Don't We All Believe in Jesus?

You know why there are so many beliefs about God and Jesus? I will tell you.

The Bible says that the names of the elect were written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world. It also says that the beast, false religion, will rise up and EVERYONE whose names were NOT written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will worship the beast. The only ones who will not be swept away into false religion are the elect.

Revelation 13:8 NKJV

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 17:8 NKJV

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Matthew 24:24 NKJV

For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

So that means that ONLY THE ELECT WILL BE KEPT BY GOD from being fooled and worshipping the beast. Guess what happens to everyone who worships the beast? Whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 14:9-11 NKJV

Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his  mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

One of us is dead wrong, and it is going to carry catastrophic eternal consequences. Forever is a long time.

Righteous or Sinner?

You know the one verse that those who hate God know?

Matthew 7:1 NKJV

"Judge  not, that you be not judged."

Want to hear the irony in that?! The judging that Jesus is speaking about here is assessing another's worth or righteousness in comparison to your own.

Guess what every unregenerate person believes? They ALL believe they are a "good person", "not as bad as Hitler", or "not as bad as so-and-so". THAT IS EXACTLY THE KIND OF JUDGING THAT JESUS SAYS NOT TO DO.

Guess what every Spirit filled person (true believers, not just people who go to church) believes? We ALL believe that we are wretched sinners saved by grace, and we are just as bad in our hearts as Hitler was. There is no comparison. We are ALL equally guilty.

People hear the following verse and they think it applies only to those religious people who judge from their imaginary pious high horse, but it doesn't. It applies to them, but it also applies to the woman who looks at the woman across the store and thinks in her heart "that woman is such a slut".
It also applies to the person who thinks in their heart "that person is such a bigot". These people are self-righteous, comparing others to themselves or their expectations, and then casting judgment based on their own measuring stick. These are the self-righteous Jesus did not come to call

.

Matthew 9:13 NKJV

"But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Who then are the sinners Jesus came to call to repentance? It is those who know we are ALL sinners, and none is better than another. We let the Law of God bring conviction, making ALL guilty before God.

Luke 18:13-14 NKJV

"And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Man is Still Responsible Before God

Although God is perfectly sovereign, man still has a direct responsibility to Him to whom we owe account.

"Side by side with the immutability and invincibility of God's decrees, Scripture plainly teaches that man is a responsible creature and answerable for his actions. And if our thoughts are formed from God's Word the maintenance of the one will not lead to the denial of the other. That there is a real difficulty in defining where the one ends and the other begins is freely granted. This is ever the case where there is a conjunction of the Divine and the human. Real prayer is indited by the Holy Spirit, yet is also the cry of the human heart. The Scriptures are the inspired Word of God, yet were they written by men who were something more than machines in the hand of the Spirit. Christ is both God and man. He is Omniscient, yet 'increased in wisdom' (Luke 2:52). He was Almighty, yet was 'crucified through weakness' (2 Corinthians 13:4). He was the Prince of life, yet He died. High mysteries are these, yet faith receives them unquestioningly." - A.W. Pink

Decrees of God

One of the books that God put in my hands towards the end of my stay in prison was "The Attributes of God" by A.W. Pink. In his book he put into words all of the things that God has just spent over a year showing me. These are some great things to meditate on that your faith may grow.

"God's decrees are called His 'counsel' to signify they are consummately wise. They are called God's 'will' to show He was under no control, but acted according to His own pleasure. When a man's will is the rule of his conduct, it is usually capricious and unreasonable; but wisdom is always associated with 'will' in the Divine proceedings, and accordingly, God's decrees are said to be 'the counsel of His own will' (Ephesians 1:11)."
- A.W. Pink

Think about it...

"Our days are numbered, and so are the hairs of our heads. We may learn what is the extent of the Divine decrees from the dispensations of providence, in which they are executed. The care of Providence reaches to the most insignificant creatures, and the most minute events - the death of a sparrow, and the fall of a hair."
- A.W. Pink

"(The decrees of God) are absolute and unconditional. The execution of them is not suspended upon any condition which may, or may not be, performed. In every instance where God has decreed an end, He has also decreed every means to that end. The One who decreed salvation of His elect also decreed to work faith in them (Thessalonians 2:13). 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure' (Isaiah 46:10): but that could not be, if His counsel depended upon a condition which might not be performed. But God 'worketh all things after the counsel of His own will' (Ephesians 1:11)."
- A.W. Pink

"O my reader, how thankful should we be that everything is determined by infinite wisdom and goodness! What praise and gratitude are due unto God for His Divine decrees. It is because of them that 'we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose' (Romans 8:28). Well may we excaim, 'For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.' (Romans 11:36)." - A.W. Pink

Challenge Your Faith

Here is a question to challenge those who profess Christ. We sing of and talk about God's love for us, and many even profess that love to be unconditional. Time to challenge your faith, if you dare care to test what you think you know.

1. IF you must "choose" God in order for Him to save you, would that not make His love conditional?!

-You must either conclude that God's love is conditional, or that He loves you BEFORE you decided to glorify God as God.

2. IF God loves everybody the same, how do you tell someone being damned to Hell that God loves them?

- You must become a Universalist and blatantly make Jesus a liar by claiming that Hell is temporary and that suffering the undiluted wrath of God is somehow loving, or you conclude that God has a peculiar love for His bride (Imagine that).

Please feel free to comment on either point. Can your faith withstand testing? If it is built on Truth, it should.

My Reflection

Over the past few weeks I have been blasted by many for speaking God's Word and telling the truth. Today I was cleaning my old apartment, and I was just listening to worship music and praying. I don't want to estrange people, so I was just praying "Lord I will follow you anywhere, and I will speak whatever you want me to speak, just let me know that it is you."

I was examining the things I say, and the things I have been saying. Have I been judgmental? Am I inappropriately dividing the Word? What am I doing, and why? I asked that God would just show me. Show me what He wants me to be saying.

Towards the end of the cleaning I had peace in these things. The Word of God, and His Law, is to make EVERYONE guilty before Him. The Word should bring conviction. The Truth should offend. There is no difference between me and another as far as our "deeds" are conerned. We ALL stand guilty. A person has no hope in and of himself, and we must all have our conviction.

We are to use the Word to shine the light into the darkness, exposing the truth in hopes that people will realize that they are sinners under condemnation. Only then, in that place of humility, can one accept that they need a Savior. ONLY FAITH IN JESUS saves. PERIOD. Trust God. Is that not the Gospel?! Is that not how we are made righteous?

Maybe it is that I am failing to offer the solution after revealing the darkness, which would be a greivious error on my part. God forgive me. There is NO HOPE outside of Jesus.

Why Shouldn't We Have Our Best Life Now?

Christianity is about Jesus. When we wonder what our life should look like as a Christian, it should look like His.

1 John 2:6 NKJV

He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

John 14:4-7 NKJV

"And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

The persecution, the rejection, the humiliation... all the way to the cross.

John 13:16 NKJV

"Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him."

Revelation 12:11 NKJV

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.