I don't talk about religion

Posted on: July 29, 2016 at 14:35:13 CT

I discuss personal relationship with the living God of heaven.

The Great Shema clearly talks about the triune God of Israel. You just have to know the rules of the Hebrew language regarding singular, dual, and plural (three or more), and understand that in the Great Shema, the One is plural. If you read it with English words and eyes, you never see it.

What Exactly Is Christianity, and Why Does It Matter?

When people talk about Christianity, its quite often from an uninformed point of view. I hear many say they think Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but when asked, "Do you believe that means God the Son?", they say no. So those people are not talking about the Jesus Christ of the bible, and they are not talking about Christianity. The apostle Paul expressed great concern that people would believe in a false Jesus, instead of the Jesus of the bible, (II Cor 11:3,4). Those who do not believe Jesus Christ is God are talking about a Jesus they made up in their own minds because they haven't taken the proper time to study and understand the truth of what the bible actually teaches about who Jesus Christ really is.

So as we begin, understand that the concept of the trinity, (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, as one God), is portrayed throughout the bible. But you also have to understand that the original bible wasn't written in English, and a few things are lost in translation. In Genesis 1:26 it reads: "And God said, "Let us make man in our image."" The old testament was written in Hebrew. In the Hebrew language, there are singular, dual, and plural. In Hebrew, plural is 3 or more. This is different than English which only has singular and plural. In Deuteronomy 6 it reads: "Hear O' Israel, the Lord thy God, the Lord is One." `elohiym is the Hebrew word for God, and it is plural in form. el would be singular. Thus the One God, is 3 or more, that is to say, a triune being. Like an egg, which is shell, yolk, and white; God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So when it says in Genesis 1:26, "Let US make man in OUR image", that was the One God speaking within Himself. God didn’t become multiple gods when Jesus came to earth, any more than an egg becomes 3 eggs when you separate the yolk from the white and the shell.

In John 1:1 we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In the next few verses you read where the Word created all things, and nothing was created without Him creating it. In verse 14 you read: "And the Word became flesh, and lived among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." So then, the Word was with God, was God, created everything, and took on flesh to live with us. This is Jesus Christ. He is Almighty God.

Not just a god, but Almighty God? Yes. This is confirmed in a number of places, not the least of which is in Revelation 1. If you read the chapter carefully, it describes a conversation between the apostle John, and the individual in heaven who identifies Himself as Almighty God. This individual, in the same chapter, says He was dead, and is alive. He also says He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, and the First and the Last. This can only be Jesus Christ, because apart from Jesus dying on the cross, God never died.

It was Almighty God who took on flesh for the express purpose of dying on the cross to pay for the sin of all mankind (II Cor. 5:14-21). Well how do we know these things are true and not just myths? There are many records in history, in both church history and secular history, which support the claims of the bible. But to me, the best evidence is the fact that all but one of the apostles and many others who knew Jesus personally, suffered a martyr's death. If these people went to their death, knowing that it was a lie, it was total insanity. Yet, many people who were alive and knew and saw Christ here on earth, before His crucifixion and death on the cross, and after His resurrection from the dead (I Cor. 15:4-8), testified with their lives that Jesus Christ rose from the dead after being publicly crucified on the cross.

These things are recorded in the bible, in the writings of the early church fathers, and in secular history. The bottom line is this, if the apostles knew it was a hoax, why would they go to their deaths claiming it was true? They only went to their deaths claiming it was true, because they were eye witnesses who knew it was true. This separates the martyrdom of those who saw Christ alive after seeing Him crucified, from martyrs' deaths of those professing some false religion.

Unlike Christ, the leaders of those false religions are all in their graves. The martyrs of those false religions may have gone to their deaths believing in their leaders, but that is different from being someone who knew Jesus and saw Him alive after His resurrection; it is different from being someone who actually knew it was true. There is no legitimate reason to believe the apostles and those others who knew Christ were martyred over a claim that they knew was false. They didn't just believe God rose from the dead, they knew it was true. They were there to experience it.

Our God rose from the grave and appeared to over 500 people at one time after His resurrection and before His final ascension into heaven (I Cor. 15:6). Now, was I there? No. Were you there when Alexander the Great conquered the world? No. Yet you take it on faith that he did, and that Cleopatra was queen of Egypt, and that Washington was the first president of the United States. What proof do you have of any of these things? The proof of these things is miniscule when compared to the mountains of evidence that give legitimacy to the bible. Are there errors in the translations we have of the bible? Yes. Absolutely. But none so great as to defy explanation and reason. We have sufficient ancient manuscripts to justify total reliance on the original inspired writings in the bible. There are thousands of such manuscripts to justify this level of reliance.

So we have this God, who came to earth (John 1:14), who died for our sin and rose from the dead to prove His victory over sin and death (I Cor 15:3,4). This same God says come to me, and ask forgiveness, and I will forgive your sin, and give you new life. God says of Himself that He is Holy (Lev 19:1,2), that in Him is no wickedness. In Him is no lie. He is just and righteous in all He does. In addition He promises peace for the hearts of all who will believe His words and rely upon Him for the forgiveness of sin, if they will simply ask Him with a sincere heart to forgive them for having sinned against Him. This forgiveness is offered freely to those who rely upon Him. But this is not something that is passed to those who merely agree to the truth, but fail to exercise personal reliance upon God for forgiveness.

Well why do I have to rely on God for forgiveness? Can't I just do some good works to pay for my own sin? No. The bible clearly teaches that we cannot earn our way to God. The bible says the wages of sin, (that is to say, what we have earned for our sin), is eternal death; eternal separation from God. It says in Romans Chapter 6: "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." And it says in Ephesians 2:8,9: For by grace we are saved through the exercise of faith in God, and it is not of our own self, not because of our own works that we are saved, but rather, salvation is a gift from God, so that nobody can boast about earning their own salvation. We can't earn our own way to heaven because of our sin. Somebody has to pay the penalty of our sin. Good works are not a sufficient payment for sin. Good works will not gain us entrance into heaven. (Titus 3:5) But God who came to earth in the flesh, Jesus Christ, paid that sin debt so that we could have an everlasting home and peace with God.

So imagine a room with two chairs. If you walk into the room and sit in/on one of the chairs, you are relying on the chair, that this thing which you are sitting on actually is a chair, and will hold you up. You are doing more than intellectually assenting to the truth of the item being a chair. With regard to the other chair, you are simply agreeing in your mind that it is a chair, but you are not sitting in it, you are not relying on it to hold you up, and you do not get any benefit by agreeing that it is a chair.

You must do more than agree that Jesus Christ is Almighty God. You must sit in the seat of faith. You must stop relying on your own efforts to hold you up. You must ask forgiveness and rely upon Christ as God, and trust that He is the only payment for your own individual sin. This is what gains a person forgiveness of sin. This is what allows a person to know they are going to heaven, not based on their own good works, but on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. He paid it all. If you will confess your sin, and personally ask forgiveness from God, He says this: "If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Won't you come and ask for God’s forgiveness? Won't you allow a merciful and just God to heal your wounds?

Consider this: A man is caught speeding 30 miles over the speed limit and is taken before the judge. The judge asks the man how he pleads. The man says, "Well judge, I guess I'm guilty. I know I was speeding. I was caught in the act, and they even have the video proof." The judge says, "So how do you plead?" "Guilty", is the man's response, so the judge says, "That will be 30 days or 300 dollars." The man speaks up and says, "Judge, I don't have $300 and if I go to jail my family will be out on the street with no place to live. I'm sorry your honor, but can't you have some mercy on me?" The judge, hearing his plea for mercy says, "That will be the order of the Court."

But then the judge stands up, steps down from the bench, takes off his judge's robe, reaches into his wallet, and pays the $300 so the man can go free.

Wouldn't it be foolish to reject the offer of the righteous judge? His judgment was just and necessary. The law was broken, and payment of the penalty for breaking the law was required. Justice demanded payment, and the judge was a just judge. But the judge was also compassionate, and had mercy on the man, doing for him what he could not do for himself. Now the man is not compelled to accept the generosity of the judge, but he would not be very smart if he refused the gift of the judge's payment on his behalf, would he? He could stay in jail, and refuse the offer. But would you? Would you really spend 30 days in jail because of pride?

This is our God. His justice demanded payment, so He left His throne in heaven, He came to earth, and He paid the debt of our sin one time for all people for all time. You don't have to accept His payment. You can say it isn't true. You can stay in sin's jail. You can stay locked into a futile effort to earn your own way. You can even say its true, but not make a personal plea for forgiveness. But unless and until you personally ask God to forgive you from a sincere heart, relying upon Him and the truth of His word that He will forgive you, you will never get the benefit of His payment on your behalf.

Come now, and rely upon Almighty God. Ask Him to forgive your sin. You have no promise of tomorrow. Jesus said before, and continues to say to you now, "Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest." Come now and enter His rest. Call on His name, and He will answer, and He will forgive your sin. And today will be the day of your salvation.

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