Old Covenant and New Covenant
Leviticus 17:11 FOR THE LIFE OF THE FLESH IS IN THE BLOOD: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: FOR IT IS THE BLOOD THAT MAKETH AND ATONEMENT FOR THE SOUL.
Old Covenant
Le 16:2 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
Le 16:3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
Le 16:4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.
Le 16:5 ¶ And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
Le 16:6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.
Le 16:7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Le 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Le 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Le 16:10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
Le 16:11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:
Le 16:12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:
Le 16:13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
Le 16:14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
Le 16:15 ¶ Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
Le 16:16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
Le 16:17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.
Le 16:18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.
Le 16:19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
Le 16:20 ¶ And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:
Le 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
Le 16:22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
Le 16:23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:
Le 16:24 And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.
Le 16:25 And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.
Le 16:26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.
Le 16:27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.
Le 16:30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
Le 16:34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins ONCE A YEAR. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.
New Covenant
Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Heb 9:25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
Heb 10:12 But this man, after he had offered ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINS FOR EVER, sat down on the right hand of God;
Heb 10:13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
Heb 10:14 For by ONE OFFERING he hath perfected FOR EVER them that are sanctified.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Where Does Religion and Christianity Seperate?
I am going to go through part of a chapter in the bible and explain how true Christianity is different from all other religions. When I say true Christianity I am not speaking of what the mass of Christians believe. What the mass of Christians believe is just as wrong as Buddhism.
Here in this chapter we will see the truth.
Philippians 3:4 ¶ Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Paul is saying that if anyone has confidence in the way he has lived his life to get right with God, he does more. That is quite a brag. Paul is openly bragging and saying that if you think that you have lived better and more righteous then him, your wrong. Look what he goes on to say.
Php 3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
He was circumcised on the right day. That is good. God commanded that every one of the blood line of Abraham be circumcised on the eighth day as a token of his being a part of the covenant that God made with Israel. Moving on he was of the tribe of Benjamin. That's good. He was not just an ordinary Hebrew. Paul was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. When Paul walked through the city, people recognized him as someone special. He says concerning the law he was of the upper class, a Pharisee. We usually liken Pharisee with a hypocrite but the Pharisee's observed all the laws. The were seriously hard core and zealous after the commandments of God.
Php 3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Paul says, "Lets talk about zeal, I was the one that persecuted that heretical group that was trying to bring down the Law. I was the one doing something about it. And concerning that righteousness that you get by obeying the law, I was blameless." That is quite a brag. Paul just said that if you want to talk about all those laws that God gave Moses, no man could ever find Paul at fault. The law said not to steal. Paul never did. The law said not to covet or commit adultery. Paul never did. The law said to keep the Sabbath. Paul always kept the Sabbath holy. Wow! That is pretty good. You say if you were that good, then you would for sure please God and get into heaven. If no one on earth could ever accuse you of wrong doing, then God would owe you eternal life, right? Lets see what he says next.
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Here is what we finally come to. This is where true Christianity and religion seperate. All those good things that Paul knew he ought to do, all those good deeds that Paul did in obedience to the law, he counted for loss. He discarded it. All those things he did to please God in his religion, Paul counted as loss. He traded it for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Paul puts all his good deeds in a pile. All the times he obeyed the law and just heaps it on a pile. All the ordinances and rules and self effort. Then he steps back, looks at it and calls the whole pile dung. Manure. The real stuff, not just compost. Paul says that he suffered the loss of ALL things (all his righteousness) and counts them as dung so that He may win Christ.
Php 3:9 ¶ And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Paul having counted all his religion dung, hopes that he will be found in Jesus not having his own righteousness, which comes by means of obeying the law, but that righteousness that comes through the faith of Christ, that righteousness which is God's by faith.
So we see two different righteousness here. Ours and God's. Our righteousness is how we lived. Our good deeds. God's righteousness is how He lived while he was on this earth. God's righteousness is God's right doing. Our righteousness is our right doing. God's righteousness is how Jesus Christ lived while he was here on earth. It seems that we don't want to be found on judgment day with our own righteousness. We need this righteousness that comes is God's. How do we get this righteousness? By believing that what Jesus did while he was here on earth is enough to get us into heaven. It's that easy. Simply believing that the blood He shed is sufficient to pay for and remove our sin.
So if you were to ask Paul if he were going to heaven, Paul would say, "I have never done anything to get me there. Nothing I have ever done is good enough to put me in right standing with God. I deserve the fires of hell and apart from God's righteousness I have no hope." I know that all my hope is in the righteousness of Christ, and not my own.
Here in this chapter we will see the truth.
Philippians 3:4 ¶ Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Paul is saying that if anyone has confidence in the way he has lived his life to get right with God, he does more. That is quite a brag. Paul is openly bragging and saying that if you think that you have lived better and more righteous then him, your wrong. Look what he goes on to say.
Php 3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
He was circumcised on the right day. That is good. God commanded that every one of the blood line of Abraham be circumcised on the eighth day as a token of his being a part of the covenant that God made with Israel. Moving on he was of the tribe of Benjamin. That's good. He was not just an ordinary Hebrew. Paul was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. When Paul walked through the city, people recognized him as someone special. He says concerning the law he was of the upper class, a Pharisee. We usually liken Pharisee with a hypocrite but the Pharisee's observed all the laws. The were seriously hard core and zealous after the commandments of God.
Php 3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Paul says, "Lets talk about zeal, I was the one that persecuted that heretical group that was trying to bring down the Law. I was the one doing something about it. And concerning that righteousness that you get by obeying the law, I was blameless." That is quite a brag. Paul just said that if you want to talk about all those laws that God gave Moses, no man could ever find Paul at fault. The law said not to steal. Paul never did. The law said not to covet or commit adultery. Paul never did. The law said to keep the Sabbath. Paul always kept the Sabbath holy. Wow! That is pretty good. You say if you were that good, then you would for sure please God and get into heaven. If no one on earth could ever accuse you of wrong doing, then God would owe you eternal life, right? Lets see what he says next.
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Here is what we finally come to. This is where true Christianity and religion seperate. All those good things that Paul knew he ought to do, all those good deeds that Paul did in obedience to the law, he counted for loss. He discarded it. All those things he did to please God in his religion, Paul counted as loss. He traded it for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Paul puts all his good deeds in a pile. All the times he obeyed the law and just heaps it on a pile. All the ordinances and rules and self effort. Then he steps back, looks at it and calls the whole pile dung. Manure. The real stuff, not just compost. Paul says that he suffered the loss of ALL things (all his righteousness) and counts them as dung so that He may win Christ.
Php 3:9 ¶ And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Paul having counted all his religion dung, hopes that he will be found in Jesus not having his own righteousness, which comes by means of obeying the law, but that righteousness that comes through the faith of Christ, that righteousness which is God's by faith.
So we see two different righteousness here. Ours and God's. Our righteousness is how we lived. Our good deeds. God's righteousness is how He lived while he was on this earth. God's righteousness is God's right doing. Our righteousness is our right doing. God's righteousness is how Jesus Christ lived while he was here on earth. It seems that we don't want to be found on judgment day with our own righteousness. We need this righteousness that comes is God's. How do we get this righteousness? By believing that what Jesus did while he was here on earth is enough to get us into heaven. It's that easy. Simply believing that the blood He shed is sufficient to pay for and remove our sin.
So if you were to ask Paul if he were going to heaven, Paul would say, "I have never done anything to get me there. Nothing I have ever done is good enough to put me in right standing with God. I deserve the fires of hell and apart from God's righteousness I have no hope." I know that all my hope is in the righteousness of Christ, and not my own.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Jesus
I was going through the gospels and a few thoughts came to my mind. These books really reveal a lot about who Jesus was, who He came for, who He had kind words for, and who He had harsh words for. Keeping in mind that in Jesus dwells all the fullness of God, it sure gives us an insight into the heart of God.
Jesus came for the ungodly sinner. That in itself is absolutely astounding. To think that a just and righteous God would come to this earth and seek out a family among those that fornicated, drunks, liars, thieves, blasphemers, murderers, and convince and persuade them to believe in Himself to be saved and then call them righteous, is mind staggering. In this passage the religious of the Jews wondered why Jesus was eating and drinking with sinners and publicans.
Mt 9:12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Mt 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance
Obviously Jesus was being somewhat sarcastic when He said "whole" and "righteous". Jesus is saying that He did not come to call those people that thought that they did not need a Savior. He came for sinners who knew that they were ungodly sinners. He came for sinners like this...
Lu 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
I find this theme throughout the life of Jesus here on this earth. When He started His ministry he went to the fishing docks to find disciples. It would be the equivalent of going into one of our modern day factories. One would think that He would have gone to the synagogue and found some young men that were really devout and followed after righteousness and holiness. But He didn't. Why didn't He? Because Jesus came with a new message and He needed new "wineskins". So He went to the fishing docks where the men were who cussed, chewed tobacco, had vile filthy mouths etc. If you have ever been to a fishing dock, these are rough men that have a very crude demeanor. For example you look at Peter, the guy fished in the nude. These are not men that you would think the Son of God would chose to be His close confidants. But He did.
What about the Samaritan woman at the well? A Samaritan was a half breed. These people dwelt in a piece of land that religious Jews would not even walk through. The Samaritans were considered unclean and worse than dogs. Jesus is sitting by the well and this Samaritan woman approaches and Jesus asks her for some water. This woman could tell right away that Jesus was not just a normal Jew. And for Jesus to ask her for a drink out of her own waterpot was absurd. This was unheard of. This woman was not only a Samaritan, she had had five husbands and the man she had now was not her husband. This was not a virtuous woman. And Jesus, the Son of God sat and told her of Himself, that He was the Messiah and that He had living water and if she would drink from the living water that he would give her, she would never thirst again. He told her everything that she had ever done and when she left, she was in such a hurry to tell others that she forgot her waterpot, her whole purpose for coming. What got me about this story is that Jesus had no qualms about speaking to a Samaritan woman who was not virtuous. It didn't matter to Him her status or who her family was or even her background. Not only this but he spent two days in this Samaritan city with these "unclean people", ministering to them.
So how could Jesus have such kind words to say to sinners and such harsh words to the religious? The harshest words that Jesus uttered were to two groups of people, the Pharisees and the Scribes. When we think of Pharisees we usually think of hypocrites. They were, but they were also the most devout and the most righteous group of people in the world. They observed all the laws. They sought after righteousness more than anyone. They went to the synagogue more than anyone. They taught in the synagogues and prayed and fasted. They loved the laws of God and yet Jesus had nothing but words of rebuke for them. The scribes studied the law. They studied prophesy and more than likely memorized the first five books of the bible. That's right, all five books. But this didn't impress Jesus.
Mt 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things?
Mt 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Mt 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
Mt 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
That doesn't sound at all like how Jesus talked to the women at the well. Neither does it sound like what Jesus told the adulteress woman who was caught in the act. The Pharisees bring this woman to Him and knowing that the law states that she should be put to death, ask Jesus what they should do. Jesus agreed with them about what the law says, but adds, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her". Everyone was convicted of sin and no one threw a stone. Amazing.
John 8:10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
John 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
All through Jesus's ministry we see that Jesus had compassion on those that were genuine sinners. What I mean by that is people who had lived a life of sin and knew it. These people knew that they were ungodly and in great need of a Savior. They recognized their sin and how it was contrary to everything that was righteous and holy. If anything is self evident about the ministry of Jesus it is that there is nothing that God hates more than self righteous, religious people who have no need of Christ. People who have gone to church all their lives and talk only about outward things such as holy living, modest apparel, ignoring the awesome works of God. All under the guise of pleasing God. If you see through it you see that it is all about pleasing men. These people seem to think that heaven itself is somehow indebted to them and rarely talk about Jesus, or the cross and what it cost for God to justify ungodly sinners like us.
The moral of the story is this. If you think you are a pretty good person, you are in big trouble. There is a judgment day coming. You think that nobody knows about the vile dirty things you do when no one is around. You might have fooled most people but you can't fool God. You think that you are getting away with it. You're not. Judgment is coming. Faith in Jesus is the only way to escape the coming wrath. This is Jesus praying to God the Father...
John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Eternal life is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Not in "church", not in baptism, not in any religion. When one has a relationship with Jesus, one doesn't need religion. Only through faith can one please God and without faith it is impossible. Jesus is all one needs.
Romans 4:5 To him that worketh not but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Jesus died for the UNGODLY! Friend, that is you and me!
It's a FREE GIFT. Dwell on that, FREE GIFT! You cannot do anything to earn it and and the only people the gift is offered to, is THE UNGODLY! This means YOU! This is wonderful news and you don't have to DO ANYTHING, just believe. It's not what you do my friend, it's what He has done... Tetelesti. It is finished.
Jesus came for the ungodly sinner. That in itself is absolutely astounding. To think that a just and righteous God would come to this earth and seek out a family among those that fornicated, drunks, liars, thieves, blasphemers, murderers, and convince and persuade them to believe in Himself to be saved and then call them righteous, is mind staggering. In this passage the religious of the Jews wondered why Jesus was eating and drinking with sinners and publicans.
Mt 9:12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Mt 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance
Obviously Jesus was being somewhat sarcastic when He said "whole" and "righteous". Jesus is saying that He did not come to call those people that thought that they did not need a Savior. He came for sinners who knew that they were ungodly sinners. He came for sinners like this...
Lu 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
I find this theme throughout the life of Jesus here on this earth. When He started His ministry he went to the fishing docks to find disciples. It would be the equivalent of going into one of our modern day factories. One would think that He would have gone to the synagogue and found some young men that were really devout and followed after righteousness and holiness. But He didn't. Why didn't He? Because Jesus came with a new message and He needed new "wineskins". So He went to the fishing docks where the men were who cussed, chewed tobacco, had vile filthy mouths etc. If you have ever been to a fishing dock, these are rough men that have a very crude demeanor. For example you look at Peter, the guy fished in the nude. These are not men that you would think the Son of God would chose to be His close confidants. But He did.
What about the Samaritan woman at the well? A Samaritan was a half breed. These people dwelt in a piece of land that religious Jews would not even walk through. The Samaritans were considered unclean and worse than dogs. Jesus is sitting by the well and this Samaritan woman approaches and Jesus asks her for some water. This woman could tell right away that Jesus was not just a normal Jew. And for Jesus to ask her for a drink out of her own waterpot was absurd. This was unheard of. This woman was not only a Samaritan, she had had five husbands and the man she had now was not her husband. This was not a virtuous woman. And Jesus, the Son of God sat and told her of Himself, that He was the Messiah and that He had living water and if she would drink from the living water that he would give her, she would never thirst again. He told her everything that she had ever done and when she left, she was in such a hurry to tell others that she forgot her waterpot, her whole purpose for coming. What got me about this story is that Jesus had no qualms about speaking to a Samaritan woman who was not virtuous. It didn't matter to Him her status or who her family was or even her background. Not only this but he spent two days in this Samaritan city with these "unclean people", ministering to them.
So how could Jesus have such kind words to say to sinners and such harsh words to the religious? The harshest words that Jesus uttered were to two groups of people, the Pharisees and the Scribes. When we think of Pharisees we usually think of hypocrites. They were, but they were also the most devout and the most righteous group of people in the world. They observed all the laws. They sought after righteousness more than anyone. They went to the synagogue more than anyone. They taught in the synagogues and prayed and fasted. They loved the laws of God and yet Jesus had nothing but words of rebuke for them. The scribes studied the law. They studied prophesy and more than likely memorized the first five books of the bible. That's right, all five books. But this didn't impress Jesus.
Mt 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things?
Mt 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Mt 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
Mt 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
That doesn't sound at all like how Jesus talked to the women at the well. Neither does it sound like what Jesus told the adulteress woman who was caught in the act. The Pharisees bring this woman to Him and knowing that the law states that she should be put to death, ask Jesus what they should do. Jesus agreed with them about what the law says, but adds, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her". Everyone was convicted of sin and no one threw a stone. Amazing.
John 8:10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
John 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
All through Jesus's ministry we see that Jesus had compassion on those that were genuine sinners. What I mean by that is people who had lived a life of sin and knew it. These people knew that they were ungodly and in great need of a Savior. They recognized their sin and how it was contrary to everything that was righteous and holy. If anything is self evident about the ministry of Jesus it is that there is nothing that God hates more than self righteous, religious people who have no need of Christ. People who have gone to church all their lives and talk only about outward things such as holy living, modest apparel, ignoring the awesome works of God. All under the guise of pleasing God. If you see through it you see that it is all about pleasing men. These people seem to think that heaven itself is somehow indebted to them and rarely talk about Jesus, or the cross and what it cost for God to justify ungodly sinners like us.
The moral of the story is this. If you think you are a pretty good person, you are in big trouble. There is a judgment day coming. You think that nobody knows about the vile dirty things you do when no one is around. You might have fooled most people but you can't fool God. You think that you are getting away with it. You're not. Judgment is coming. Faith in Jesus is the only way to escape the coming wrath. This is Jesus praying to God the Father...
John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Eternal life is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Not in "church", not in baptism, not in any religion. When one has a relationship with Jesus, one doesn't need religion. Only through faith can one please God and without faith it is impossible. Jesus is all one needs.
Romans 4:5 To him that worketh not but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Jesus died for the UNGODLY! Friend, that is you and me!
It's a FREE GIFT. Dwell on that, FREE GIFT! You cannot do anything to earn it and and the only people the gift is offered to, is THE UNGODLY! This means YOU! This is wonderful news and you don't have to DO ANYTHING, just believe. It's not what you do my friend, it's what He has done... Tetelesti. It is finished.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
How Good Do You Have To Be?
What a great question. If there is a heaven, how good do you have to be to go there? Have you ever thought that? I will focus on a few different groups of people here. Some people are real religious. All their focus is on wearing the right clothes, going to "the only right denomonation", going to "church" every week, saying their prayers, facing the right way when they pray, praying to the right god, keeping the Sabbath on the right day, doing a lot of religious stuff in order to please God ... So the question is raised. Are these people good enough to go to heaven? Will these works be sufficient for God to justify these religious people, and if not, what does one need to do and how "good" is good enough?
Many people in this world claim that they are good enough to go to heaven (if there is such a place). They claim that there are many ways to get to heaven. Do good and go to heaven, and do bad... go somewhere but not heaven. God probably is too loving to send anyone to hell so He probably has some other place for the bad people... like purgatory or something. But there are many religions you know, many different paths to take that lead to heaven. No one can say for sure which one is the right one and if you do, you are discriminating, (and that's wrong).
These people take great comfort in the fact that they are better then most people, so God will probably let them in. They are better then most of those hypocrites that go to church every week. At least they are not hypocrites. I mean, if not them... then who? Nope, you just be better then the rest and hope for the best. I mean, HOW GOOD DO YOU HAVE TO BE? How good, if there is a God, would He require us to be, to get into heaven (If there was such a place)? How high can His standard be? I don't smoke or do drugs... I don't lie or cheat in business. I try to help my fellow man when I can. People that know me think I am a pretty good guy. I just look at the other people in the world, you know, people that rape others, murder, are involved in gangs, steal, cheat on their wives... I don't do any of that. I am just plain good. I am well disciplined. I don't let my body be addicted to anything. I eat healthy. Bottom line... I just try to do my best and God couldn't require anymore than that. I mean seriously, He couldn't ask more than your best... right?...
Here is the scary thing that the world and religion won't tell you. GOD DOES REQUIRE MORE THAN THAT! GOD EXPECTS MORE THAN THAT! But the problem is, that is all that we sinners can give, is an effort, a try, and still end in failure. One day God will judge each man according to his deeds. Well that sounds good to you, eh? You just want what you got coming? For all your good works? For your wonderful discipline? For all your great humanity? The thing is, we are not talking humanity here. We are talking Deity. The bible says all have sinned and fall short... The whole world is morally bankrupt. Terminally ill with sin. You say you haven't sinned as much as the next man? Well he is also terminally ill with sin too. In an aids ward it's great that you feel better then the guy laying beside you but you're still going to die. And then what? You just going to go on and hope for the best? You gonna bet eternity on a "hope for the best"? There is no way out. You have broken God's standard and now someone has to pay. There is a sense of judgment in every man that says, you need to do right or you deserve to burn. And now someone MUST PAY.
Well someone did pay. God Himself paid. He paid Himself by sending His Son to bleed and die on a cross so that He would have a just basis to forgive anyone that would believe. ANYONE. See, God already poured out His wrath on His own Son Jesus on the cross so that He wouldn't have to pour it out on you (In Hell). Someone already paid the price for your sin, but if you fail to repent to God and believe this good news, you will pay. You will pay dearly for eternity. Utter torment in the lake of fire. A place reserved for the devil and his angels. But until you see that you are NOT A GOOD PERSON and deserve the fires of hell for sinning against a Righteous and Holy God, you can't be saved. Until it dawns on you the severity of your sin and the cost it incurred, you can't be saved. Until you see that payment for sin requires blood, either your blood (the guilty) or Jesus's blood that was shed on Calvary, you can't be saved. If you decide to ignore what Jesus did for you, and just continue living your life of sin, like He never died... you will pay. Just coast on through life... Ignore the love that God showed in the act of becoming one of us and paying for our sins. I recommend the alternative. Jesus. Trust me, this is not religion. This has nothing to do with going to church or getting baptized. You don't even have to leave your house. This has everything to do with a right standing between you and God. The only way this can happen is faith in a Man named Jesus. This has everything to do with relationship. Just you and Jesus. Nobody else and nothing else involved, only God's only Son. He changed my life and He can change yours.
Romans 4:5 To him that worketh not but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Jesus died for the UNGODLY! Friend, that is you and me!
It's a FREE GIFT. Dwell on that, FREE GIFT! You cannot do anything to earn it and and the only people the gift is offered to, is THE UNGODLY! This means YOU! This is wonderful news and you don't have to DO ANYTHING, just believe. It's not what you do my friend, it's what He has done... Tetelesti. It is finished.
Many people in this world claim that they are good enough to go to heaven (if there is such a place). They claim that there are many ways to get to heaven. Do good and go to heaven, and do bad... go somewhere but not heaven. God probably is too loving to send anyone to hell so He probably has some other place for the bad people... like purgatory or something. But there are many religions you know, many different paths to take that lead to heaven. No one can say for sure which one is the right one and if you do, you are discriminating, (and that's wrong).
These people take great comfort in the fact that they are better then most people, so God will probably let them in. They are better then most of those hypocrites that go to church every week. At least they are not hypocrites. I mean, if not them... then who? Nope, you just be better then the rest and hope for the best. I mean, HOW GOOD DO YOU HAVE TO BE? How good, if there is a God, would He require us to be, to get into heaven (If there was such a place)? How high can His standard be? I don't smoke or do drugs... I don't lie or cheat in business. I try to help my fellow man when I can. People that know me think I am a pretty good guy. I just look at the other people in the world, you know, people that rape others, murder, are involved in gangs, steal, cheat on their wives... I don't do any of that. I am just plain good. I am well disciplined. I don't let my body be addicted to anything. I eat healthy. Bottom line... I just try to do my best and God couldn't require anymore than that. I mean seriously, He couldn't ask more than your best... right?...
Here is the scary thing that the world and religion won't tell you. GOD DOES REQUIRE MORE THAN THAT! GOD EXPECTS MORE THAN THAT! But the problem is, that is all that we sinners can give, is an effort, a try, and still end in failure. One day God will judge each man according to his deeds. Well that sounds good to you, eh? You just want what you got coming? For all your good works? For your wonderful discipline? For all your great humanity? The thing is, we are not talking humanity here. We are talking Deity. The bible says all have sinned and fall short... The whole world is morally bankrupt. Terminally ill with sin. You say you haven't sinned as much as the next man? Well he is also terminally ill with sin too. In an aids ward it's great that you feel better then the guy laying beside you but you're still going to die. And then what? You just going to go on and hope for the best? You gonna bet eternity on a "hope for the best"? There is no way out. You have broken God's standard and now someone has to pay. There is a sense of judgment in every man that says, you need to do right or you deserve to burn. And now someone MUST PAY.
Well someone did pay. God Himself paid. He paid Himself by sending His Son to bleed and die on a cross so that He would have a just basis to forgive anyone that would believe. ANYONE. See, God already poured out His wrath on His own Son Jesus on the cross so that He wouldn't have to pour it out on you (In Hell). Someone already paid the price for your sin, but if you fail to repent to God and believe this good news, you will pay. You will pay dearly for eternity. Utter torment in the lake of fire. A place reserved for the devil and his angels. But until you see that you are NOT A GOOD PERSON and deserve the fires of hell for sinning against a Righteous and Holy God, you can't be saved. Until it dawns on you the severity of your sin and the cost it incurred, you can't be saved. Until you see that payment for sin requires blood, either your blood (the guilty) or Jesus's blood that was shed on Calvary, you can't be saved. If you decide to ignore what Jesus did for you, and just continue living your life of sin, like He never died... you will pay. Just coast on through life... Ignore the love that God showed in the act of becoming one of us and paying for our sins. I recommend the alternative. Jesus. Trust me, this is not religion. This has nothing to do with going to church or getting baptized. You don't even have to leave your house. This has everything to do with a right standing between you and God. The only way this can happen is faith in a Man named Jesus. This has everything to do with relationship. Just you and Jesus. Nobody else and nothing else involved, only God's only Son. He changed my life and He can change yours.
Romans 4:5 To him that worketh not but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Jesus died for the UNGODLY! Friend, that is you and me!
It's a FREE GIFT. Dwell on that, FREE GIFT! You cannot do anything to earn it and and the only people the gift is offered to, is THE UNGODLY! This means YOU! This is wonderful news and you don't have to DO ANYTHING, just believe. It's not what you do my friend, it's what He has done... Tetelesti. It is finished.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)