COMPROMISERS OF THE WORD OF GOD ON BC
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Posted:Apr 3, 2009 9:35 am
Last Updated:Apr 13, 2009 6:42 pm 42231 Views
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"Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" Galatians 4:16
Jesus did not condone EVIL OR THE TEACHING OF ERROR in this world but rather he spoke against it. Setting an example for us to follow. Speak the truth in love, but speak it. If you love your fellow man, you do run the risk of making an enemy of the very person you desire God to save.
The dark and deadly side of compromise takes place when people alter, bend, add to or take away from God's holy word. When we engage in such activity what we call compromise for the good of all, GOD CALLS THIS REBELLION! When one rebels against God's word, they could find themselves eternally cast out of His presence with their voices joined in unison with the horrible wailing that rises from the pit of darkness.
Are compromisers really saved? Not at all! In fact they are Satans tools to hinder the preaching of the gospel. They have no ears to hear and their mission is to keep others from hearing!
John 12:48 “He who rejects ME, and does not receive MY words, has that which judges him ‒ the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”
Compromisers hate the preaching of truth!
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SDA CULT TEACHING ON THE SANCTUARY .....SDA DESPISE THE BLOOD OF JESUS
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Posted:Apr 2, 2009 9:42 am
Last Updated:Apr 3, 2009 10:04 am 43133 Views
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SDA teach that the cross of Jesus Christ brought a two fold work:
[1] the sacrifice whereby atonement was provided, [2] after His ascension He applied this sacrifice. This work of application also has two phases...
[1] from the time of His ascension to October 22, 1844, Christ did a work comparable to the daily ministry of the Old Testament priests, which resulted in the forgiveness of sins but not in the blotting out of sin
[2] On October 22, 1844, Christ entered on the "judgment phase" of His ministry whereby He blots out sin-a work, comparable to that of the high priest on the Day of Atonement.
In other words, SDA teach a partial atonement
SDA make a clear distinction between the forgiveness of sins and the blotting out of sins. They teach that when a man repents and believes he receives forgiveness of sin, but not the blotting out of sins. His "forgiven" sins are still on record in the heavenly sanctuary, even after he has confessed them and after they have been forgiven.
They declare that the Old Testament typology teaches this: when the priests brought the blood of the sin offering into the holy place, they simply transferred the iniquities of the people to the sanctuary. They further declare that the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:23-25 teaches that one's forgiveness can be canceled after it has been bestowed, as was the case with the unmerciful servant. Their book, Seventh Day Adventist Answer Questions of Doctrine states
"The actual blotting out of sin, therefore, could not take place the moment when a sin is forgiven, because subsequent deeds and attitudes may affect the final decision. Instead, the sin remains on the record until the life is complete-in fact, the Scripture indicated it remains until judgment"
This issue is so critical to SDA that they teach that no one can even say that a man's record is closed at his death:
"He is responsible for his influence during life, and is just as surely responsible for his evil influence after he is dead. To quote the words of the poet, "The evil that men do lives after them", leaving a trail of sin to be charged to the account. In order to be just , it would seem that God would need to take all these things into account in the judgment
Sins will only be finally blotted out at the investigative judgment, Ellen G. White wrote:
"When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people form the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration [the investigative judgment]. He will place them upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment must bear the final penalty.
When the investigative judgment closes, Christ will come, and His reward will be with Him to give to every man as his work shall be ... As the priest in removing the sins from the sanctuary, confessed them upon the head of the scapegoat, so Christ will place all these sins upon Satan, the originator and instigator of sin. The scapegoat, bearing the sins of Israel, was sent away..so Satan, bearing the guilt of all the sins which he has caused God's people to commit, will be for a thousand years confined to the earth.. and he will at last suffer the full penalty of sin in the fires that shall destroy all the wicked. Thus the great plan of redemption will reach its accomplishment in the final eradication of sin
What absolute blashemy!!! What does the bible really say?
“For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now TO APPEAR IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD FOR US” (Hebrews 9:24).
“Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an HIGH PRIEST, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Hebrews 8:1). Jesus is our High Priest! “Seeing then that we have a great HIGH PRIEST, that is passed into the heavens, JESUS THE OF GOD…” (Hebrews 4:14). Jesus’ tabernacle is in Heaven, not on earth, “A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man” (Hebrews 8:2)
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot 1 Peter 1:18,19
Cult awareness
Jesus is precious! Jesus’ blood is precious
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SDA ADD LAW KEEPING AS A REQUIREMENT TO SALVATION....THEY DO NOT BELEIVE "IT IS FINNISHED"
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Posted:Apr 1, 2009 8:39 am
Last Updated:Apr 9, 2009 8:34 am 43887 Views
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SDA VERSION OF THE ATONEMENT
"Now, while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ" E.G. White,
The Great Controversy 1911, p 623
The Great Controversy has since been retitled and published as America in Prophecy, 1988
SDA teaches that, though saved by grace, we are kept by the Law "partial atonement"). Therefore, one must keep Old Testament dietary and ceremonial laws, paying particular attention to keep the Saturday Sabbath and the Ten Commandments, and most importantly, making sure to faithfully pay the tithe
Even when speaking of being saved by the righteousness of Christ, Adventist writers refer to imparted righteousness, seldom to the Biblical concept of imputed righteousness.
Calling it "Christ's righteousness," while insisting on the believer's perfection of character as a prerequisite to salvation, is at worst a thinly veiled works salvation, or at best an attempt to mix grace and works, something the Bible says is impossible to do (Rom. 11:6).
Mrs. White's words are crystal clear ..... one will not be forgiven until all sins are eradicated from one's life and one's character is perfected. Precisely the same heresy is found (besides many others) in Mormonism. It is not the salvation by grace alone through faith alone offered in the Bible.
Biblical Discernment
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IRANIAN COUPLE PERSECUTED FOR BEING CHRISTIANS WIN ASSYLUM IN CANADA
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Posted:Mar 31, 2009 6:45 pm
Last Updated:Apr 2, 2009 10:27 am 45421 Views
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Iranian couple persecuted for their Christian faith wins asylum in Canada
An Iranian couple who spent months in prison and nearly a decade on the run because of their Christian faith have won asylum in Canada.
Azita and Ahmad Reza Shafaghat are expected to touch down in Vancouver Tuesday afternoon after years of struggling to find a new country to call home.
“I am ecstatic. I have just been waiting for this day for so long,” said Nazanin Afshin-Jam, a Vancouver-based human-rights advocate who’s been working on the couple’s behalf since 2006.
“This poor couple. They have suffered so much just so they could practice their Christian faith in freedom,” she said.
Afshin-Jam befriended the Shafaghats while they were serving a prison term in Turkey – a country to which the young couple, both in their 20s, had fled after suffering ongoing religious persecution in their native Iran.
The couple had landed in a Turkish jail cell after they were caught, with seven other would-be refugees, trying to make their way over to Greece by boat.
Greek authorities beat them both before returning them to Turkey, where authorities jailed them for more than nine months for failing to possess the proper immigration papers, Afshin-Jam said.
In 1999, the couple served a five-month jail term in Iran after they were arrested during a student rally. Azita was found in possession of a cross around her neck, while Ahmad Reza had a small bible.
Conversion from Islam to another religion is an offence punishable by death in Iran, according to Afshin-Jam.
Afshin-Jam said the couple suffered both physical and emotional abuse while serving time in the Iranian jail.
In Turkey, meanwhile, cell conditions were so poor Ahmad Reza developed severe kidney and lung problems from sleeping on a bare floor and Azita was hospitalized several times for undisclosed serious medical complications.
When Afshin-Jam first contacted the couple by phone, her initial thought was to offer them a message of hope and a “boost of energy” until they were freed. But after hearing their story firsthand, she quickly became more deeply involved. In 2007, she raised the issue on Parliament Hill where she’d been invited to testify as part of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights.
Later, she brought the case up directly with Minister of Immigration and Citizenship Jason Kenney, who offered his help. Kenney stepped in to grant asylum after Finland turned down the couple’s initial refugee application.
In an press release issued Tuesday, the Shafaghats expressed their thanks to Canada “for giving us the chance to live in freedom for the first time in our lives and allowing us to pray to God without having to look over our shoulder to face torture, prison and death.”
The couple also pressed for the “separation between religion and state in Iran and for the freedom of all prisoners of conscious.”
The Vancouver Sun
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Law keeping will not save you.....What the Law Could Not Do, God Did
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Posted:Mar 30, 2009 9:05 am
Last Updated:Mar 30, 2009 8:00 pm 43520 Views
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Romans 8:1-4
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh."
Four Facts
God condemned sin in the flesh.
He did this by sending his own in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin.
The law was not able to do this.
The reason the law could not do this was because of our flesh.
What was it that the law could not do? And, Why couldn't it do it? The reason I think this is worth a whole message is that the two things that the law could not do are things that are absolutely necessary for us to experience if we are to have eternal life, and, even though the law could not and cannot do them, people still turn to the law to get them done. In other words, it is tremendously relevant to your life to know what the law cannot do for you, lest you go there for the help you can only get from Jesus Christ.
The Law Could not Justify or Sanctify Us
First, then, what is it that the law could not do? The answer is given twice in Romans 8:1-4, once in verses 1-2 and once in verses 3-4. Verse 1 says, "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." This is what we call justification - if we are in Christ Jesus - that is, if we are united to Jesus by faith in him - our condemnation from God because of our sin is taken away. God acquits us. Counts us righteous. Justifies us. He does not look upon us any longer as guilty and condemned, but as forgiven and righteous because of what Jesus did for us.
Then comes verse 2: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." This is what we call sanctification. After we are justified, and because we are justified, the Spirit of God is poured out in our lives and begins to free us from the dominion of sin and death. This means that Christians are not only "counted" righteous in justification, but actually transformed by the Spirit of God into more and more actually righteous, loving, holy people. This is the practical evidence that we have trusted Christ and are united to him and are justified in him.
Now my answer to our question is that these two things are what the law could not do. The law could not justify us and the law could not sanctify us. It was powerless to do both of these things. The first sign of this is that verse 3 begins with "for." You could read it like this: Justification is "in Christ" (verse 1), and sanctification is "in Christ" (verse 2), for the law could not do these things, only Christ could, and so God sent his in the likeness of sinful flesh. That's the first answer to the question from verses 1 and 2.
Justification and sanctification come to us by union with Christ Jesus ("in Christ") for the law could not make them happen.
Now the same answer comes in verses 3 and 4 as well. Verse 3 says that what the law could not do is condemn sin in the flesh, that is, it could not deal with sin, absorb its punishment, remove our condemnation. So God did this by sending Jesus into the world to die for us: "For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh." So here we have the same point as verse 1: There is no condemnation because God executed the condemnation for our sin on his . That is the basis of our justification. That is what the law could not do. It could not remove the condemnation for our sin. It could identify it and name it and point away from it and stir it up and rub it in. But it could not remove our punishment. God did that in Jesus' death. So again we see that justification is something the law could not do.
Now verse 4, like verse 2, says that this justification leads to sanctification, which was also something the law could not do - since it could not justify us. Notice verse 4 begins with "so that." This is a purpose of God's condemning sin in the flesh. God put our condemnation on Jesus and provided the basis for our justification "so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
Walking according to the Spirit is what we mean by sanctification. So what we see here again, as in verses 1 and 2, is that sanctification is the result or the effect of justification. And that means that both justification and sanctification are what the law could not do.
You can see it most easily if you just say verses 3 and 4 like this: What the law could not do God did, namely two things: he condemned sin by sending his to die for us, and because of this basis for justification he enables us to fulfill the essence of the law by giving us the Holy Spirit. That is what the law could not do: justify us and sanctify us. It could not remove our condemnation or bring about our transformation. And yet both of these are absolutely necessary if we are going to be saved in the last day and have eternal life.
The Law Could not Justify Us Because We Were of Flesh
So we need to ask now: Why could the law not do these two things? Because if we can see the reason for this weakness clearly, we will be protected from the deadly mistake of counting on the law for justification and sanctification. And, even better, we will know where to look for the declaration that we are right with God and for the transformation that follows.
And that is so crucial for us all. You may have come today wondering how these Baptists think about salvation and about how to get right with God and have eternal life. Well we think about it the same way Biblical Christians have thought about it for centuries: this is historic Christianity, not just Baptist Christianity. The law - the ten commandments and the other rules that Moses gave the people of Israel - cannot make you right with God and cannot transform you into the kind of righteous and loving persons you want to be.
Why not? Verse 3 answers: "For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did." The problem with the law is not that its commandments are evil (Romans 7:12), but that we are evil (Romans 7:14).
The word "flesh" does not mean skin, in Paul's vocabulary. It means our old fallen nature.
The flesh is what we are and what life is without God and his gracious, saving work by the Spirit. That is what the law encounters when it comes to us.
So what is the weakness of the law? The weakness of the law is that it was not designed to redeem fallen, condemned, rebellious, selfish people like us.
Think about this first in relation to justification. The reason we need to be justified is that we stand under the condemnation of God because we are fallen.
Remember Romans 5:18, "Through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men[/I]." Flesh is what we are by human nature, and what we are by human nature is under condemnation. What is the remedy for condemnation? If you are guilty of a capital offense and under the condemnation of a death sentence from God, what will save you?
I'll tell you what will not save you. Commandments will not save you when your problem is guilt and condemnation. What happens when commandments come? Paul tells us in Romans 7:9, "When the commandment came, sin came alive and I died."
The commandments don't bring about redemption, they bring about wrath. Romans 4:15, "The law brings wrath."
A man who is guilty and under legal condemnation will not be saved by commandments; he will be saved by acquittal. He needs a judge to pardon and forgive. He needs justification by faith and not by works of the law. That's why Paul comes to the end of his long indictment of the human race in Romans 1-3 by saying, "By works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20).
So the law could not do what absolutely has to be done if we are to be rescued from our guilt and condemnation: it could not justify us. It could not set us right with God. It could not take away our guilt. It could not absorb our condemnation. What it did was show us our guilt (Romans 3:20; 7 ) and to make us even more sinful by stirring up the rebellion of our flesh (5:20; 7:5). "Through the commandment sin [becomes] utterly sinful" (Romans 7:13).
Trust Jesus, not Law-Keeping
So, if you want to be set right with God, don't look to the law. If you want to be acquitted and justified, don't depend on law-keeping. No amount of law-keeping can turn the verdict of guilty to not-guilty. One thing can change that verdict that hangs over your head: the perfect of God living and dying in your place. For his sake alone God counts you to be righteous when you trust him. Hence Romans 3:28, "We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law." Trust Jesus, not law-keeping.
So the law cannot justify us because we are in the flesh, meaning we are fallen and condemned. And commandments of the law cannot remove guilt and condemnation. Only Christ can.
Why Is It that the Law Could not Sanctify Us?(Sanctify mans to make holy)
Now we turn to sanctification. Why can't the law sanctify us? Why can't it make us holy and righteous and loving people? Now here there is so much to say that I think I would do a disservice to the truth if I tried to pack it in here at the end of the message. So let me just tell you where we are going, Lord willing, next week as we take up this question and move with it into verses 4-8.
It is a burning issue today how Christians can live in love and righteousness in the fragile world we have just moved into where fear and anger lie just beneath the surface of our lives. Fear of anthrax and bombs and the collapse of life-sustaining infrastructures we have always taken for granted. And anger at someone or some people and we are not even sure who.
Do you have the resources in you to be confident and fearless and courageous and patient and kind and fair and loving and sacrificial, not returning evil for evil, but blessing those who curse you and praying for those who persecute you (Romans 12:17; Matthew 5:44)? Where will you look for this? Will you look to the law?
It won't work. Look to Christ. The living, divine, loving, omnipotent Lord who died for you and rose again and promises to be with you and help you and satisfy your longings in life and death. Look to him. The law cannot sanctify you, but Christ can.
If you need to get right with God look to Christ, not the law. And if you need help being a loving and righteous person this week - and who doesn't - look to Christ, not the law.
John Piper
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ONLY JESUS IS HOLY AND WITHOUT SIN. ALL MANKIND HAVE THE ORIGINAL SIN OF ADAM
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Posted:Mar 27, 2009 4:37 pm
Last Updated:Mar 30, 2009 8:44 am 44578 Views
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It is true that all fallen humans are born with original sin. Original sin consists of the fact that God holds us all guilty for the first sin which Adam committed, our loss of original righteousness, and our consequent moral inability and corruption.
Jesus, however, was not a fallen human. The Holy Spirit specially conceived him, so that Jesus was in a very real sense different from the rest of us. Even though he was fully human, his humanity was pure and unfallen, uncorrupted by sin. Moreover, God did not reckon original sin to his account.
But even thought the Bible tells us that Jesus did not inherit original sin ( 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 John 3:5), it does not tell us precisely how he avoided this inheritance. Part of the problem is that the Bible also does not clearly tell us exactly how original sin is communicated to each individual. Some suggest that original sin is communicated from generation to generation, while others suggest that it is communicated directly to each individual by virtue of that person's solidarity with Adam
( Rom. 5:12-19). I hold the latter opinion. (BOTH)
Regardless of the specific mechanism by which Jesus avoided original sin, he was only able to do so through the direct and miraculous intervention of God. God is the one who made the agreement with Adam, and who made Adam the representative of all who would come after him, and who laid the curse on Adam and his descendants. Evidently, God did not fully extend Adam's representation of mankind to Jesus, but allowed Jesus special exclusion.
Perhaps, but not necessarily, he did this by passing the legal representation through the fathers and not through the mothers. The biblical genealogies seem to demonstrate that the promises and obligations of the covenant are passed on through the fathers rather than through the mothers. It is not unreasonable to think that Jesus may have avoided certain aspects of covenant solidarity with Adam (and thus avoided the consequent covenant curse of guilt and pollution from original sin) by being born without a human father.
This is not to say that original sin is not communicated directly to each of Adam's posterity, but only that the basis for that communication may be traced genealogically. But again, the Bible does not lay this out explicitly, and it is rather speculative. One significant complication is the fact that in the Bible women also inherit covenant blessings and curses. In short, it's a great question, but the Bible doesn't give us a clear answer. It only assures us of the result: Jesus was born without original sin.
Ra McLaughlin
Mankind all sin...why? Because we all have a sin nature! If we could be good enough and keep the law Jesus would have not needed to come!!!! the bible specifically says that all mankind have Adams sin nature. Not a man but God says this!!!
Romans 5;13-21
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
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WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SUFFERING?
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Posted:Mar 27, 2009 9:25 am
Last Updated:Jun 16, 2009 11:08 am 41592 Views
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Does Suffering Make More Apostates or More Converts?
Have more people lost their faith in Christ because of suffering or have more people come to faith in Christ because of suffering?
Take Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s book One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and Eli Weisel’s book Night. In one, one comes to faith; in the other, one loses faith. Which of the two experiences is more common in the world? I don’t know the answer to that question. But I have some thoughts that make me lean one way. I take three factors into account.
First factor: I have never heard of anyone speaking of coming to a serious awakening to the reality of God because everything has gone well in their lives. But over and over again, I hear testimonies of those who document their awakening to the reality of the living God through the miseries of their lives.
Another factor would be: The cry that seems to come unbidden from the mouth of those in calamity seems to be, “God!” Or: “Christ!” Never do I see someone walk on the beach in a bathing suit and say, “God!” We feel the reality of eternity when we’re near our own death or someone else’s.
One more factor: From the little I’ve read and thought about it, it seems to me there are illustrations as to why people who are relativistic can be not only driven away from God by suffering but to him by suffering. A great evil happens–say the Holocaust–and a human soul, coasting along, not thinking about God but pursuing world pleasures, suddenly is confronted with an evil so great as to make the soul scream with moral indignation. And suddenly he finds themselves with a conviction. He hears himself say, “No! This is evil!” And he’s so stunned by his own conviction that he doesn’t know what to do with it. He’s caught off guard. He’s moved into another world.
It happened for some at 9/11. It happened on airwaves–people who didn’t believe in evil calling something evil. Now they’re faced with the question, “How do you account for that? How do you account for absolute wrong? What’s the root and basis?” Not all–but many–conclude: God. If there’s no God, no personal moral being, then everything I call evil is without grounding. Even the worst calamities turn people to God. I don’t know the answer as to whether suffering makes more converts or more atheists. But everywhere I look I see that suffering is an amazingly powerful redemptive reality in people’s lives.
Why This World of Suffering?
What I want to do in the minutes we have here is ask: Why does a world of terrorism and pain exist? I want to try to give the ultimate answer in the Bible to the question Why this terrorized and troubled world?
This world exists because God planned a history of redemption culminating in Christ and permitted Adam and Eve to fall to put in the place the necessary prerequisites for that history.
Second Timothy 1:9: God gave us grace before the ages began. He planned redemption before the Fall. The Fall was ordained for the sake of the history of redemption.
Revelation 13:8: Before Adam fell there was a book with blood all over it–Christ’s blood.
This world exists because, having planned a history of redemption and ordaining sin, God now brings the consequences of that sin justly on them and the whole world. Romans 8:18
The creation was subjected to futility by God when Adam fell. God has disordered the natural world. That’s why there are hurricanes and animals that eat each other. God subjected the world to futility by his will in hope that one day it will be set free. And more of who he is has been revealed this way than any other.
Why so much horrible physical pain? God has ordained physical pain as a trumpet blast to describe in a parable what moral evil is really like. How many people wake up outraged at how little attention we give to God? Nobody. Not any one person on the planet has the proper emotional reaction to the amount of evil in the world. None of us has the emotional capacity to see sin for what it is. The seriousness of a sin is measured by the dignity of the one you’ve sinned against.
God is infinitely worthy of infinite allegiance. So God has put in the world parables of the horror of sin–cancer, war, horrible accidents. The point of all the physical reality in the world–the positive and negative–is something beyond itself.
C. S. Lewis said God whispers to us in our pleasure and shouts at us in our pain. The evil of the physical world is all pointing to the evil of the moral world.
This world of evil exists to provide an occasion whereby the lovers of the of God could display his infinite worth over everything they lose. Why is there so much privation in the world? One of the reasons: The worth of Christ is magnified when Christians lose everything and only have Christ and say, “Gain.” This makes Christ shine. Christ’s glory shines when he meets our needs. But when we suffer, Christ’s glory really shines.
The most important one: The reason this world of evil exists is so that Jesus Christ would have a place to suffer and die. The reason there is terror is so that Jesus Christ could be terrorized. There is pain so that Jesus Christ could be pained. There is trouble so that Jesus Christ could be troubled. The apex of God’s plan is that his be tortured and killed for us.
God shows his love for you through the death of Jesus (Rom. 5: . In a world with no sin and no pain and no suffering, that love doesn’t come to us.
Roman 8:32 God didn’t spare his own –how will he not also with him freely give us all things?
The Cross Planned and Predestined by God
One last text: Acts 4:27
It’s about Jesus and his death–the center of the universe. The whole universe exists to display the beauty and worth of Jesus Christ. The cross is what God’s hand planned and predestined to take place. The greatest sin ever committed–the killing of the of God.
One of the most crucial mysteries is here: In ordaining that sin happen, God does not sin. This principle I don’t bring to the Bible but I came to it kicking and screaming by wrestling with biblical texts. And in ordaining that there be sinners, God does not take away their full accountability.
The greatest sin that ever happened in the history of the world was planned by God–the death of his . The world–with all its suffering and evil–exists under his sovereign and good rule.
By John Piper
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EVIL HAS A PURPOSE...TO GLORIFY GOD IN HIS CONDEMNATION OF IT!
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Posted:Mar 26, 2009 9:07 am
Last Updated:Mar 27, 2009 10:37 pm 47852 Views
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A person has "free will" only in the sense that God allows him to will and to choose without compulsion from an outside source. His will is not free, however, to will or to choose anything.
For example, fallen man wants and desires only sin when he considers the things of God. It is against his nature to believe and receive the gospel.His will is enslaved to sin, unable to choose the good. Nevertheless, his will is still free insofar as neither God nor anyone else forces fallen man what to believe or what to will.
It is only the freedom or power of "contrary choice" (the power to choose what is against one's nature, as if man were not enslaved by sin)that is NOT FREE !
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve possessed greater freedom of will than fallen men now do. They did not possess the power of contrary choice, but it was within their nature either to obey God or to disobey God, and God himself had delegated to them the power and freedom of will to make either choice.
This delegation, however, did not reduce God's power or sovereignty he did not have to give away part of his power or sovereignty in order to delegate these to Adam and Eve. Rather, the power to chose which Adam and Eve possessed was subject to and inferior to God's own power, and was merely on loan from God. The fact that God allowed Adam and Eve this power and freedom did not mean that God could not retract them, or that he could not override them.
The question of the origin of evil is a related matter. Specifically, if God did not give away part of his power or authority to others, but merely delegated it, then isn't he in some sense the ultimate cause of evil? (Of course, the problem can exist in other scenarios too, If God knew what would happen when he gave away his power, isn't he responsible for evil?)
The Bible's answer to this question is that God ordained evil (as he ordains everything Acts 4:27-28 but that he brings evil to pass in such a way that he himself does not violate his own perfectly righteous nature 1 John 1:5
In a certain sense, God desires evil's existence, and the existence of evil brings him glory (such as in his just condemnation of it Prov. 16:4; Rom. 9:21-24
For reasons known only to God, God has chosen to bring about evil in order that he may be glorified and we may be blessed. Ultimately, the existence of evil is a good thing for believers and for God.
Ra McLaughlin
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DOES GOD ALLOW EVIL FOR HIS PURPOSES???
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Posted:Mar 25, 2009 12:56 pm
Last Updated:Mar 28, 2009 11:02 am 47304 Views
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God allowed Satan to test Job. However, God put specific limits on what Satan could and could not do. (Job 1,2)
Job 1
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
God could have prevented any of Satan's attacks, but He didn't. Why not? God never tells Job about the "scene" in heaven in the first two chapters. God's answer to Job and his complaints was this:
Job 38:1
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: "Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
The lord is is making Job acknowledge His Lordship over all. And Job's only possible response to that is to repent of his sin of mistrust.(Job 42:1)
God uses evil people for His ends, just as God used Satan with Job. God does not cause evil but he certainly alows it for his purposes. Any thoughts?
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WHATS WRONG WITH THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL? IT IS BASED ON WORKS....PERFORMANCE.
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Posted:Mar 23, 2009 9:14 am
Last Updated:Mar 25, 2009 12:09 pm 40775 Views
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What’s Wrong with the Prosperity Gospel?
1. Materialism keeps people out of heaven.
The Copeland’s tout the Gospel as a way to live "the good life” and claim wealth is a sign of spiritual maturity. Such a message appeals only to our sinful, selfish nature. True Christians are not to love the world or anything in the world (1 John 2:15). Jesus repeatedly warned that wealth can be dangerous to our souls (Luke 8:14; 12:15) and even keep us out of heaven (Matthew 19:21-24; Ephesians 5:5). Rather than indulging ourselves with material "blessings", the true Christian message is to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Christ, for “you cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24)
2. Lack of true peace.
Word of Faith preachers teach that God is just waiting to bless us. So if the believer isn't experiencing “victory”, the problem must somehow be with the believer. This false teaching causes the believer to constantly strive harder, sacrifice harder, confess harder, and believe harder in order to achieve some mystical level of pure, unpolluted faith. The believer has no true peace until this “victory” is achieved.
In reality the Bible does NOT promise constant prosperity and victory (see below, False Promise #3: Victory and Success for Believers). Sometimes it is actually God's will that we suffer (1 Peter 3:17; 4:19; Hebrew 12). The apostle Paul was able to proudly rejoice in his sufferings (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)! The mark of the true Christian is not freedom from suffering but peace in the midst of suffering (2 Thess. 3:16; Phil. 4:6-7; John 14:27; 16:33; Romans 8:6; 15:13; Heb. 12:11).
Despite what the Copeland's say, pain and hardship need not shake our faith or rob us of our peace!
3. Unnecessary guilt and worry.
Copeland’s teaching makes God's blessing conditional on our ability to strive and perform. On their website Gloria Copeland writes: "So our protection depends on our walking in fellowship with God and obedience to His Word."6 and "Your security will be determined by how much time and attention you give to God and His Word in this life". This is not only unbiblical (our security is in Christ, not our efforts), it is the exact opposite of grace! The Copeland's also insist we must tame our tongues to secure God’s blessing, even though the Bible says that is impossible James 3: 8
When suffering persists, Prosperity teaching actually creates doubt and worry (“What am I doing wrong?”; “When have I done enough?” and destroys any real confidence in God’s sovereignty and mercy.
4. Unnecessary fear.CREATES SUPERSTITION
Anything negative, especially doubt, will supposedly cancel out your faith and short-circuit God's blessing in your life. As a result, when hardships come the believer puts pressure on himself to do the impossible: to never have a negative thought. The result is bondage to a constant, superstitious fear of anything negative.
Actually, faith grows stronger if we ask questions and wrestle honestly with our doubts. The Bereans were commended for their healthy skepticism (Acts 17:11). We are to search for wisdom as for hidden treasure (Prov. 2:3-5) and test everything (1 Thess. 5:21).
Fear of anything negative shows how weak and fragile a person's faith really is, and keeps it from growing stronger.
5. Emotional stress.
The Copeland’s teach that sadness, grief, anger, or frustration are signs of a lack of faith. According to Gloria Copeland, "If you are sad and depressed, that means you're not believing God”9 . As a result, believers may stuff their true feelings and/or live in denial of them. This can create a host of unhealthy emotional and relational problems.
God knows our hearts better than we do (Psalm 44:21; Romans 8:27). When we mourn He does not shame us--He comforts us (Matthew. 5:4). He is "The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort." (2 Cor. 1:3). He desires that we be open and honest with Him about our negative feelings (as David did in the Psalms) so that He can help us to deal with them and overcome them with His peace.
6. Avoidance of serious problems.
Likewise, some people may avoid properly dealing with their problems. Simply accepting life’s difficulties supposedly shows a lack of faith. So when problems arise some feel they must prove their faith by patiently waiting for the "victory" they have been promised. An extreme example of this would be parents who let their die rather than take them to the doctor, because they are claiming God's promises to heal and taking them to the doctor would show a sinful "lack of faith". How tragic!
When problems arise, we are to face them prayerfully with responsibility and wisdom, and then trust God to work all things out for His good Romans 8:28
7. A false view of God.
In Prosperity teaching, you must never pray "...if it be Your will". To consider the possibility of a "no" answer from God supposedly shows a lack of faith (even though both Jesus and Paul did so--Luke 22:42; Acts 18:21; also James 4:13-15). Apparently Copeland's God is a fickle being who is swayed into holding back blessing simply by praying one wrong phrase ("if it be Your will"). Copeland also allegedly believes God is not all-powerful: "God cannot do anything for you apart or separate from faith". Such a God is not the true God!
COPELAND PREACHES ANOTHER JESUS AND ANOTHER GOSPEL
Raising man and lowering God.
Copeland says believers have the same authority as God: "You have obtained an inheritance, and in that inheritance you have been given all authority." He also says our future is in our own hands: "With [God's] truth we can set our course...for a life full of success"; “You are the prophet of your own life...Your words in your life decide your future”. Apparently it is ultimately up to us (not God) to decide what is good for us and what blessings we should have.
Copeland's God is also weakened by humans because he cannot truly bless us without our believing prayers and confession. So the real power is in our ability to "release the power of faith". We must have "faith in our faith"
The roles are reversed--in a sense we become the masters and God becomes the servant. Copeland allegedly wrote, “As a believer, you have a right to make commands in the name of Jesus. Each time you stand on the Word, you are commanding God to a certain extent because it is His Word”. This is a backward, man-centered theology and is outright blasphemy. God is the King, we are but humble servants (Luke 17:10). Copeland's emphasis is (wrongly) on our ability to drum up enough faith, when instead the emphasis should be on Christ to lead us, provide for us, and empower us to serve Him as He sees fit.
9. A distorted prayer life.
Copeland teaches that just as there are laws of physics that control the power of electricity, there are also spiritual laws that control the power of faith. The secret to the the victorious Christian life is learning how to master these supposed "faith laws" through speaking and believing God's promises. As a result prayer becomes a constant mantra of "taking authority" and "rebuking Satan" and "speaking faith" and "rebuking doubt"--none of which is a true interaction with God. Prayer sadly gets twisted into a magical, manipulative formula rather than a loving, trusting relationship with Jesus.
10. A false road to maturity.
For Copeland, spiritual maturity equals prosperity. The Bible says the opposite: spiritual maturity comes by persevering through trials (James 1:2-4). Jesus warned strongly against prosperity. Rather than strengthening our faith, wealth can actually choke it out (Luke 8:14), pull us away from God (Matt. 6:24) and even keep us out of heaven (Matt. 19:21-24; Eph. 5:5). "You cannot serve both God and money" (Matt. 6:24).
Instead of following after prosperity, we grow in maturity as we "put to death the desires of the flesh" (which includes greed--Col. 3:5) and take up our cross and follow Christ.
11. It promotes laziness and irresponsibility.
If simply claiming God's promises entitles us to a life of victory, health, and wealth, then why bother with hard work, education, discipline, exercise, etc.? To the poor and uneducated his teachings may have the same appeal as the phony get-rich-quick philosophy promoted by lotteries, casinos, and other hucksters.
12. It is a trap that leads to disillusionment.
Tragedy and suffering strike everyone sooner or later. When they do, no amount of believing or giving tithes or rebuking the devil can get us out of them. Believers either become trapped in a constant cycle of striving and sacrificing until things improve, or they become bitter and disillusioned and leave Word of Faith teaching (and perhaps Christianity) altogether. Either way, the believer is kept from resting in the true inner peace and comfort that Christ promises in the midst of life’s tragedies.
Cedric Hohnstadt
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