Author Archives: expreacherman

Prelude to One World

One world government, one world religion, one world economy, one world currency. These are all implied in the Bible prophecy concerning the world condition in the days leading up to Christ’s return for believers.

Over the last many years I have been asked, “Where does America fit into future Biblical prophecy?” My answer has always been that many near-east nations are mentioned in the Bible regarding the future of Israel in the last big world war. America is never mentioned by name in Bible prophecies. She is not named as part of the last world ruling powers before the Rapture of believers, neither during the seven year Tribulation before the Battle of Armageddon.

However, this may be a glimpse of an explanation.

America may soon be dissolved into one big conglomerate nation, The North American Union. Such a plan is in process which will tie together Mexico, The United States and Canada. The Mexico to Canada Highway which slices like a dagger through the middle of America is already being constructed.

The Amero, a Euro type money for said North American Union has been designed to replace the Mexican Peso, the American and Canadian Dollar.

It will be simple politics to merge these two monstrous conglomerates into one Big World Government, with a one world currency and religion.

Human Events Article on the coming “Amero”

Video — CNBC Discussion of the “Amero” in America

It is anybody’s guess as to how soon will come the predicted One World Ecumenical Religion. The New North American Union’s deceit, tied together with “Hate” crimes legislation in the USA and Canada will mean persecution and subjugation for all who preach God’s Word.

My post on “Hate Crimes Legislation.”

Don Feder — The Forgotten American

Believers — Look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

How to become a believer in Christ.

Is a Statement of Faith Infallible?

I visited a Pastor’s Blog in which he was lamenting the occurrence and a recent expose’ of pedophilia within his denomination’s ministerial staff. I agreed with him that this sin is criminal, abominable and should be taken care of. I responded to his post and tried to express to him a reason why some ministers might stray into this and other terrible sins.

The Pastor did not agree with my analysis or my suggestion for a possible solution. This post below is a revision of my comment to this blogging Pastor.

He answered my comment with this statement:

“Jack, I disagree with your thinking ….. and agree with the …. Faith & Mission [Statement].”

=====================

Could it be that a church’s Statement of Faith (SOF), would lead a Pastor into doubting or under-playing his mission, his Savior or his salvation? He might wonder “If I can’t do what I have promised (abide by the legalism and rules of the church’s SOF) then I might as well live it up and entertain my basest thoughts.”

This Pastor says he was born into and raised in a particular denomination. He attended a college of that denomination and was ordained as a minister in that same denomination. He is thoroughly familiar with the teachings of his denomination.

After carefully reading this denomination’s Statement of Beliefs, especially the section on Salvation, I noticed that there are two errors in the same paragraph, Repentance and Faith. I wondered if these errors have made null, dulled or taken away the wonderful amazing grace provided us by our loving Heavenly Father and so apparent in His Word..

The first sentence erroneously reads:

“Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God.”

This is subtle false doctrine. Repentance in salvation is simply a change of mind. When one repents, he changes his mind from his own works, or whatever he may be trusting to save him, to believing that Jesus Christ will save him. Repentance for salvation (New Testament) is NOT turning from sin since that would make salvation no longer God’s gift through faith but a reward or wages owed because of one’s works.

Here is the second sentence of this same paragraph on Salvation:

“Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.”

This likewise is false doctrine. but not so subtle. If this denomination’s SOF had simply stated “Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ…as Savior” that would be sufficiently Biblical.. but they proceeded to add a works message of “and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.” To be saved, one DOES NOT commit his “entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.” One simply trusts, believes in Christ as his Savior. Period. Commitment is a work that may or may not come for a believer as he matures, but whether it comes later or not, it never alters one’s eternal salvation by God’s Grace through faith in Jesus Christ .

Any Pastor worth his salt, should realize he cannot possibly keep the rules of this denomination or one of its churches. He may very well try and fail and thus fall into despondency and be open and tempted by Satan for just about any kind of sin. This denomination does not fully understand God’s Grace or, if they do, they certainly don’t reflect a doctrine of Grace in these passages. In fact, those rules contradict God’s Amazing Grace for salvation.

Thankfully the Lord does not require either of these two rules or laws for salvation.

However, let’s be clear. Every one who has trusted Christ alone as Savior SHOULD, by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, turn from sin. Every believer SHOULD, by the power of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit, commit his entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour. But these decisions are for service and have absolutely nothing to do with accepting or keeping God’s free gift of salvation. (Ephesians 2:10)

However, as this Pastor implied, this is not just a problem for this one denomination . Any Pastor or believer who forgets, ignores or doesn’t know the Grace of God is susceptible.

Believer or Pastor — Never forget the magnificence and power of God’s Grace.

God’s Grace is absolutely Amazing — and all-encompassing. So what about God’s Grace?

God’s grace that brings salvation has appeared to all men. Titus 2:11

As every believer should know, God gives Grace through which we are saved. “For by grace are ye saved through faith;” Ephesians 2:8

As believers, we have received grace to enable our obedience to the Lord. “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith….” Romans 1:5

We have God’s Grace to help our behavior. “…not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation [manner of life] in the world,2 Corinthians 1:12b

God’s Grace will help us begin and finish as believers. “…. that as He had begun, so He would also finish in you the same grace also.” 2 Corinthians 8:6

God’s Grace is something in which we believers should abound to every good work with sufficiency in all things..”….. see that ye abound [have more abundance] in this grace also.” 2 Corinthians 8:7b. And then, “…God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: 2 Corinthians 9:8

Believers can gain strength in God’s Grace. “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 2:1

God gives His grace to help believers in time of need. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Believers are justified by God’s Grace. Titus 3:7

Believers should never be satisfied but …grow in grace, ….2 Peter 3:18

We are saved by God’s Grace so let us serve Him, not by legalism or church laws but by living in and sharing His powerful enabling Grace in Jesus Christ.

There are many denominations and churches who err in their statement of beliefs. Since this particular Pastor was speaking of his specific denomination, his Statement of Beliefs is the source of the erroneous quotes above.

The false doctrines above were copied from The Southern Baptist Convention Statement of Beliefs: http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp

A message of salvation which incorporates grace plus works is NOT a message of God’s Grace. Romans 11:6

We are saved by God’s Grace, let’s live by God’s Grace. God’s Grace gives liberty in Christ but His liberty is never a license to sin.

Find the truth of the Scripture about Grace and Salvation: Our personal Gospel Web Site.

From Life To Life

He is the Life:

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”

He enters the city, victoriously receiving the praise of His people.

John 12:13 With joy they “Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet Him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

He is later betrayed.

Matthew 20:18 “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death,”

He is tried, condemned and scourged.

Matthew 27:26 “Then released he Barabbas [the robber] unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.”

He is mocked as He hung on a cruel Roman cross.

Matthew 27:40 “…. save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

He is declared dead, removed from the cross and buried in a tomb.

John 19:30 “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, IT IS FINISHED: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.” John 19:34 “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” Matthew 27:59-60 “And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.”

Three days later He is absent from the tomb, having risen under His own power.

John 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Mark 16:6 “And he [an Angel] saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: HE IS RISEN; He is not here: behold the place where they laid Him.”

He is seen , believed on by hundreds and ascends into Heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:6a “After that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once;” 1 Timothy 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

This is Jesus the Christ, God in the flesh who died in your place that you may have Heaven forever.

1 Cor. 15:3-4 “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

Now, what should be our decision?

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Please believe in Jesus Christ alone to be YOUR Savior. He died for you, in your place and offers to you, eternal life as a free gift. If you trust Him alone, you will pass from eternal death to eternal LIFE in Christ.

Now, from death to life. Truly, “IT IS FINISHED” by Jesus Christ Himself. Our salvation is eternally secure in Him alone.

“But,” you say, “I have already trusted Christ as my Savior.”

Wonderful, then tell a friend about Christ!

Our Home Gospel Site

They Shall Never……

This post was prompted by an email from a 22 year young man in Ireland who is not sure he is saved for all eternity. I have modified it somewhat for this posting.

Question:

What if a “big bucks” benefactor came to you and made this offer to your family:

“I give to them $100 and they shall never have to worry or work again.”

“I give to them a Kiddie Car and they shall never worry about transportation again.”

“I give them a bowl of rice and they shall never hunger again.”

Obviously your benefactor would be giving a gift but lying about the results. None of his gifts could satisfy the NEVER part of his promise.

Yet, what if the Savior of all mankind were to say to you, “I give to you the gift of Eternal Life and you shall never perish (be eternally separated from Him).”

He cannot lie. Titus 1:2 “In hope [anticipation] of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”

Would you believe Him? Would you rest on His promise, trust Him alone and have the peace that passes all understanding?

Jesus Christ Himself said just that, speaking in John 10:28:

“And I give [His Gift] unto them [those who believe in or trust in Him] eternal life; and they shall NEVER perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

Let us examine that word NEVER.

God’s Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write the word NEVER in that verse. The full meaning of the word NEVER will amaze you.

The one word NEVER is made up of five Greek words, the phrase “OU ME,” and three individual words EIS, HO and AION.

The two word phrase “Ou Me” means — not at all, by any or no means, never, in no case, no wise, not ever, not at all.

The word “Eis” means, for any place, time, or purpose.

The word “Ho” means – male, female or neuter.

The word “Aion” means – in perpetuity, past, present or future, any age, eternal, forevermore and the World without end.

Let’s repeat that verse emphasizing the full meaning of the word NEVER.

John 10:28, Jesus says: “And I give [His Gift] unto them [who believe in or trust in Him] eternal life; and they shall [not at all, by no means, never, in no case, no wise, not ever, not at all, any place, time, or purpose, male, female or neuter, in perpetuity, past, present or future, any age, eternal, forevermore and the World without end], NEVER perish

WOW! NEVER!!! Put all those Greek/English words together and you can see, when the Lord speaks emphatically and uses the word NEVER, He literally means NEVER, regardless of personal, inside or outside circumstances. You can’t even remove yourself! A believer in Jesus Christ will “NEVER perish.” What Amazing Grace! What eternal assurance we have in Jesus Christ.

Trust Jesus to be your Savior and you will NEVER perish. That is a real reason to rejoice and have joy in your Savior Jesus Christ because of your eternal salvation through Him!!

1 John 1:4 “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”

How to know for sure you are Heaven Bound

War Against Christians

As I have warned in past posts, our blessed country, America, is “circling the drain.” Our secular Mainstream Media, Hollywood, our liberal churches and our recently elected officials are bound and determined to eliminate Fundamental Christianity from the face of America and quietly allow a substitute for it, which is militant Islamofascism.Here is an article in World Net Daily, written by a brave and wise Orthodox Rabbi, Daniel Lapin, who is crying in the wilderness for Christians to wake up. He warns, “You are under attack.” “Without a vibrant and vital Christianity, America is doomed, and without America, the West is doomed.”


 

[….]

[A] serious war is being waged against a group of Americans. I am certain that if we lose this war, the consequences for American civilization will be dire.

There is no better term than propaganda blitzkrieg to describe what has been unleashed against Christian conservatives recently.

Consider the long list of anti-Christian books that have been published in recent months. Here are just a few samples of more than 30 similar titles, all from mainstream publishers:

“American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America”

“The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right’s Plans for the Rest of Us”

“The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason”

“Piety & Politics: The Right-wing Assault on Religious Freedom”

“Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person’s Answer to Christian Fundamentalism”

“Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America”

“Religion Gone Bad: The Hidden Dangers of the Christian Right”

What is truly alarming is that there are more of these books for sale at your local large book store warning against the perils of fervent Christianity than those warning against the perils of fervent Islam. Does anyone seriously think America is more seriously jeopardized by Christian conservatives than by Islamic zealots? I fear that many Americans believe just that in the same way that many pre-World War II Westerners considered Churchill a bigger threat than Hitler.

Some may say that today’s proliferation of anti-Christian print propaganda is nothing to become worried about. To them I ask two questions:

First, would you be so sanguine if the target of this loathsome library were Jewish? Just try changing the titles in some of the books I mention above to reflect anti-Semitism instead of rampant anti-Christianism and you’ll see what I mean.

[….]

…. I would advise you not to underestimate the power of books to alter the behavior of the American public, and I fear for an America influenced to detest Christianity by this hate-filled catalog.

It is not just books but popular entertainment also that beams the most lurid anti-Christian propaganda into the hearts and minds of viewers. ….. The brilliant Jewish moviemaker Sacha Baron Cohen, [Borat]…..has revealed nothing other than the latent anti-Christianism of America’s social, economic and academic secular elites.

Even the recent PBS documentary, “Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence,” managed to do more attacking Christianity than defending Judaism.

Richard Dawkins, an Oxford University professor, is one of the generals in the anti-Christian army of the secular left. ….he asks, “It’s one thing to say people should be free to believe whatever they like, but should they be free to impose their beliefs on their children?” He suggests that the state should intervene to protect children from their parents’ religious beliefs. Needless to say, he means Christian beliefs, of course.

[….]

The war is against those who regard the Bible to be God’s revelation to humanity and the Ten Commandments to be His set of rules for all time. Phase one in this war is to make Christianity, well, sort of socially unacceptable.

[….]

Tyranny comes when citizens are seduced into trading freedom for the promise of safety and security.

Considerably more intellectual energy is being pumped into the propaganda campaign against Christianity than was ever delivered to the anti-smoking or anti-drunk-driving campaigns.

[…]

If they succeed, Christianity will be driven underground, and its benign influence on the character of America will be lost. In its place we shall see a sinister secularism that menaces Bible believers of all faiths. Once the voice of the Bible has been silenced, the war on Western Civilization can begin and we shall see a long night of barbarism descend on the West.

Without a vibrant and vital Christianity, America is doomed, and without America, the West is doomed.

Which is why I, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, devoted to Jewish survival, the Torah and Israel am so terrified of American Christianity caving in.

Many of us Jews are ready to stand with you. But you must lead. You must replace your timidity with nerve and your diffidence with daring and determination. You are under attack. Now is the time to resist it.

 


How do we Christians resist it? True Bible Believing Christians must begin to learn the importance of sharing their faith effectively and continually. Our fight is not a secular warfare but a spiritual battle, using God’s Word.

If you are interested in sharing your faith in Christ but are not sure how, or if you are not sure of Heaven, please contact me and I will do my best (by God’s Grace and His Word) to help you.

Our Gospel Web Site

Secure Forever! Must Read.

Secure ForeverYou may have noticed that I never sell anything on this blog. There are no “click” ads and no requests that you send a “tip” to ExPreacherMan.

However, you will also notice I have made one exception to this rule. I am still not selling, but recommending and introducing an excellent new book, Secure Forever! God’s Promise or Our Perseverance?, by Dr. Tom Cucuzza. In the 1970’s, Tom served our church as my Assistant Pastor and Youth Ranch Director.

This easy-to-read book is a must for everyone, especially those who have not yet trusted Christ as Savior, new believers, mature believers and theologians.

The most notable feature, which is missing from most “Christian” books, is an immediate and clear explanation of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ — presented right away in the Introduction, rather than hidden somewhere within the text or at the end. Tom is “not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ” and he shows it clearly and concisely throughout the pages of this book. It is full of Bible verses, quotes, references and endnotes.

The real value of this book is Tom’s explanation, in simple language, how and why “religions” have distorted and perverted the clear meaning of God’s Word.

The very first paragraph of Chapter One illustrates how Tom understands and teaches the Bible:

One of the great characteristics of the Bible and the words of Jesus is the simplicity and yet the depth of the statements we find in Scripture. It is certainly one of the marks of inspiration. Jesus spoke in terms that children could grasp and yet theologians could never exhaust.

We have all heard the many uses and explanations of the word “faith.” Tom’s simple two sentence quote from the book clears the air on Biblical faith.

The Bible knows nothing of “intellectual faith”, “saving faith”, or “genuine faith”. It only knows of the faith every human is capable of exercising, a faith that brings salvation by the grace of God.

You will do well to get this book and read it along with your Bible. Check out his Bible references. You will find that Tom’s writings will enlighten you.

Tom, forgive me for not addressing you as Dr. Cucuzza. You are a friend whom I love and feel as close to as a son.

(Click here or on the book at the top to see it at Amazon.com)

Dr. Cucuzza’s home church web site

Our personal Gospel web site

Who Makes These Errors?

Which four organizations promote these doctrinal errors in their own written statements?

I have highlighted the errors. Notice the amazing similarities.

Answers and links to the organizations are at the bottom of this post. Try guessing first.


(1) My Comment — Error upon error upon error.

There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.”

“Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God.”

“Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.”

GUESS WHO?

My Comment: We do not accept Christ as Lord.. We recognize and believe that Christ IS THE Lord God Almighty and trust Christ alone as our Savior. Likewise, salvation is not by turning from sin nor by committing our “entire personality to Him as Lord.”


(2) My Comment — This one defines their version of Lordship salvation and incorrectly uses the word “repent.” Their statement on How to Become a Christian:

“Here is how you can receive Christ:

Be willing to turn from your sins (repent).”

“Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit. (Receive Him as Lord and Savior.)”

GUESS WHO?

My Comment: “Willing to turn from sin” is not a requirement for salvation. A person does not ” invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life” for salvation.


(3) My Comment — The Statement “repent of our/your sins” for salvation is not in the KJV Bible. However this statement says:

“……….we are all predestined to be saved if we repent of our sins and accept by faith the relationship of love that God offers to us.”

My Comment: No one is “predestined to be saved” under any circumstance and again, “repent of our sins” is not a requirement for salvation in Christ.

GUESS WHO?


(4) My Comment — Mixing Salvation by faith with Lordship/Discipleship.

A person might be truly born again without explicitly considering the cost of following Christ, but no one can be saved who counts the cost and is unwilling to pay it.”

The problem with easy-believism is not that it will keep God’s elect from getting saved, but that it allows people who are not genuine Christians to live comfortably with a false assurance”

GUESS WHO?

My Comment: God’s salvation does not require that we “follow Christ” or “pay the price.” Salvation is God’s FREE Gift. (Ephesians 2:8-9) It is easy to believe in Jesus.

Answers from their own links to web sites and documents:

(1) Southern Baptist Convention Statement of Faith

(2) Billy Graham Crusades

(3) Presbyterian Church USA

(4) John Macarthur – Grace to You

What do you think? Let’s talk about it.

See our web site — honestly how to have eternal life

Unashamed of Grace

Here is a brilliant, intellectually honest Blog for you. I have added it to my Blog Roll.

Antonio da Rosa regularly exposes the lie of Calvinism and the wonders of God’s Grace in His FREE salvation.

For some of us who have been and are exposed to the incessant lie of Calvinism , Antonio’s Blog is a breath of clean, fresh air.

Visit and enjoy: Unashamed of Grace

I would also like to recommend a post on our personal Web Site.

It is a letter written to a friend, George Orick, who was a fellow victim of cancer.  George was a brilliant, retired professional writer who for many years was an assistant to and writer for Peter Jennings, talking head on ABC TV.

George was not a believer in Jesus Christ. He wrote to me asking about faith and prayer. I answered him with a long letter detailing my journey from being raised a Calvinist, to an atheist and finally to a believer in Jesus Christ — by His Grace.

Drop by and enjoy.

http://weaverclan.com/faith.htm

The Degradation of America

I recently commented on the Blog of The Merry Widow and decided that the subject is worth exploring just a tad. She was rightfully lamenting the sinful, terrible spiritual condition of our wonderful country. Here is an excerpt from her post:

Will the new hate crimes legislations ban the Bible as a book of hate?

The federal representatives of our states, here in the USA, will be deciding on legislation that, if passed, will define civil rights classifications as federally protected against “hate crimes.”

…. If this Bill passes, H.R 254, then the Bible will be fully removed from the public as a federally classified source of “hate speech” as it has been attempted to be classified already in Canada, under their “hate crimes” law Bill C-250. A Pastor already has been threatened with imprisonment in Canada by a “Human Rights Tribunal” under the same premise as our own bill. The “crime” of this Pastor, as reported on LifeSiteNews.com in September of ‘05, was that he * ”published a letter to the editor in the Red Deer Advocate, in which he denounced homosexuality as immoral and dangerous, and called into question new gay-rights curriculums permeating the province’s educational system.”” And we must also realize then, if sexual immorality becomes federally protected, thus making saying such acts are immoral a crime, no Christian will ever be able to vote again!

But something much more important needs to be addressed than merely protecting free speech or the Bible or our rights as citizens: we must address why these things are happening. Since Roe-v-Wade, over 45 MILLION children have been murdered in the USA.

Her post illustrates the depths to which our precious America has sunk — and is still sliding ever so quickly.

A solution may be for Christians to preach FOR the Solution rather than against the sin. A homosexual act is no greater or lesser sin that a lie, theft, abortion or murder in God’s eyes. Sin separates us from God — no matter how large or small.

The problem is not “sins” but “sin.”

Belief (faith) in Jesus alone is the eternal solution for ALL sin that would otherwise keep us from Heaven.. Christ’s death, burial and resurrection paid the complete sin debt..

Faith in Jesus alone gives one the assurance of Heaven… but does not assure removal from daily “sins.” Some folks are believing saved sinners and others are unsaved unbelieving sinners..

For unbelievers there is no concrete guideline for life, except feelings — “what feels right.”

However, for the one who who trusts Christ alone as Savior, God’s indwelling Holy Spirit works His power with the new nature of every believer to set his life in line with what the Lord wants. However, every believer has the will to obey or disobey God’s scriptural commands. Obey and be a happy believer — disobey and be a miserable believer.. Either way — once a believer, always a believer, thankfully, never to be lost.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the first and major step in the solution to the problem of homosexual acts, theft, murder, lying, liberals, abortion, immorality, etc.. one person at a time.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Evangelism. Is It Important?

This post is derived from some friendly correspondence with a friend. As I re-read it I see many things that may be useful to my readers and me. It is slightly edited to “protect the innocent” and remove some chaff.

First, please realize, I am an OLD, retired conservative, theologically narrow-minded preacher. I prefer the KJV version of the Bible (with good reason which I may discuss at a later date) and I prefer the old-time traditional Gospel hymns to the new repetitive stuff that is often called “Gospel Worship Music.”

Next, some have called me an evangelist. I don’t think of myself as an evangelist — just a witness for my Savior Jesus Christ. I was neither born as a witness nor “born-again” as a witness, it is not inherent. Evangelism is a gift, to witness is a request from the Lord.

Not too long after I trusted Christ as my Savior I was devastated because, my eyes being opened, I saw my family and friends lost and without Christ. I made the effort to study God’s Word and yearned to learn how to share it. I understood and believed 2 Timothy 215. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

The more I learned the more I wanted to learn. I didn’t know at the time, but that is the way the Lord intends it. Learn it, use it and learn more and use it more, etc. Never stop studying and using God’s Word.

2 Timothy 22 “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”

I also realized I was only one person. I began to see that I should try to take those who trusted Christ and teach them to study the Word and lead others to Christ, and then teach them to win others, etc, ad infinitum.

Ephesians 411 And He gave some [to be], apostles; and some [to be], prophets; and some [to be], evangelists; and some [to be], pastors and teachers;

My understanding is that the Lord never gave some to be bystanders. We also see that Paul and other disciples manifested ALL of the traits above, Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. They did not specialize in “areas of study” but in the whole Counsel of God.

In my position as Pastor of a church, I was also an evangelist (or witness) and a teacher. There is nothing in any of these verses that limits any one person to just one of the positions or duties — nor does it absolve any believer from being a witness or evangelist.

All of this is summed up in Ephesians 412 “For the perfecting [complete finishing or maturing] of the saints, for the work [labor or toil] of the ministry, for the edifying [building up, increase] of the body of Christ [the True Church]”

It has been said that maturity includes the ability to reproduce spiritually, to introduce people to the Savior so they experience the new birth.

I personally believe that maturity not only includes the ability to reproduce — but reproducing new believers is the main purpose of believers and the Church, thereby ultimately Glorifying God. Christ said, talking to His disciples, in John 158 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit [plucked fruit]; so shall ye be my disciples.” The fruit of a believer is another believer. An inactive believer will bear no fruit. A church full of inactive believers will still bear no fruit. So we encourage the Body of Christ (The True Church) to become active winning souls for the Savior, bearing fruit!

Often we see this verse used to accomplish some sort of ecumenicism.

Ephesians 413 “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ

None of us will see a “unity of the faith” in this world. Even in Paul’s day there was disunity. We see him addressing the Galatian works error, the Corinthian immorality and doctrinal error. Jude addressed problems of false teachers, For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Think about it. The dear believers, family and friends whom we have known and loved — those who are today in the presence of Jesus Christ in Heaven, know in full that ultimate unity of the faith.

A believer who strives to be the “perfect” (mature) man and fit to “the stature of the fullness of Christ” is preparing himself and others for being in the presence of our Savior. How? By leading others to the Savior — by studying and using God’s Word and edifying (building up) the Body with new believers.

It is an amazing thing to see how witnessing builds my faith and joy every time I have an opportunity to share my Savior with someone, whether the lost or simply encouraging another believer.

Likewise, I believe the whole Bible is written (1) to the unbeliever so he can trust Christ (2) to the believer so he will understand how he should live his life in order to be able to reproduce much fruit to Glorify God. That is how we learn to worship the Lord. Without being a believer, one cannot worship the Lord. John 424 “God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Only believers in Christ can worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.

Every jot and tittle of God’s Word is there for the purpose of building up (edifying) and increasing the True Church, the Body of Christ. That is why I believe it is important that we “study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman...” Can you imagine a church who purports to “worship” the Lord and not regularly give a consistently clear Gospel message and likewise not ask people to trust Christ as Savior — or never encourage anyone to share Christ with church visitors or their lost friends and neighbors?

As mentioned above, the book of Jude was written to warn the flock that godless and evil men had crept into the assemblies. Jude’s answer about how to correct the problem?? Jude 13 “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should EARNESTLY CONTEND FOR THE FAITH which was once delivered unto the saints.” Contending for the faith.. that is the root that supports and nourishes the Church.

Someone paraphrased Ephesians 4:15-16 as “The whole body, growing, maturing, joined and held together, truth in love (as opposed to the truth OR love we contend with all the time nowadays), each one doing his work.” Look carefully and you will see that there is nothing in these or previous verses that indicate that a Pastor or Teacher should not also be an evangelist (or simply sharing his faith). When we become too specialized in our service, we begin to think “That is someone else’s job.” Not true. Remember — the lost don’t care who it was that lead them to Christ, a layman, preacher, teacher or janitor. Again in Jude 13 “…… exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith...”

There is no disagreement that worshipful reverence is essential for a Godly church. It is also very important that any worship leader, any Pastor and all the members do not confine their service to “group witness,” believing that, at the end of the service, the job is finished. Everyone should be ready to share Christ at any and every moment with anyone that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” Or, even if they don’t ask, a believer can share Christ!

I have been asked. “How should the wandering ship of the Church of our Savior be turned around.”

Believers in Jesus Christ must first see the problem and want a solution. That is a big order.

Many things are essential in the Body of Christ, sound doctrine, teamwork, elimination of fragmentation, solving immaturity by teaching those who want to learn and encourage those who don’t think they need to learn. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the center-point, the reason. The Lord, using dedicated, soulwinning people can “turn this ship around.”

Another question has been asked, “Is it that we’ve lost our first love?”

My experience tells me that many Bible believing churches have lost their first love. 1 John 410 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Our first love is the love and excitement we have when we realize we have passed from death to life, not because we “loved God.” but because He first loved us and we understood that love and trusted Christ as our Savior. Some believers who trusted Christ at an early age may not remember that First Love, that excitement and appreciation. But such love for our Savior can be renewed by strong Biblical Gospel preaching and Scriptural encouragement.

Will the True Church ever be “ready” for our Savior’s certain return?

I believe the True Church will go up in the Rapture when Jesus returns for all believers. Some believers will still be squabbling over “things,” but all that will dissolve when we see Jesus Christ in person. We should all be personally looking and expecting His return today, maybe even before this comment is posted. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

We worship the Lord many ways in our fellowships today. When we are with the Lord in Heaven we will worship Him as we really should, not man’s way, but God’s way. However, one thing we must remember — the single thing we can not do when we are in Heaven with the Lord — is witness to the lost for our Savior Jesus Christ.. Why? Because — everyone there will be believers.

So today, let us get about our Father’s business and share the Glorious Gospel of our Savior. An individual or a church which is on fire to see souls saved will be less likely to quibble over unessential details and more likely to grow spiritually.

Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the death penalty for the sins of the whole world (you and me), He was buried and rose again, not only for me but likewise for all my friends — and my enemies. How can we truly show love for our friends and enemies? — by sharing with them the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Bible Truth or Fiction? Part II

Dear readers:

Our previous post, “Bible Truth or Fiction” and the wonderful comments grew to the point of being almost unmanageable. Therefore this post is a continuation of and will include the last three points, #5, #6 and #7 from the previous post.

As in the previous post, I will inject my thoughts (in red) in between the statements.

I invite you to comment on these statements and my analysis — and, if you are so inclined, please visit the previous post for some very lively comments.

Are these statements Bible Truth or Fiction?

(5) You must give your heart or life or both to Jesus to be saved.

FICTION: We give NOTHING to God or Jesus to have eternal life (be saved)..

We simply believe that the gift God has offered (eternal life) is true. We take His gift, trusting Christ to be who He says He is (our Savior) and that He will do what He has promised. His promise is that when we trust HIm, He gives us eternal life without charge and with no strings attached.

(6) You must make Jesus your Lord and Savior to be saved.

FICTION: We don’t “make” Jesus the Lord of anything . Jesus IS the Lord God Almighty. He IS the Savior.

We don’t “make” Him our Savior but we trust Him as our Savior…

After we have made that one-time decision to believe in or trust Jesus as Savior, we should then decide to be obedient or submissive to Him and His Word — as a servant is to his Master.

However, whether or not we become obedient or submissive to His word does not affect our eternal relationship with Christ. Yet it definitely does affect a believer’s day-to-day fellowship with Him.

Salvation (relationship) is FREE. Once in Christ we cannot change that relationship.

Fellowship is a work — a decision believers make to be obedient and submissive to their Savior. Fellowship can change day-to-day,

(7) The Bible uses the words, “God is Sovereign” and “Sovereignty of God.”

FICTION: These two phrases do not appear in the King James Version of God’s Word. The word “sovereign” or “sovereignty” is nowhere in the KJV.

However it does appear in some of the more recent interpretations of the Bible. It seems that many of those interpretations emanate from or are promoted by those “theologians” of the Reformed or Calvinist persuasion.

This is an excerpt from a Calvinist web site — which, for obvious reasons will not be cited.

Here is the Calvinist lie:

“The system of Calvinism …… focuses on God’s sovereignty, stating that God is able and willing…… to do whatever He desires with His creation. It also maintains that within the Bible are the following teachings: That God, by His sovereign grace predestines people into salvation; that Jesus died only for those predestined; that God regenerates the individual where he is, then [he is] (sic) able and wants to choose God;…”

Obviously God is all powerful, the Creator of Heaven and earth.

However, in His sovereignty, He does not over-rule man’s responsibility to make a personal choice or decision to trust or reject Jesus Christ to be his Savior.

Christ died for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD not just those “predestined”:

1 John 2:2 “And He is the propitiation [substitute] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD.”

Our responsibility? Believe in Jesus to have eternal life:

1 John 5:13 “These things have I written unto you that BELIEVE on the name of the Son of God [Jesus]; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life, ……”

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Thanks for participating.

Bible Truth or Fiction?

ADDENDUM: As you see, I am daily adding my thoughts in between each statement below.

In Order to generate some discussion, which of these are true statements to be found in the KJV Bible? Are any of these Biblical truths or are some of them doctrines of men generated by religions?

I will appreciate your comments..

(1) You must turn from or be willing to turn from your sin and then trust Jesus to be saved.

FICTION: God never makes it a requirement that you either turn or be willing to turn from sin in order to trust Christ as your Savior. God’s Gift of Salvation is His Gift to everyone but only appropriated by those who believe or trust in Christ. To ask a person to turn from sin to be saved is asking them to do works of righteousness in order to qualify. This is Satan’s lie. God’s salvation is “Not of works..” [Ephesians 2:8-9]. However, true repentance IS a requirement for salvation — but repentance is NOT turning from sin. Repent means a change of one’s mind — specifically, in context, about who Jesus is — He alone is the only Savior!

Nowhere does the Bible say that we must “Repent of sin” to be saved.

Sure, as ones who have trusted Christ as Savior, believers should, by the power of God, turn from our sin… but not to gain or keep our salvation — but because we are now in God’s family by faith. “Because He first loved us…” [I John 4:19]

(2) You must make Jesus the Lord of your life to be saved.

FICTION: Many preachers and religions teach that you “must make Jesus Lord of your life to be saved.” Others will say that if He is not “Lord of all He is not Lord at all.” Likewise they say if Jesus or God is not “Lord and/or Master of your life,” you must not be saved or you may have lost your salvation. This is the lie of Satan.

It is very important to remember, Jesus Christ IS the Lord God Almighty in the flesh. That fact cannot be changed by one’s behavior, belief or unbelief. The word “Lord” in the New Testament is the Greek word “Kurios,” meaning “Master.” His Salvation is eternal — without an end!

To be saved, guaranteed Heaven or eternal life, one must simply trust or believe that Jesus is who He claims to be, the Savior and that He is the only Way of salvation. To make an unbeliever think he must submit to the “mastery” or Lordship of Jesus in order to have or keep salvation is confusing God’s clear, simple salvation message.

Submitting to the Lordship of Christ is a decision believers should make AFTER they have received Christ as their Savior. It is a work that believers decide to do, not in order to be saved but, because they are already saved by their faith in Jesus. Why? “For the love of Christ constraineth [compells] us; ….”2 Corinthians 5:14

Every believer in Jesus Christ, secure in Christ, is wise in following the Lordship of Christ (which is simply obedience to Scripture) for the sake of seeing others come to Christ and for the sake of harmony in and building up the Body of Christ.

Let every believer in Christ plead for and work toward a crystal clear Gospel message to help the lost understand the question, “Who is this that forgiveth sins….?” Luke 7:49 Likewise, a clear message will help and encourage those who have already trusted Christ as Savior.

(3) Jesus is standing and knocking on the door of your heart. You must open your heart and let Jesus come in to be saved.

FICTION: It is a pity that many Pastors and some Christians misuse that phrase in an effort to get people to trust Christ as Savior.

Such an unclear statement is a misunderstanding or a misstatement of the Bible verse in Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” In context, the Apostle John, writes the words of Jesus, spoken to John by special revelation. If you will read the Book of Revelation from the beginning to the verse above, you will easily see the context. John quotes Jesus after He has just addressed the Seven Churches. Jesus is pleading for a close and proper fellowship between Him and the people, leaders and messengers of each of the seven churches (“and will sup with him” fellowship, not salvation). Let us speak the Truth clearly!

To be saved, one does NOT open his heart and let Jesus come in — but he must simply understand Who Christ is and what He has done for the world and then trust Him alone as Savior. Christ was crucified, was dead, buried and rose again, thus paying for everyone the death penalty we all owe. This eternal life is available only to those who will trust Jesus Christ alone as their Savior.

Jesus died — That’s History.

Jesus died for ME and I trust Him — that’s salvation!

(4) In order to be saved, you must ask Jesus to save you.

FICTION: Salvation (to be saved) is God’s GIFT through our mental faith decision to trust Jesus Christ. He has offered that Gift to whosoever will trust or receive Christ.

There is no requirement or need to ask God or Christ for His Salvation when He has already offered or given it as His Gift to you. He asks you to simply receive Jesus Christ as your Savior to have eternal life. John 1:12 “But as many as received Him (Christ), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on His name (Jesus);”

Think about it… When God offers to you His Gift of eternal life (and He has), must you ask, beg or plead for it? “Please, please, please Lord, give me the Gift of Eternal life!”

NO, simply take His Gift, receive His Gift and you can be thankful for it. Romans 6:23 “….. the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Wages are what we earn or deserve (“The wages of sin is death“). Any true gift is never earned but simply offered to be received with no strings attached. GIFT = FREE , but it must be accepted.

If you have never done so, receive or accept God’s free Gift of Eternal Life right now.. Simply trust or believe in Jesus Christ alone to be your Savior.

_____________________________________

Please note:  because this post has become so large, I have made a new post which includes the last three (#5, #6 and #7) points of discussion.

Please go to the new post, read  and comment.

Thank you…

GRACE vs. WORKS

Thanks to all of you who have contributed to our exciting discussion on easy believism in my previous post. This post will expound upon it.

Obviously, the very essence of the Gospel is Salvation in Jesus Christ. This so great Salvation is the context of these two posts.

As Phil says speaking of Jesus Christ, “He paid it all. He offers freely.” Absolutely true and consequently those who know not Christ have the personal responsibility of making a decision to put their faith in Christ. Otherwise that salvation is never appropriated. Until such a time, a person is lost without Christ.

Some folks to whom I witness “believe” that Jesus died for them but, sorta like a security blanket, they still feel they must do good works for God in order to be sure of Heaven. Not true, faith in Christ alone is all sufficient! They are simply not trusting Christ to be the Savior He is.

Therefore when witnessing to folks, in order to avoid giving a false impression and avoid presenting a false gospel, I make sure that they understand that God’s Gift of Salvation is wholly based on their personal decision to trust in Christ as Savior, nothing more and nothing less. They need to know that in order to secure Salvation in Christ there is NO component of good works.

That’s easy.. Just truly trust in Jesus to be your Savior and you have eternal life, Heaven eternally — nothing to stop it — He promises, He guarantees. But from early childhood, we are all taught the false message that “Nothing is free.” Not true.. God’s very gift of Salvation IS free, no charge, no strings, no works on our part.

So often, the big hurdle is making sure the unbeliever understands that, for Salvation, God’s Grace and our works (or service) are two entirely different things and can not be commingled. We must carefully explain such separation between Grace and works. Then the meaning of Grace must be completely understood by the one to whom we speak.

Salvation is what Christ does for us by His Grace and our decision (faith).

Service or work is what we do for the Lord, powered by His grace, after we have believed (simply our obedience to Him). We can never do any works to either gain or reinforce our salvation in Christ, therefore, when I share Christ, I always try to be sure it is clearly understood — Salvation and service are two entirely separate things. Salvation by Grace is free, what God does, His Gift. And to the contrary, service or work is what we should do for our Savior after we believe.

Romans 11:6 is a verse which speaks about the basic principle of Grace, clearly defining the distinction between Grace and works in salvation

“And if by grace, then is it no more of works otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace otherwise work is no more work.”

That is the essence of a clear Gospel message. For salvation, Grace and works cannot be mixed. They are totally incompatible.

That is God’s easily believable message of Salvation… by His Grace (freely) through our faith — without our works.

There is no hard part in Salvation. Just believe in Christ to be your Savior. He took your place in death for your sins, was buried and rose again. He is alive today.

Then, after we have believed in Christ, He teaches and disciples (disciplines) us so we will see and experience the wonders of serving Him. That discipline or testing can seem hard at times, but He gives us a way of escape that we may be able to bear it. [See 1 Corinthians 1013] We as believers have been created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of good works. [Ephesians 210]

What a wonderful Savior! What a privilege to serve Him Who first loved us.

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Easy Believism?

On some occasions I have been accused of sharing the doctrine of “Easy Believism.” Have you ever been accused of that?

I believe that Jesus Christ is the true and only Savior of the world. He died personally for your sins and mine — those sins that would separate us from God for all eternity. He was buried and arose from the grave, proving He is God. He is alive today. [1 Corinthians 15:1-4]

Now the simple part.. God simply asks you to trust (believe in) Jesus Christ for your eternal life. He paid the death penalty price and all He asks of you is that you will believe Him. [John 3:16]

That is the very essence of God’s salvation and it is forever.

In John 10:28 Jesus Himself said about those who trust Him as Savior:

“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

Salvation is NOT by doing good works but by trusting in Christ alone as your Savior. [Ephesians 2:8-9]

Sure, we should do good works after we have believed in Christ just as the Bible says — this is not for our salvation but because he saved us and now we do His works to show our love for our Savior. [Ephesians 2:10]

Now, if that is called “easy believism,” I plead guilty.

I refuse to believe that the God of the Universe would promote and offer a “Hard Believism” requiring anything other than our one time decision to simply trust Jesus Christ for what He is — The Savior, His Gift to mankind.

Do you have an opinion on this? Please post a comment.

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Christday or Christmas

This post is not to start a quarrel with those who wish to call Christmas — “Christmas.” However, wouldn’t it be better that Bible believing Christians call it Christday?

I am a Fundamental Bible believing Christian and I do not celebrate Christ-mass. Christ Mass is the origin of the word — a Mass for Christ. It is also called Christ’s Mass and Wikipedia has an exhaustive study of the word “Christmas.” Here is a quote from Wiki:

The word “Christmas” is a contraction meaning “Christ’s Mass” It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038

Understandably there are several religions who observe multiple “Masses” at all times of the year, but my faith is not one of those and that is OK. This is not to take away from those who wish to celebrate a mass on Christday. Go right ahead.

After all, the day really is Christ’s Day — A time to celebrate the day of the Savior’s birth, the coming of the Messiah. Much more meaningful.

Henceforth I will  call it CHRISTDAY in honor of my Savior — not a Mass or Eucharist as some Episcopal, Lutheran, Roman Catholic churches call it.

Will this idea sweep the world like wildfire by next Christday? Naaaaa, probably not..

But it is one little start.

Happy Christday everybody, a few days late.

Real Christmas Story

The Incarnation,

The Birth of Jesus The Messiah, The Savior

 

Star of Bethlehem John 1:1, 3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.”

The word “incarnation,” like many other words used by Christians, does not appear in the Bible, but the concept is clearly Biblical. Incarnation is defined as “to become flesh or human.” John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” This is a beautiful description of The Incarnation of Jesus Christ the Savior, the Messiah.

Jesus Christ is The Person, The Word, Who has forever existed – with no beginning and no end.

John 1:10-12 “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:”

Jesus so loved the fallen human race that He became flesh and entered into the world as a Babe in the little Judean town of Bethlehem. This event was Biblically prophesied 600 years before the fact in the book of Micah, Chapter 5, Verse 2.

Jesus the Christ was born as the Perfect One into a sinful world. Just imagine a thankless mankind, hating, disobeying and cursing the Very God who created and provided for them. Yet He still loved the entire world, so much that He chose to give Himself as the necessary sacrifice to pay the required penalty of our sin. He is the substitute for each of us. Jesus Christ was born to die, thus satisfying the eternal death penalty we deserve. He surrendered Himself, was put to death, was buried and rose from the grave under His own power, thus proving He is God.

Look again at the verse John 1:10-12 above. In an act of Divine Mercy and Grace, God so loved disobedient humankind that He GAVE an undeserving world the GIFT of Salvation in Christ. This GIFT is available to anyone and everyone who will RECEIVE it by believing, trusting in Jesus alone for everlasting life. (Ref. John 3:16) He died for you — Believe in Him!

But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:” Though undeserving, ExPreacherMan and Sweet Wife rejoice that we have received God’s greatest Gift ever given, Eternal life in Jesus Christ.

This Gift is for you too. Today is the day you can receive His immeasurable Gift, eternal life in Jesus Christ. If you are not sure of Heaven, Eternal Life, trust Jesus alone as your personal Savior.

2 Corinthians 6:2b

“….behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” We pray you will have a wonderful season remembering the birth of the only Savior, the only Mediator between Man and God, Jesus Christ the Messiah.

December 15th Anniversary

This year, December 15 is the 42nd anniversary of my spiritual birthday.In 1964, my good friend and political compatriot, Shirley Spellerberg., tricked my wife and me into going to a Christmas Concert. I heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ loud and clear, how that Jesus Christ died on the cross for me (atheist sinner), He was buried and rose again, proving Himself to be God in the Flesh, That very night I passed from death to eternal life, from an atheist to a believer in the Savior of the world (but specifically me), Jesus Christ by making that simple decision to trust Jesus as my Savior.

I thank the Lord for His Grace and Mercy, that he would die on that cross for such a wretch as me.

I thank the Lord that Pastor Ray Stanford made the Gospel and the invitation to trust Christ so clear at that Christmas Concert that even I could understand and believe in Christ.

Right now, you too can pass from death to life by trusting Christ as YOUR Savior.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world (you), that He gave his only begotten Son (Jesus), that whosoever believeth (you) in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Trust Jesus Now, make this the greatest Christmas ever.

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Looking Back

Today I looked over some old “message notes” from the 1970s and 1980s. Some would call them sermon notes but I’m not sure I ever “preached a sermon.” My Pastoral goal was to tell forth God’s Word accurately and interestingly. Thus saith the Lord!

It amazes me how current these messages are, as if written for today. However, God’s Word, in context, is always current.

In the next few days I will begin transferring my old notes onto my computer and from there to my Blog. The original notes were either hand written or typed on an old IBM Ball Selectric typewriter.. much the same as I do now with my computer… two finger typing.

Now, with more than half my vision gone, I look at those old papers and wonder how I ever deciphered them on a lectern or pulpit.

Coming to a Blog near you… Notes from twenty to thirty years ago.

Meanwhile visit our Gospel Web Site –

How to know for sure you are Heaven Bound.

THANKFUL!

My Sweet wife and I have so much for which to be thankful to God, it would take a scroll the size of the sky and an ocean full of ink to record it all; family, friends, the Lord’s provision and a million more.

But first and foremost — and maybe the most overlooked:

2 Cor. 9:15
“Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable [indescribable] GIFT.”

Romans 6:23
“….. the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

We thank the Lord that “…God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, CHRIST DIED FOR US.” Romans 5:8

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world [you and me], that He GAVE his only begotten Son [Jesus], that whosoever [you and me] believeth in Him [Jesus] should not perish, but have everlasting life [Heaven}.”

With God’s guarantee that we may look forward:
“To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice,…..” 1 Peter 1:4

Are we thankful? What a promise! What a Gift! What a Savior!

If you do not know that thankfulness.. having never trusted Jesus Christ alone for your eternal life, for Heaven.. we urge you to make that decision now.

We would like for you to be able to thank the Lord as do we — for His indescribable and undeserved Gift, Jesus Christ, our Savior.

The Good News!

What is Hope?

For centuries man has misunderstood or misinterpreted many words in God’s Holy Scripture. “Scholars” debate the meanings of Biblical words and we must determine whether such interpretations are errors or truth. If errors, whether they are accidental or deliberate. Let’s take the wonderful and exhilarating word “Hope” and see if we can understand it. Of course this writing will be an abbreviated explanation of the word but it is a start.

One may say, “I hope it will not rain today.” “I hope my car will start when I have an emergency.” “I hope my children will grow up to be great citizens.” “I hope. I hope. I hope.”

The standard dictionary definition, and one that is generally accepted by most of the world is “to FEEL that something desired MAY happen:” The words “feel” and “may” are two very indefinite and vague words, but such a definition of “hope” exemplifies the thinking of most people.

The dictionary definition of the word “hope” is NOT the Biblical Hope of which we speak.

Let us investigate the Old and New Testament meanings of the word “Hope.”

Psalm 33:22

“Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.”

Hope in this verse is the Hebrew word, “yachal” meaning “trust.”

Psalm 130:7

Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.”

Again this is the same Hebrew word, “trust.”

Psalm 39:7

“And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.”

Here we see a slightly different Hebrew word towcheleth but with the same root but meaning “expectation.” These and many, many more verses illustrate the Psalmist’s reliance upon the trustworthiness of the Lord. The Lord CAN be trusted. He WILL keep His promises.

Now, in the New Testament we see the word “Hope” in several verses. This word “Hope” is an absolute, a guarantee without a doubt. It is the Greek word “elpis” meaning “to expect or anticipate with pleasure.”

Romans 5:2

“By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

We rejoice in the glory of God, not with uncertainty but with joyful anticipation — guaranteed.

Colossians 1:5

“For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

The Hope of Heaven is not a maybe — but an absolute and definite guarantee by the Word of the Truth of the Gospel.

Titus 1:2

“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”

Eternal life — guaranteed and promised by the God of the Universe. He cannot lie.

Titus 2:13

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

Every believer in Jesus Christ may look with confidence to the glorious appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. No doubt!

Titus 3:7

“That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

We are Justified by God’s grace, guaranteed — Rendered innocent or free by God’s Grace, eternal life guaranteed!

As you read this, I want you to have that Hope or guarantee personally. God offers you this by His Grace.

Just briefly, no one deserves to live in Heaven or have eternal life with the Righteous God (Revelation 21:27). We are all sinners by nature and deed. Simply put, we have all sinned and come short of the mark of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23). All sin requires a payment that must be paid — and that penalty is spiritual death, being apart from God in Hell (Romans 4:23).

By God’s Grace and Love He provided a Sin Bearer in the person of Jesus Christ who was crucified for our sin, was buried and rose again. This Grace is available to the whole world — including you personally (John 3:16). It is not determined by how good you are — or how hard you try — or by your good works, but by Grace alone, which means “undeserved mercy.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

How can we KNOW that Hope is real?

1 John 5:13

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

You can KNOW. God promises Heaven, the Hope (guarantee) of eternal life is when you trust that Jesus paid the death penalty in your place. He promises — and all you need do is to trust Jesus as your Savior. Believe His Word — He died for you.

If you have never trusted Jesus alone as your Savior, do that right now. Believe His promises of eternal life which are yours the very moment you trust Jesus as YOUR Savior.

Remember and believe this:

Jesus died — That is history. Jesus died for ME — that is salvation.

When you make that simple decision, your eternity in Heaven is secure in Jesus Christ. It is God’s guarantee, thus your HOPE of Heaven is guaranteed eternal. You are immediately declared righteous before a Holy God with no possibility of losing His Gift of salvation. Eternal life is ETERNAL — without end, beginning the moment you trust Christ as your personal Savior.

Romans 1:16

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek [gentile].”

Please, trust Jesus Christ as your Savior NOW! God has no strings attached! Claim that wonderful HOPE.

Learn How to Have Eternal Life.

Our Job as Believers

Many words have been written about our “job” as believers.

Let me cut to the chase…

I am an unashamed believer in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I am trusting Jesus alone to get me to Heaven. He guarantees Heaven to me, not as a reward of my works, but as His Gift to me through my faith in Jesus Christ alone as my Savior.

In my 77 years of life on this earth, no one has ever come up to me and started a cogent and clear conversation about how I can have eternal life in Christ alone.

I have been approached by many false religions and cults preaching a message contrary to God’s Word… but never a clear Gospel message.

So, this is a believer’s “job” (to me it is not a job but a privilege) to share their faith in Jesus Christ.. to convince those we meet to likewise put their faith in Jesus alone as their personal Savior.

There are many peripheral things we as believers may do; meet together with believers of like mind to encourage each otrher, study God’s Word, pray and worship the Lord. These are important.

But the Bible says “How shall they hear without a a preacher [one who shares God’s Word].” We may not all be “preachers” but we can each be sharers of the Gospel for our Savior.

That is our job no, privilege to share our Savior!

If you are not sure of Heaven, eternal life in Christ visit our personal web site.. drop a line and I will be happy to explain what God says in His Word about eternal life in Jesus Christ alone.

WeaverClan Personal Web Site

Does Ted Haggard matter?

Ted Haggard, Pastor of New Life Church (NLC) and the head of the liberal National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) resigned his Pastorate today with a graphic confession. Frankly, until the MSM and the leftists decided to expose him, I never heard of him.

Haggard is a sinner as are we all. He proclaims that he is a believer in Christ.. If he believes his (NLC) Statement of faith record of the Bible, then I would guess he probably is a true Christian. But that is for the Lord to determine. However, liberal theology can muddy a clear Bible Doctrine. I have issues with some of his church doctrine which tends to touch on the charismatic error. Often such error leads one to doubt his assurance of salvation.

But does it matter that Haggard was caught? I feel for him and congratulate him for making the right decision to resign and acknowledge his sin before his congregation. I went through the similar agony as did his congregation.

Years ago the Pastor who led me to Jesus Christ, with a clear simple Gospel message, had an affair with a student. He resigned his position, divorced his wife and married the student. Shortly after, his wife developed Alzheimer’s disease and was remanded to the custody of her daughter. What a tragedy! What a shock to those of us who knew him.

Am I bitter? Honestly, I have a tough time forgetting his sin and the damage it did to my family personally and the thousands of the Body of Christ whom he had touched, but I’m not bitter.

I am thankful that my ex-Pastor has continued his life sharing salvation through Christ alone with whomever will listen.. but he realizes his organized ministry in a church is damaged and finished.

Does Haggard matter to me… No. The liberal trick of releasing this scandal just before the election probably will have little effect on discerning Conservative Christians, much to the dismay of the MSM’.

If Haggard has truly trusted in Jesus Christ alone for his salvation, then by the promise of God’s Word, he has eternal life, never to lose it. This specific sin was forgiven when Christ shed His blood on the cross, even before Haggard conceived the sin in his mind. God’s perfection was imputed to Haggard the moment he made his decision to trust Christ.

That is God’s Grace and His Love that “saved a wretch like me.”

And yes, we as believers, should pray for him and especially his wife and family.. They are in the eye of the scandal storm. His church family is in turmoil — so pray for them.

How to have eternal life.

Westboro Baptist “Christians”

Anna, over at the Blog “A Rose By Any Other Name” wrote a great insightful post on the Westboro Weirdoes and their missionary zeal of protesting at funerals. She made a legitimate statement, “I do not understand how a group who call themselves Christians can act in such a way.”

I commented on her statement and now expand upon it.

1. Yes, they “call” themselves Christians but anyone can call himself a Christian — but what he calls himself does not make him one.

2. She said, “They have definitely proven that time and time again by their repulsive actions.” Believers (including me ) must be constantly reminded that the action we see in a person does not prove before God that they are Christians. Only the Lord and they themselves know for sure by their faith.

3. A believer can tell that another person is a believer in Christ only by their testimony in words. I personally know many folks who are wonderfully nice and “moral” people but are members of cultic religions. I also know some folks who, by their words, profess to be Christians, yet live deplorable lives. In either case their words do not support their behavior or their behavior belies their faith.

One of these vile WestBoro Baptist women (Shirley Whoositz) said that all others (murdered babies, the Amish, Jews, and all other Christians, etc) are condemned to hell because they do not keep God’s laws. Therefore by her own words, she proves to us that she is not preaching a true Christian Gospel but an accursed, false works-law “salvation” message. Therefore, she condemns herself and all who believe her drivel.

Obeying God’s laws will never keep her or anyone else out of hell. God’s Law is perfect and condemns mankind but God’s Grace saves. The Bible says God’s law is simply a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians 3:24-25 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [instructor] to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

The penalty for breaking the law (sin) is death, spiritual separation from God. But the Gift of God is eternal life through personal faith in Jesus Christ.
Christ’s death on the cross, His burial and resurrection is the fulfillment of the law — and is available to anyone who makes a one time decision to put their faith in Christ as Savior.

Romans 3:20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
John 1:17 “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:28 “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”

These Westboro Baptist people do not talk like believers in Jesus Christ. Therefore, we assume by their words that they are lost and need Jesus Christ as Savior. If God’s Grace in Christ can save a sinner like me, then He can save anyone… even these people. This is available to them only if they individually choose to place their trust/faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. Only then they will have God’s gift of eternal life. They must no longer depend on the keeping of God’s law or their “good” works for salvation, but only Christ alone.

The law cannot save — placing one’s faith in Christ alone does save.

It is obvious that the Westboro bunch is being deliberately provocative, but without Christ they are blind and preaching an accursed message. Pray for their salvation in Christ alone. Then their eyes will be opened and they can see.

Please pray also for the families of the murdered children and the family of the murderer.

Our Gospel Web Site: WeaverClan.com

US Churches Anti-Israel

Liberal churches in the USA have always been far left.. but read this quote from the Jerusalem Post. Liberal Churches are anti-Israel to the core! This article was sent to me by “The Berean Call,” a Conservative Christian group. and was posted in their latest weekly newsletter.

The findings of a delegation of the World Council of Churches, upon returning from a visit to Beirut and Jerusalem is that “Israel’s assault on Lebanon was planned even before Hizbullah attacked and was aimed at driving a wedge between the different faiths that have been living in harmony in the country. We came back from Lebanon sharing the impression that this destruction was planned. And if the action by Hizbullah was the trigger, this was a planned operation all ready to go.” The World Council of Churches represents 348 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church (“Jerusalem Post,” 8/17/06).

[Comment from The Berean Call: To the World Council of Churches, it very reasonably seems that they do not care that missiles have been indiscriminately fired into population centers in Israel for months (years) prior to the Israel incursion. No rational individual blames a dog who is constantly kicked for occasionally biting back. Having divorced themselves from biblical truth, the World Council of Churches have cultivated a selective blindness. Inevitably they divorce themselves from reality.]

Nuff said!

The Berean Call Web site
Our personal web site.

Lost to Neglect — America and Our Faith

“The problem was those who believed it failed to teach it! And soon many who did not necessarily oppose it, just no longer held it.” IFCA Voice Magazine, September-October 2006

This quote made me think about our blessed America whch I love and my faith in Christ, in whom I trust for my eternity.

Our country began with The Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Most churches begin by capturing their fundamental beliefs within a doctrinal Statement of Faith based on the Holy Scripture. In each case principles are delineated and then affirmed by those involved in the group (our country, our church).

Our liberal education system has failed just as have many of our churches because, “The problem was those who believed it failed to teach it! And soon many who did not necessarily oppose it, just no longer held it.” This illustrates the rot caused by apathy and compromise. Education no longer teaches the principles of our Constitution. Our fundamental churches no longer teach the basic principles of Scripture.

Unless we reverse this trend in our wonderful country and in our fundamental churches; unless we begin to stand for what we believe, our Republic designed by the Fathers of our Constitution and our churches designed and ordered by the Lord in His Scriptures will “Circle the drain.”

Liberals rejoice because the bell tolls for the death of our Constitution and of our fundamental Biblical faith.

2 Tim. 313-14 “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.” The KJV Bible

Our country and our faith — will the younger generation be Lost to Neglect???

Our Gospel Web Site.