Tag Archives: Salvation

Righteous Judgement

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Knowing all I have done, all that I’ve said, and all that I’ve thought, the thought makes me shudder to think I would have to pay for it all. There are, believe it or not, some who would have more to pay for than I.

Apart from Jesus, I would have to face justice for all of it. Well, I am not alone. At some point, we all would have to face the justice of the Holy God.

Without Jesus, God would look at all we have done and all we have failed to do and pronounce judgment upon us. He would look on us and cast us all into hell. For some, the judgment would be a little less harsh. For others, a little more.

You see, God is perfectly just. When He finishes putting it all on the figurative scales of justice, everything must balance. It can’t be out in the slightest one way or the other. There is a word that would then represent our situation. That word is lost.

However, Jesus provided a way for us to avoid having to face that judgment. He has agreed to take on all that judgment, every bit of it for every person. Only He has the power to do that. If we pay any of the price, we must pay it all. If we ask Jesus to pay the price for it, he has willingly already on the cross.

However, you must ask him to save you. You must accept the gift of his salvation. You must agree to let him pay for every bit of it. You do not have the power to help even a little in your salvation.

That… is how it works, all or nothing. You must rely totally on faith in Him, or you are not satisfying His condition. Since He is paying the price for us, it only stands to reason that He can set the rules.

There is something of an unusual result from this. It mostly makes it impossible for us to tell if someone else is going to heaven. We do get a few hints. The Bible does seem to make it clear that some are eternally in punishment, such as Judas Iscariot, although it is also clear that even he could have been saved had he repented and believed. Among all those who ever walked the earth, his punishment is likely among the worst of all, as he was directly under the teachings of Jesus for three years.

It does make me wonder how such a thing can happen. It also illustrates that we all have the freedom of choice. Jesus never made anyone accept or reject Him.

Which brings me to another point. Everyone makes their decision for themselves. God has told us of His preference. He wants us all to be saved. However, He has decided to leave the decision in our hands.

So, when those of us going to heaven arrive there, we will be surprised in two ways. Some people whom we figure will be a shoo-in, won’t be there. Some whom we figure would never make it there, will be there.

The fact is, it’s not how good we are but whether we have put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. I suspect many who consider themselves clergy may not make it. Anyone who teaches and believes that salvation must be earned, we can pretty much assume they won’t be there, regardless of what church they belong to.

It’s not that I am pronouncing judgment; he’s admitting to me that he believes a lie and refuses to accept the word in the Bible.

Still, I’m not going to judge them. God will do that. As I say, God will settle it all in the end.

How-some-ever, if you hear anyone try to tell you that you need to do anything more than accept Jesus as your savior for salvation, do not listen to anything they say. Well, you can believe the time they tell you, but you might want to be suspicious of that.

The Beginning to a Glorious Plan

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Many of us celebrate Christmas and then we go on our way. Frankly, we often forget that the birth of Jesus is only the beginning. In truth there was much work, and suffering ahead before the plan was complete.

Indeed, on the cross about 33 years later Jesus, from the cross, says, “It is finished.” And then 3 days later, he arose from the grave. The plan was laid down before the planet was spoken into existence.

As a newborn baby, he became all human while remaining all God. How can this be, you ask? I don’t know. It is but one of the many miracles that was part of the plan. You see, it had to be that way. It is why God did it that way.

While with us, He was an example, a teacher, a miracle worker, but all this time, he knew his primary mission was still ahead of him. He knew the pain and suffering he would go through certainly at least by the time He was 12.

He knew what the “Good” people in the leadership of the Jews would do and why. He knew Judas would betray him. He knew how the religious leaders would pronounce false judgment on Him in an illegal trial and turn Him over to the Romans.

You see, He knew it was part of the plan. He actually took part in the plan. Even before God said, “Let there be Light,” He knew the pain and suffering he would go through, which is far more than any of us can comprehend.

He knew about the Roman judgment. He knew He would die on a cross made of wood. It was not a surprise to Him. The people taunted, “others he saved. Himself he cannot save.” The thing is, the people didn’t understand, He could step down off the cross, but that was not the plan, you see. He knew his mission was to die on the cross; and, of course, the taunting just added to the suffering. You see, it would have been so tempting for Him to just step down off he cross and say, “See. I can do it.” It would have been very impressive but he would not have saved us by doing that.

You see, it was the plan, from the beginning it was the plan and He steadfastly was determined to see the plan through. And so it was, He died, He was buried and then, 3 days later, he rose from the dead.

Now, you ask, why would He do such a thing. He didn’t have to. He could have come to earth as a king and rule here forever. However, that was not the plan.

The plan from the beginning of the planning to the end of the execution was for one and only one reason. It was all to provide a way to save mankind.

What did we do to deserve such an act by Jesus? Nothing. Not a thing. He did it because He knew our punishment was eternal death in hell. So He stepped in and took our punishment totally and completely because He wanted to for our sakes. Such love goes well beyond human comprehension.

In order to receive that salvation, we must totally accept that salvation. To accept that Salvation we must recognize our need for that salvation and we must turn from the desire to sin to the desire to follow Jesus.

If we recognize our sin and turn to Jesus and then accept Jesus as our only salvation, The Holy Spirit will put his seal on us, which no one can remove. It insures eternal life with God and no one can change it. Indeed, if someone could change it, it would not be eternal life, would it?

If you can’t see the benefit in that deal, I simply have no idea what might be standing in the way of the most important decision you will ever will make.

By the way, you might want to tell others about it too. You know. Friends, neighbors and relatives. You might even tell your enemies about it. It just might make that enemy into a friend.

And just one more thing. It will make Jesus very happy too.

How Many Magi?

Posted in Christian values, Deceit, Important things, Mistakes, Salvation by

If you said 3, you just might be right.  On the other hand, you might be wrong.

Most people say that there were three, likely because they never read the passage in the Bible.  The fact is that Matthew never said how many.  That means, indeed, there might have been anywhere from two to who knows… maybe there were thirty.  For that matter, Matthew might not have known.  He was not an eye witness and might simply have been repeating the story as he was told.  If he was told, for some reason, he never passed it along.  If it was important, the Holy Spirit would have seen fit that it was reported by someone.

The fact is that he reported the event in the second chapter of Matthew.  No one else mentions it all.  Also, by the way, he said they visited him at his home, not a stable or manger.  The best guess is that they visited Jesus after He was at least six months and He must have been less than two years.  Matthew does not refer to him as a baby and Herod, after questioning his advisors, had all boys less than two years old killed in the town of Bethlehem.  On the other hand, the travel time for the Magi (sometimes referred to as kings or wise men) would have likely been at least 2 to 6 months.

Yet, every Christmas, we hear stories how the 3 magi worshiped the Baby Jesus in the manger.  The problem is that they never read Matthew chapter 2.  The problem is that they confused the story with the story of the shepherds.  The shepherds, indeed visited Jesus on the night of his birth as recorded in Luke, chapter two.  By the way, we also have no idea how many shepherds there were, either.

It does seem ironic that the King of Kings was welcomed into the world by shepherds, certainly not royalty.  Moreover, they didn’t represent any royalty.  On the other hand, who on earth would be royal enough to welcome Him?

I would suggest that anyone quoting the Bible read it first.  It just might keep you from looking stupid.  In this particular case, it likely causes no problems.  In other cases, it can mean leading people into hell.  That is bad and God will not hold you guiltless for preaching a false gospel.

Many say that the way to heaven is by being good.  That is to say, it is a reward for good works.  It doesn’t work that way.  If you don’t believe me, read Isaiah 45:21.

If you don’t believe me, read it yourself.  Please read it for yourself, especially before you spread false doctrine.  Then, maybe, it would be a good idea to figure out the real plan of salvation.  Everyone will know it after dying.  Then, it is too late.  The idea is to know it before dying and accept Jesus as your Savior.  (John 3, specifically John 3:2 and John 3:16 and 3:17)

Most of all, if you don’t read it for yourself, please don’t drag others into hell after you.

Unbelievable Stories of the Bible

Posted in Christian values, Growing Old, Salvation by

I am now 70 years of age. I find that difficult to believe, until my hip starts acting up or whenever my angina reminds me of my little heart attack. Mostly, I can’t complain. In fact, if I were born a few years earlier, I would not likely have survived the Pneumonia I had when I was three. They would not have had the penicillin and I almost died even with the wonder drug.

At any rate, over the years I have heard my share of unbelief about stories of the Bible. Maybe the one story that most people bring up is the story about Jonah and the whale. (Not that it is that important, but it was a large fish, not a whale.) Actually, if you’ll excuse the pun, I have no problems swallowing that. If God can build the Universe, I imagine He could build a whole school of big fish if He had a mind to.

Actually, I believe all the stories in the Bible, from cover to cover. However, the one I have the most confusion with is the story of Sampson. Really, the man didn’t seem to have a brain in his head. Not only did he not foresee the possibility of Delilah telling her friends, he saw it at least twice and still trusted her. I’m not going to doubt the Word of God, but it still causes me to pause to think what kind of man Sampson was.

Regardless, I have heard them all, reasons for not believing the Bible. Did you know that God caused the earth to stop spinning for a day. It’s true. He can do that. It is even more difficult than you might realize. Can you imagine the sun heating the same side of the earth for 24 hours. Yet God seemed to resolve that problem too. I don’t know how he did that. Maybe he will tell me one day. Right now, I’m not going to concern myself with it.

My point is this, if you don’t want to believe in God, you will always be able to find a reason. Satan has provided you with more than a hand full of excuses. Indeed, I have been mocked for believing the Bible. Many have been mocked far more than me.

Then again, I am sure that they mocked Noah. …until it started raining.
If you don’t want to believe in God, just admit it. Don’t make excuses. I’m not impressed with them. I’ve heard them all. I’ve heard about the starving people in Africa. I’ve seen horrible people live while good people die. It happens. It sure would have been nice if someone killed Hitler, yet he lived and millions died. I don’t try to explain it. I certainly didn’t let it stand in the way of my salvation.

It is, to be sure, a matter of perspective. People who have not accepted Jesus as their Savior have chosen not to believe. It is their choice. It is not based on knowledge or proof. It is, as Paul called the cross, “a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the gentiles (the rest of us). But to those who believe it is the power to become the sons (and daughters of God) ” (slightly paraphrased)

What I am trying to say is this. If you are having trouble believing the stories it is a small thing. If you reject Jesus as your savior, it is something you will regret for eternity. Let’s first get your priorities straight. If you do, you will find that the rest just falls into place. It will open your eyes and you will see things you never saw before and you will understand as you never understood before.

As Jesus said, “Unless a man be born again, he shall not see the Kingdom of God.” Obviously, it does have implications for after physical death, but it also applies to the here and now.  Those who are born again (accept Jesus as their Savior) are immediately granted limited spiritual sight.