch, preachers such as Benny Hinn, Jimmy Swaggart, Oral Roberts, Peter Popoff, Kenneth Copeland, John Hagee, Fred Price, Robert Tilton, James Robinson, T. D. Jakes, and others who make predictions, speak prophecies, and heal people from low back pain are charlatans. Some years back, Peter Popoff was caught with a microphone in his ear and his wife was backstage feeding him the answers. In “the good old days” if a prophet made a prediction and it did not come true, the prophet was stoned until he died. Pat Robertson has said, "I have a relatively good track record. Sometimes I miss."

Deuteronomy 18:20
20. `But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.'

The ridiculousness of this video is simply incredible!!! Benny Hinn - "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a54iqEr1flQ

Fifty days after Jesus Christ rose from the dead, on Sunday, the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to live within all of Christ's elect just as Jesus had promised. The Apostles spoke to a very large crowd and even though they were unlearned Galileans and could only speak in their own language; thousands of people heard the Apostles speak in their own native language so that no interpreter was needed. This would be like me speaking in English, but a French person hearing me in French and a Spanish person hearing me in Spanish and a German person hearing me in German, all at the same time! This was the true gift of languages.

Acts 2:5
5. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
6. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.
7. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?
8. "And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?
9. "Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10. "Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11. "Cretans and Arabs we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.''
12. So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?''

Unfortunately, even before the birth of Christ, there were people in pagan religions who had given themselves over to speaking in an ecstatic, gibberish speech and engaging in wild sex orgies. Beginning around the early 1900s, in the Assembly of God churches, Satan reintroduced a perversion of the true gift of languages that they called the gift of tongues. This so-called special prayer language is not really a language at all but just a bunch of unintelligible sounds that the “holy rollers” make when they uncontrollably, flop around on the floor in the Assembly of God, Foursquare, Pentecostal, and Charismatic churches.

When we don’t pray or don’t know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit, who lives within all of Christ's elect, prays and intercedes for us. Christians will never die with an unforgiven sin because, below our level of conscious thought, the Holy Spirit is in constant communication with Jesus and the Father. Therefore, the Holy Spirit prays for us in a manner that is too deep for words. The Pentecostals and Charismatics say that these sighs are a spoken language but how do you get a spoken language out of sighs which cannot be uttered?

Romans 8:26
26. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings (Greek - stenagmos - sighs) which cannot be uttered (Greek - alaletos - cannot be expressed, too deep for words).
27. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Those who prophesized, those who spoke in languages, and those who had a word of knowledge were exercising a sign gift which was useful in the early days of the church as illustrated in the first half of the book of Acts. But, in the last half of the book of Acts, when the formative years of the church were over and the New Testament was nearing completion, there was no longer the need for sign gifts because the believers had the written word to direct their path. The sign gift of languages ceased never to be needed again. The phrase "they (languages) will cease" is in the middle voice which means that nothing stopped it, it stopped on its own never to be started again.

1 Corinthians 13:8
8. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues (Greek - glossa - languages or dialects), they will cease (Greek - pauo - stop, quit, come to an end); whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

The true gift of languages was not a sign to believers but was a sign to unbelievers that something miraculous was taking place such as what happened on the day of Pentecost when 3,000 people, who normally might not have understood the Apostles, were saved and the church was born.

1 Corinthians 14:22
22. Therefore tongues (Greek - glossa - languages or dialects) are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers;

The Charismatic movement has now invaded some of the major denominations including some Roman Catholic churches, Episcopal churches, Methodist churches, liberal Baptist churches, and others. Pope John Paul II even claimed to have received a counterfeit form of gift of languages.

The supposed all-knowing, main-stream news media always rushes to Rome to ask the pope his opinion on matters pertaining to Christianity. The pope is not a Christian. The pope is the leader of the world’s largest cult and does not speak for Christians. Catholic priests, with all their robes and rituals, are the modern day version of the Jewish Pharisees.

When Jesus came to earth, He came to heal the sick, raise the dead, and preach deliverance to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 15;24 (Jesus speaking)
24. But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.''

During Jesus' earthly ministry, He didn't come in judgment or to condemn sinners.

John 3:17 (Jesus speaking)
17. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn (Greek - krino - to condemn, to judge) the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

When a woman was caught committing adultery, Jesus didn't condemn her because her accusers, who had first-hand knowledge of the incident, didn't condemn her.

John 8:10
10. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?''
11. She said, "No one, Lord.'' And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.''

Jesus had first-hand knowledge of the false teachings of the scribes and Pharisees and therefore condemned them. I always have to laugh whenever I hear someone speak about Jesus Christ as if He were some namby-pamby type who was always going around hugging people.

Matthew 23:13 (Jesus speaking)
13. "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
14. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
15. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell (Greek - Gehenna - the Lake of Fire) as yourselves.
16. "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, `Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'
17. "Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
18. "And, `Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'
19. "Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
20. "Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.
21. "He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.
22. "And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
23. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
24. "Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
26. "Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
28. "Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
30. "and say, `If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'
31. "Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32. "Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.
33. "Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell (Greek - Gehenna - the Lake of Fire)?
34. "Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,
35. "that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth,

At the end of the Millennium, if you’re not a believer, you’re going to face a Jesus filled with wrath when He sits on His Great White Throne judging sinners and sending them to the Lake of Fire. When Jesus comes back to earth at His Second Coming, which will be at end of the Tribulation and the beginning of the Millennium, He will come back as a judge.

John 5:22 (Jesus speaking)
22. "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,
23. "that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
24. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
25. "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
26. "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
27. "and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.
28. "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice
29. "and come forth those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Acts 17:30
30. "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
31. "because He (God the Father) has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man (God the Son) whom He has ordained. He (God the Father) has given assurance of this to all by raising Him (God the Son) from the dead.''

The word church (Greek - ekklesia; ek - out of, and klesia - shall be called) is often misunderstood. The "called out" ones are the believers who are called by God to separate themselves and not participate in the deeds of a sinning world. The church is not a building, cathedral, or denomination. You could sit in a garage your whole life and never turn into a car and likewise, you could sit in a cathedral your whole life and never turn into a Christian.

Matthew 16:18 (Jesus speaking)
18. I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Anytime someone kisses the pope’s ring, bows, or kneels, it is worship (Greek - proskuneo - to stoop to kiss). The pope falsely accepts worship because only God can accept worship. The bronze statue of Peter in Saint Basilica’s Square in Rome has had half of his foot worn away by misguided Catholics who have kissed his foot for centuries. When he was alive, the Apostle Peter said that he was just a man and wouldn’t accept worship.

Acts 10:25
25. As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.
26. But Peter lifted him up, saying, "Stand up; I myself am also a man.''

When the Apostle John tried to worship an angel, the angel prevented it.

Revelation 22:8
8. Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
9. Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.''

Most people think they will have plenty of time to make their decision to trust in Jesus Christ. You’re a fool if you think that you’re going to live to be 120 years old. You may die in a car accident one hour from now.

Luke 12:19 (Jesus speaking)
19. `And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.'' '
20. "But God said to him, `You fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'

Matthew 16:26 (Jesus speaking)
26. "For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

The problem isn’t that life is so short but that eternity is so long. Your years spent here on earth are but a blink of an eye compared to the forever you will spend in eternity.

James 4:13
13. Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'';
14. whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

Jesus will be either your Savior or your Judge … it’s your decision.

Deuteronomy 30:19
19. "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life,

Jesus said that sitting on the fence isn't an option. You're either with Him or against Him.

Luke 11:23 (Jesus speaking)
23. "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

Regardless of the sin, all sinners can be justified (saved, made right with God). Sinners are justified freely by His grace (unmerited favor) apart from the works of the law.

Romans 3:28
28. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Titus 3:5
5. not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us,

Isaiah 1:18
18. "Come now, and let us reason together,'' says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

You, no doubt, have heard the parable of the prodigal son who asked for and received his inheritance even before his father died. The middle-eastern culture is a culture built around honor and shame and to do what the son did was such a shameful act that they held a funeral for him because to them he was dead. When he wasted all of his inheritance and was about to have to eat pig slop, he finally came to his senses and said, “I will arise and go to my father.” This is true repentance because not only did he turn from his sin but he also turned toward his father. And as he was going to his father, his father had already seen him from a great way off and was already running toward him (middle eastern noble men in long robes don't run anywhere because they would have to lift their robe to keep from falling and to expose their legs would bring shame on them). His father hugged him, kissed him, and restored him to his position as a son. His father forgave him while he was still in his filthy, pig-smelling clothes before he could do anything to earn his redemption. This always brings tears to my eyes to see the graciousness of God. I am truly humbled to realize that when I turned toward the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth ran to meet me.

Luke 15:11 (Jesus speaking)
11. Then He said: "A certain man had two sons.
12. "And the younger of them said to his father, `Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood.
13. "And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted (Greek - diaskorpizo - to disperse, to scatter abroad) his possessions with prodigal (Greek - asotos - dissolutely, profligately, immoral, extremely wasteful, recklessly extravagant) living.
14. "But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.
15. "Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16. "And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
17. "But when he came to himself, he said, `How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18. `I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
19. and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.'' '
20. "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
21. "And the son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22. "But the father said to his servants, `Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
23. `And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;
24. `for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.

Even though the prodigal son still smelled like a filthy pig, his Jewish father ran to him, hugged him, and kissed him on the neck. When the prodigal son's father told his servants to "bring out the best robe and put it on him," that was meant to illustrate how God the Father dresses us with the robe of Christ's righteousness when we are saved. We have a choice: For all eternity, we can be clothed with Christ’s righteousness or our own righteousness. The Bible says that all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. Incidentally, the “filthy rags” mentioned in the Bible are used menstrual cloths. This gives you a very graphic idea of how God views our own righteousness.

Isaiah 64:6
6. But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;

If your righteousness has to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, who can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven?

Matthew 5:20 (Jesus speaking)
20. "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Pharisees were the ultra-religious people of their day. Paul was one of the elite 6,000 Pharisees who believed they could attain salvation by perfect adherence to the law of God but they had to be perfect and not fail at any point.

James 2:10
10. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

The Apostle Paul was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. Paul claimed to have lived a perfect, sinless life. If anyone could have earned Heaven without Christ, it was Paul. He had always put all his confidence in his own human ability, his religion, his sincerity, his race, his tribe, his rank, and his self-righteousness. Paul said he was perfect and blameless.

Philippians 3:4
4. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:
5. circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;
6. concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

After he met Christ, Paul said that all of his self-righteousness and religious achievements were similar to animal excrement.

Philippians 3:8
8. But indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish (Greek - skubalon - animal excrement, refuse), that I may gain Christ
9. and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

Christ’s bodily resurrection assures us that He forever lives to keep the believer saved, to intercede for him, and to present him faultless before God’s throne.

Hebrews 7:25
25. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them.

We must believe that Christ, in His death and resurrection, has done all we need to be saved. All God requires is that we believe and trust in Him.

Romans 4:5
5. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

As the old song says … come to Jesus just as you are and He will do the rest.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress;
Helpless, look to thee for grace;
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee;

Only when an unsaved person places his trust in the finished work of Christ will he receive the gift of eternal life that is in Christ.

1 John 5:12
12. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

The good news of Jesus Christ is a simple message. The whole Bible can be summed up in one verse.

2 Corinthians 5:21
21. For He (God the Father) made Him (God the Son) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Jesus doesn’t just change sinners on the outside, He recreates them.

2 Corinthians 5:17
17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

The first step in becoming a new creation is to admit that you are a sinner.

Romans 3:10
10. As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
11. there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.
12. They have all gone out of the way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.''

Romans 3:23
23. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23
23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 John 1:8
8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Isaiah 53:6
6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

In an ultimate sense, man condemns himself to spend an eternity in the Lake of Fire … not for what he did do but for what he didn't do! This is the greatest sin of all. Rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ’s sinless life, propitiatory death, and bodily resurrection is greater than the sin of murder or acts of perversion. Rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest sin of all.

John 3:18 (Jesus speaking)
18. "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

If God didn't spare His own Son, what makes you think that He will spare you?

Romans 8:32
32. He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,

You cannot fool God. The Lord knows what's in man’s heart. Because the Lord Jesus Christ lived among us, He knows how difficult life can be is and He wants us to come boldly to His throne of grace.

Hebrews 4:12
12. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
14. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Nobody will be able to remember all of their sins but everyone must be willing to repent of their sins. Repentance is not only a turning from sin but also a turning toward the Lord. True repentance is a change of mind followed by a change of heart followed by a change of life.

2 Peter 3:9
9. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (Greek - metanoia - a complete change of perspective, a change of heart, a change in one’s way of life resulting from spiritual conversion).

The Lord died for filthy rotten sinners like me even before I repented.

Romans 5:8
8. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

In the beginning, Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, didn't believe that Jesus is God but, later in John 19:38-39, Nicodemus was given the faith to believe and he helped Joseph of Arimathea place the body of Jesus in the tomb. Sometime later, Nicodemus was executed for believing that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh.

John 3:1
1. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.''
3. Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again (Greek - anothen - from above, anew, over again, born in the spirit from above), he cannot see the kingdom of God.''

Notice how Jesus chose the perfect question to help Nicodemus understand that there were no good works or tasks that he could perform to assist in his spiritual birth and that is why Jesus chose to begin the conversation by making a statement about Nicodemus and how he didn't play a role in his own physical birth either.

Q. What role did you play in your human birth?
A. None

Q. What role did you play in your spiritual birth?
A. None

If you are only born once, physically, you will die twice … physically and spiritually. However, if you are born twice, physically and spiritually, you will only die once, physically. In order to escape spiritual death, all you have to do is turn from your sin and accept God’s gift … the gift of His Son.

John 3:16 (Jesus speaking)
16. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Even the faith that leads to salvation is a gift and cannot be earned. Grace is the unmerited favor and merciful kindness of God.

Ephesians 2:8
8. For by grace (Greek - charis - unmerited favor) you have been saved through faith, and that (faith) not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9. not of works, lest anyone should boast.

The word “confess” means that you have to agree with God the Father and say that Jesus Christ is everything that God the Father says Jesus is including; being the eternal God the Son who created the heavens and the earth, being the Lord and Master of your life, being the Savior of your life, being born of a virgin, having lived a sinless life, having been crucified for your sins, and having been raised from the dead to sit at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven to forever make intercession for you. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:9
9. that if you confess (Greek - homologeo: homo - same; logeo - words; to say the same words, agree) with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
13. For "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.''

There is no better time than right now to trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and be made right with God.

Matthew 11:28 (Jesus speaking)
28. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.''

You don’t need to have anyone with you. Just get down on your knees, admit you are a sinner, and ask for His forgiveness. In the quiet of your heart, just have an honest talk with the Lord. He is waiting for you now.

2 Corinthians 6:2
2. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Revelations 3:20 (Jesus speaking)
20. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.




















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