Thursday, June 19, 2014

Christ's "invisible presence", Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Antichrist

In each of the scriptures below notice the word translated "coming" is the same.

2064 [e]
erchomenon
ρχόμενον
coming

2 John 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Matthew 24:29 "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

Now look at the links below to see quotes from Watchtower publications that show that they meet the description of the antichrist given in 2 John 1:7. They say that Christ does not return in the flesh:


Christ's invisible return in 1914... Why is this an important teaching to Jehovah's Witnesses? 

Do Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus was resurrected?

 


Tuesday, June 17, 2014

"Though my father and my mother abandoned me, the LORD gathers me up." Psalm 27:10

I posted this on facebook on Father's Day:


"Happy Father's Day to the Father who is always there for me, my Abba. Lord you took me out of the dark pit I was in and placed me into your heavenly kingdom, not because of any merit in me, but because I need you. Thank you for your love and your faithfulness. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for always being here for me."


One of my friends replied that I am her hero. That is a very encouraging thing to say to me, and I love her so... but this isn't about me and my sacrifice for the Lord. 

We have heard of people leaving their family for less, I am sure. For an unapproved career or marriage? Christ is everything, everything. Of course I would leave my family for Him.

"everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Philippians 3:8

Yes it takes great faith to leave everything you have ever known. This faith, even this is not my doing, but is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Am I so amazing that I did this? No, of course not. It is about Christ. It is Jesus. He does everything.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

When we see a Christian doing something that we consider amazing...

We know who the real Hero is. 

Praise God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Cults deny the doctrine of Justification

False teachers believe that we should prepare for judgment day by being faithful to the law (if not the ten commandments, their own) that this will cause us to progress in sanctification so that we will be obedient and ready for judgment day. This contradicts, among other scriptures, Galatians 3.

They might not use the word justification, or they might talk about justification but give it a different meaning.

We believe that Jesus has done everything needed to prepare us for judgment day; that upon belief in Him, we have been given His righteousness, even as we are still sinning, still being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14) That is the doctrine of justification.

"But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe." Romans 3:21-22

For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying that a person has life.” This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.” Galatians 3:11-12

"But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners." - Romans 4:4,5


Who 
           forgives
                         sinners. 

Weren't the ten commandments the only laws written on stone?

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone. 2 Corinthians 3:6-7

Then obviously the letter in 2 Corinthians 3:6, which is the Old Covenant, not the New Covenant, and which kills and brings death, is the ten commandments, since the letter spoken of here was written on stone.

So the New Covenant is not of the ten commandments, but is of the Spirit, which gives life.


Compared to Galatians 3 which says that we receive the Holy Spirit by belief, not by obedience, not just at the beginning of our Christian lives, but continuing on in our Christian walk.

Romans 3:28 "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." WOW!

Thursday, June 12, 2014

God's Character and The Law; Coming to know the only True God (John 17:3)

Does the Law show God's character? Is it a good way to get to know God?

God's eternal moral law, the law that never changes and is written on everyone's hearts, that is the sum of every law that He ever gave: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12

Many of Israel's laws were regulating things that were already established... but no, loving your neighbor, doing to others as you would have them do to you, does not permit beating your slaves, etc. So no, God did not give permission for that...

Which statement is true? 

We are never permitted to sin. or We cannot avoid sinning.

They are both true. Thinking only one is true causes so many misunderstandings.


The laws given to Israel were not God's perfect plan for people. Jesus said about those laws, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning." Matthew 19:8

Jesus also said repeatedly, "you have heard that it was said" "but I say to you" in Matthew 5.

For understanding we have to turn things around. The reality isn't God demanding sacrifices, the blood demanded in the OT. The reality is Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:2) God giving us His own blood. (Acts 20:28)



The Bible tells us that there is one way to get to know God: 

JESUS

Jesus washed His disciples feet. He taught that we should love our neighbor, that we should do to others as we want them to do to us.That we should love our enemies and bless those who hurt us.  

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. John 14:9

And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20
 


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

"How do I find a church?" part one

I have had several Christians who have left cult groups ask me this question, so I decided to dedicate a section of my blog to trying to answer.

I chose my church based on the gospel. There are churches that don't preach the gospel consistently, that seem to preach good morals and such, but not make the gospel clear. I didn't want my children to grow up in a church and mistake Christianity for being a good person. Read this article, maybe you will know what I mean: http://beliefsoftheheart.com/2013/07/23/i-wonder-if-sunday-school-is-destroying-our-kids-2/


So... my choice of church was based on the distinction of law and gospel. This is how we make the gospel clear. Obviously, both God’s law and God’s gospel come from God which means both are good. But, both do very different things. Serious life confusion happens when we fail to understand their distinct “job descriptions.”


"Whoever can't properly distinguish law and gospel is no better than a heathen or a Turk."-- Martin Luther was saying that nothing distinguishes Christianity from Islam or Judaism once you confuse the law and the gospel.

And Saint Paul writes about this quite a bit in the book of Galatians:

"Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ." (3:1-5)


After I listened to a radio program on understanding law and gospel, I knew which church I belonged to. Here is a link to the radio program: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhiteHorseInn/~3/mGOg1ZeyGzI/wi20120902.mp3

Friday, June 6, 2014

"I am going to vomit you out of my mouth."

When I left the organization, I was told by my mother that Jehovah would vomit me out of his mouth. (First of all, I find it interesting that Jesus is speaking here and Jehovah's Witnesses don't realize it.)

I have seen many evangelical Christians using this same scripture and applying it to a variety of things, mostly in denying the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, denying confession and absolution, or pushing their new legalism.

The scripture confused me for several reasons, so I was going to ask someone about it, but remembered the three rules of understanding scripture: Context, context, context! Let's take a look: 


Revelation 3:15‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.

What did Jesus mean here? What makes someone lukewarm? He answers this question Himself:


17‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."

It is that they don't see their sin and their constant need for the grace and mercy of God.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

My feelings as I was received as a member of Christ Lutheran Church today...



I wanted to mention first that I became a member of the universal church, Christ's body, before this. I received the Holy Spirit and confessed my faith in Jesus in 2011 and was baptized in 2012. This baptism was into Christ, not into the church where the baptism took place...

Church membership then has been a separate step for me. You may remember in previous posts that I had decided to become a member of a church and completed classes to that affect, but it wasn't "official" until today.

In some ways becoming a member of the church was similar to a Jehovah's Witness baptism. I was asked questions in front of the congregation. I can't remember the exact wording, (Those who know the real questions, please forgive me!) but it was something like this: Do you believe the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, died and was buried, and rose again 3 days later? "I do." Do you believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God? "I do." Do you intend to receive the gifts that Christ bestows upon you? "I do." Do you intend to live as a Christian with the help of God? "I do." Do you intend to be a part of this congregation? "I do." Do you agree to support this congregation with the help of God? "I do."




So it started out as confessing my faith in Jesus. It is always wonderful to do that! Then ended with agreeing to be a part of the congregation.

To become a member is described as being "received". I like this wording. It shows how it is, that I am received into the family. In this was very different from becoming a member of Jehovah's Witnesses, not only did I never feel accepted, but you have to go through steps, first you are a "publisher" keeping track of time spent in the "ministry" (trying to get more members). To join this church, I didn't have to prove that I am worthy by performing a certain number of works. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Leading up to this, my health has been poor and my finances have been poor. I miss church more often than I attend, do not volunteer in any capacity, and I have very little to give. But they are so willing to give to me. (Tearing up.) I hope from this point forward that I can be more involved in the church, but I also know that if that doesn't happen, I am loved.

See this blog post where I talk about my first visit to this church: http://onemediator.blogspot.com/2012/10/for-where-two-or-three-have-gathered.html