Mere Christianity

Speak the Truth with Boldness!

2007-02-01T22:08:00.000-08:00

I think it's quite clear from the Bible that no degree or special training is required for one to preach Jesus. In fact, I would say that in today's Christian circles, being an ordained minister for a certain denomination limits what one can say from the pulpit. For example, how many pastors today would dare say from the pulpit something like this, "Jesus is the only way to salvation.
If you don't believe me, go to hell," or something like this, "If you don't believe in Jesus, I just happen to have some asbestos suits I'd like to sell you."? That's really the bottom line, isn't it? If you don't believe in Jesus you will go to hell. Yet, how many preachers today would say it that boldly and bluntly? I have heard one man make the above statements to an audience of hundreds. But he wasn't an ordained preacher: He was simply a businessman who follows Jesus. As such, he wasn't constrained by any denomination regarding what he could say.

Let me put out some scenarios to consider. What would happen, say, if a Baptist preacher said to his congregation one Sunday, "Folks, I've been doing some research, and I've come to the conclusion that we can't really be sure if we're saved from day to day. I was saved when I woke up, and I think I am now, but I might do something this afternoon and lose it and have to get it back?" Or what would happen if a Seventh-Day Adventist pastor said to his flock one Sabbath, "Brothers and sisters, I no longer consider Sister Ellen to be a prophet. In fact, I think she's wrong on several points. And I think that as followers of Jesus every day is our sabbath day, not just Saturday?" Or what if an Evangelical said to his congregation some Sunday morning, "Friends, I've been doing some reading, and it turns out we are still bound by the Old Testament food laws. And we've got to start worshipping on Saturdays, because that's the true Sabbath?"
We know what would happen. These men would be fired, and possibly kicked out of their respective denominations. I have met pastors who were so blinded by the "official doctrines" that they were not even willing to listen to anything from "outside". And I remember one pastor who seemed to be putting more faith in his denomination than in Jesus when he said to a friend of mine, "Well, [name removed], when you speak to people you can speak with authority, because you are a Seventh...Day...Adventist!" He didn't say, "Because you are a child of God," or "Because you follow Jesus."

I was once asked by a man, "What are you [referring to denomination]?" To which I replied, "I'm a follower of the Way [a reference to the book of Acts]." To which he replied, "I know that, but where do you align yourself? Are you a Pentecostal, baptist, etc..." It's like he was asking what flavor I was. I am not a flavor, I am not a denomination, I am not an ...ist. I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus, born again, saved by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus and through His blood and death and resurrection, part of the elect. What did Paul have to say on this subject? I Cor. 1:12-15 (HCSB)

What I am saying is this: each of you says, "I'm with Paul," or "I'm with Apollos," or "I'm with Cephas," or "I'm with Christ." Is Christ divided? Was it Paul who was crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul's name? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,so that no one can say you had been baptized in my name.

And again in I Cor. 3:4-7 (HCSB)

For whenever someone says, "I'm with Paul," and another, "I'm with Apollos," are you not [typical] men? So, what is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

To put it another way: Is Christ divided? Did Luther die for you? Were you baptized in Ellen White's name? Was Calvin's blood shed for your sin and mine?

Brothers and sisters, let us be careful when we talk about belonging to a certain church or denomination or group. On the one hand, it feels good to us to belong to the group and we enjoy finding other people who believe as we do. We also may enjoy some of the traditions and customs we grew up with. This is all good, for man was not made to be alone. But let us be careful that the truth of God does not get second place when choosing where to congregate on Sunday (or any day). Let us be sure that wherever we meet with others who claim the name of Jesus, the Word of God is preached in truth with boldness. Let us not sacrifice the Truth for the feeling of belonging to a certain group. Time for one last example. There is in San Jose, CA, a certain congregation that claims the name Lutheran (I mean no disrespect to Lutherans in general, but that is what they call themselves). This particular congregation is, I believe, not on the conservative end of the Lutheran spectrum. There are people there who attend because of the name Lutheran, and not because of the teaching. There are people there who attend because they've always attended Lutheran churches, and that's the way it is. Let us not be this type of person, brothers and sisters. Let us not forsake the Word of God for the tradition of men. Traditions can be good, but only if they do not supersede or interfere with the Bible. If you find yourself in a congregation that preaches apostasy or our society's liberalism, get out and find a body of true believers who preach the Truth from God's Word.

Wherever you attend worship services, may Jesus Christ be praised! And may God's Word be spoken with boldness!

-Mark-
-Christian Researcher-
-February 1, 2007-

Biblical Thought for The Day

2007-01-20T21:58:00.000-08:00

Sing a new song to the LORD;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Sing to the LORD, praise His name;
proclaim His salvation from day to day.

Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonderful works among all peoples.

For the LORD is great and is highly praised;
He is feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

Ascribe to the LORD, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name;
bring an offering and enter His courts.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of [His] holiness;
tremble before Him, all the earth.

Say among the nations: "The LORD reigns.
The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.
He judges the peoples fairly."

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and all that fills it resound.

Let the fields and everything in them exult.
Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy

before the LORD, for He is coming—
for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with His faithfulness.

Psalm 96

Lessons From I Timothy

2007-01-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

I Timothy 4:7-9 says, "But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness, for,

the training of the body has
a limited benefit,
but godliness is beneficial in every way,
since it holds promise for the present life
and also for the life to come."

Vs. 6:3-6 say, "If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness, he is conceited, understanding nothing, but having a sick interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slanders, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among men whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain. But godliness with contentment is a great gain."

Again, in 6:20-21 we read, "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding irreverent, empty speech and contradictions from the 'knowledge' that falsely bears that name. By professing it, some people have deviated from the faith. "

I believe that there are two warnings here that apply to us today:

1) Don't get involved in empty arguments and debates that lead nowhere and distract from the message of the Gospel. If someone wants to argue, just state your beliefs, your case, and let the other person accept or reject what you say. Only the Holy Spirit can convict someone of his need for salvation.

2) Don't get distracted by myths, quests for "hidden knowledge", non-Scriptural doctrines, and such. God's Word is the standard against which all other knowledge must be judged.

Timothy was called to preach the Gospel, not debate the gnostics and "intellectuals" of his day. I believe this is still the primary calling of God's Church, His body. Too often I see Christians get bogged down by debate and arguments with non-believers over myths, human philosophies, controversies. Only the Holy Spirit can convict someone of his need for salvation, and all the arguing in the world over controversies and empty myths will not. This does not mean we should not refute lies and we should not speak the Truth. Rather, it means that we should not get side-tracked or bogged down by trying to prove ourselves right.

There are so many things outside of the Bible that sound enticing and interesting - Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Kaballah, UFO's, "Christian Mysticism", to name a few. We need to be grounded in God's Word; we should not get distracted by studying these things. What is one result of not heeding this warning? I Timothy 6:21, "...some people have deviated from the faith." Does this mean that we should never examine things outside of the Bible to see what they say? There is such thing as honest curiosity; and I think there is a difference between examining something to see what it says, and accepting it as truth because it sounds good or seems interesting. The latter can open one up to false doctrines and beliefs, and can lead to deviating from the faith, or rejecting it completely. I am reminded of the phrase in Ephesians 4:14, "...tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit." Regardless of what you may choose to study and examine, stay firmly grounded in the Scriptures. The Bible is the foundation against which all other beliefs and doctrines must be tested. Anything that disagrees with God's Word must be rejected.

"Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn't God made the world's wisdom foolish?...but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God's power and God's wisdom, because God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength." - I Corinthians 1:20, 23-26

-Mark -
-Christian Researcher-
-Updated January 21, 2007-

Foolishness

2006-12-12T21:47:00.000-08:00

They say that there's no fool like an April fool. Not sure what that means, but I got to thinking about fools and foolishness a little. The Bible says, in 1Cor. 1:17-30: "17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with clever words, so that the cross of Christ will not
be emptied [of its effect]. 18 For to those who are perishing the message of the cross is foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is God's power. 19 For it is written:

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and I will set aside the understanding of the experts.

20 Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn't God made the world's wisdom foolish? 21 For since, in God's wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached. 22 For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. 24 Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God's power and God's wisdom, 25 because God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. 26 Brothers, consider your calling: not many are wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27 Instead, God has chosen the world's foolish things to shame the wise, and God has chosen the world's weak things to shame the strong."

The Gospel message is foolishness to those who are perishing. To those who are not born-again, the Gospel message is foolishness. They don't understand. We see this in so many ways when we look around at the world today. Why is evil and immorality so rampant? Because the people of this world cannot understand God's truths, unless He chooses to open their eyes. In other words, we who see were once blind; and those who are blind can be enabled to see. God knows who are His, and he will not lose a single person. To us who are being saved it is God's power. We have been given understanding by God. We have been set free from sin. Death no longer holds dominion over us. To us, human wisdom no longer seems wise. Indeed, even God's foolishness, as Paul says, is wiser than man's wisdom. How much higher is God's wisdom than our own! It is only by His grace that we can comprehend even the smallest part. Thank you, Jesus, for allowing us to know and understand your Word.
Amen.

-Mark -
-Christian Researcher-
-December 12, 2006-

Who are you?

2006-09-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

Who are you? What do you do? These are two questions that we hear
countless times in our lives. How do we typically answer? "I
am "Mark. I work for..." Or, "I own such and such a business..."
Or, I do ..." How should we answer these questions? What does the
Bible say?

Romans 1:1-4 "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle
and singled out for God's good news — which He promised long ago
through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures— concerning His Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David according to
the flesh and was established as the powerful Son of God by the
resurrection from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness."
(HCSB)

Who does Paul say he is, and what does he do? "a slave of Christ
Jesus, called as an apostle and singled out for God's good news
[Gospel]". "A slave of Christ Jesus". When was the last time any
one of us answered like that? I do not recall ever having answered
someone with that statement. I usually have said, "I am Mark, and I
do..." So many of us identify ourselves based on what we do for a
job, or a hobby, or a business. Yet what is our primary calling on
this earth if we are born again? To tell others the Good News!

Our preacher recently challenged the congregation to think about
this and re-think who we are and what we are really doing on this
earth. I challenge you to do the same.

Who am I? I am Mark, a follower of Jesus, called to spread the Good
News of God's salvation through Jesus Christ. May God give me the
boldness to speak His name whenever and wherever I am.

-Mark-
-Christian Researcher-
-September 5, 2006-

Thougts from Oswald Chambers

2006-09-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

The following quote is from Oswald Chambers.

"The first thing that happens after we have realized our election to God in Christ Jesus is the destruction of our prejudices, parochial notions, and patriotisms; we are turned into servants of God's own purpose.

"Our Lord never nurses our prejudices. He mortifies them, runs clean athwart them. We imagine that God has a special interest in our particular prejudices; we are quite sure that God will never
deal with us as He has to deal with other people. But instead of God being on the side of our prejudices, He is deliberately wiping them out. It is part of our moral education to have our prejudices run straight across by His providence. God pays no respect to anything we bring to Him . There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender.

"When once we realize that through the salvation of Jesus Christ we are made perfectly fit for God, we shall understand why Jesus Christ is so ruthless in His demands. He demands absolute rectitude from His servants, because He has put into them the very nature of God."

Powerful words.

-Mark-
-Christian Researcher-
-September 3, 2006-

Heaven and Paradise

2006-06-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

In my Sunday School class we're doing a study on Heaven, a subject not often delved deeply into. It's definitely a good topic of study, and I would guess that many people do not know much about the place. However, I have noticed a few things in the class that just don't sit right with me. First, the teacher is using the Message as his main teaching text. That is not, in my opinion, a trustworthy, or even a valid, Bible translation. Several times during this study I have seen discrepancies between the verses the teacher projects on the screen, and the verses in my Bible. The second disturbing thing is that the teacher openly claims to not understand Revelations. This might be ok if he were teaching on another topic, but Heaven shows up a lot in Revelations, and we have been looking at many passages from this book. Thirdly, he has put forth the ideas that 1) Paradise may be the literal Garden of Eden; 2) Paradise and Heaven are different places; 3) There is a place called "Intermediate Heaven" where the saved are right now. Let's look at these three ideas a little more in-depth. The first idea will be discussed below, and the second and third in subsequent posts.

1) Paradise as the literal Garden of Eden. The teacher of the class tried to bring forth compelling argument to show that Paradise and the Garden of Eden are the same; that it was lifted from the earth. He based this idea on the Bible's lack of mention of said Garden after the expulsion of Adam and Eve; on the principle that things on Earth are a shadow of things in Heaven; that there is a Tree of Life in Heaven. We do see the Tree of Life mentioned 4 times in Revelations - 2:7, 22:2, 22:14, and 22:19. In 2:7 we read that it is in "the Paradise of God." Is there only 1 Tree of life? Revelations 22:2 mentions the Tree of life being on both sides of the river coming from the throne of God. From this passage it sounds like there are at least two of them. We also see that at least some things on Earth are a shadow of their Heavenly counterpart. The Temple comes to mind. In Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 8:5, 10:1, we read that the Law, the daily sacrifices, and the Temple are shadows of things to come. In Hebrews 9:11 we read of the "greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands," the tabernacle in Heaven. But where in the Bible do we read that the Garden of Eden was a shadow of anything? I haven't found that passage yet. While it is true that the Garden is not mentioned after the expulsion of Adam and Eve, we can pretty easily deduce its fate. In Genesis 6, 7, 8, we read of the flood in the time of Noah. Do not be deceived by liberal theologians and those who accept evolutionary ideas - this was a worldwide flood. The water covered the highest (at the time) peaks to a depth of at least 20 feet, and the water level stayed there for 150 days. Read Genesis 7:18 - 24, and you will find phrases such as, "all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered," and, "and the mountains were covered," and, "All flesh that moved on the earth perished," and, "and all mankind," and, "all that was on the dry land, all ^(S)in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died," and, "every living thing that was upon the face of the land." All means all, not some, not regionally, not locally, ALL! If the Garden of Eden was on Earth, it was destroyed in the flood along with everything else. Some have postulated that the Garden was in the area of Mesopotamia, mainly because of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates mentioned in Genesis 2:14. Remember that the whole surface of the Earth was destroyed. The rivers we call Tigris and Euphrates today are not the same rivers that were called by those names in Genesis 2.

Is Paradise the literal Garden of Eden? I do not believe so. Eden was destroyed in the flood during Noah's time. Eden is never called a shadow of a more perfect Heavenly garden. Indeed, the things that the Bible calls shadows of Heavenly counterparts are related to the Temple, sacrifices, and the Law. There appears to be more than one Tree of Life. I know that God is sovereign and omnipotent, and He has the power to lift Eden from the Earth, but to teach this is, I believe, conjecture and speculation, and I do not believe there is any Biblical evidence for such an idea.

-Mark-
-Christian Researcher-
-June 23, 2006-

One True Translation?

2006-06-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

In my research, I have encountered some groups who claim that the 1611 King James Bible is the only valid Bible translation. I even read a statement on one website that said the 1611 King James is the "exact Words of God". My first reaction to such a statment is, "Does that mean that God speaks 1611 King James english? Wasn't the Bible written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek?" Our God is above all language and nationality and time, and the Gospel message transcends all language and nationality and time. In my opinion, people who focus too much on language are focusing on the wrong thing.

Why do some people insist that the 1611 King James is the only valid Bible translation? Is it because it sounds more authoritative and formal? (What some people apparently foreget, or do not understand,is that in 1611, the KJV was written in the common language of the day.) Is it because it's old, and therefore not corrupt like all modern things? Is it because of tradition? Do some people assume that the older a translation is the more pure it is? If that is the case, why stop at 1611? Why not go back to the Geneva Bible of 1560? Why not go back to Tyndale's New Testament, or the Great Bible? The Geneva was the Bible of the reformers, and it was the Bible the Pilgrims brought to America. In fact, neither the Pilgrims, nor the reformers of the day would have liked the KJV: they would have considered it a corruption of the Geneva Bible, on which it is largely based.

If the 1611 King James is the only valid Bible translation, what does that mean for people who don't read or speak English? Does this mean that they cannot hear God's Word in their language? I am reminded of what a missinary to Russia said in my church, "People ask me what version of the Bible the Russians use. I tell them that they use the Russian version. Then these people ask me which one? The Russian version. There is no King James or NIV in Russian. There is THE Russian version." In other words, there was only one Russian version of the Bible when this missionary spoke in our church. We Enlgish speakers are blessed to have many different versions of the Bible. Many other languages do not have this choice available to them. This blessing also brings with it grave responsibility. We must be careful that the Bible we read is a valid, accurate translation of God's Word.

Today there are a lot of English Bibles, and more are added as time goes by. It's true that there are some really poor Bible translations out there, and there are some that are really good. There was a new translation released recently called the SMS Version. It is intended for mobile phone and messaging services. Here's a quote from Genesis 1:1, "In da Bginnin God cre8d da heavens & da earth." Hmmm... One tranlation that gets a lot of publicity is the Message. I advise you to steer clear of this one, and steer clear of those who quote, or teach, from it, as It seems to have been written for the liberal preachers and the feel-good easy-believeism of our day.

Right now I'm using the Holman Christian Standard Bible as my main Bible. It was well researched and it is in modern language. The messages of the Bible are not watered-down or distorted. As far asI can tell, and my research shows, it is a good, valid, modern English Bible. I also like the New American Standard, and I use a King James, too. I like the King James, but I am against the idea that it is the only valid Bible translation. I tend to stay away from the NIV, but I don't really have anything against it - I just don't prefer it. I tend to prefer Bibles that are more formal inlanguage. On my PDA I have several versions of the Bible, including: The ASV, Rotherham, Darby (considered by many to be one of the most accurate English translations), MKJV, Douay Rheims, The Literal Version, JPS 1917, Young's Literal Translation, and part of the Geneva Bible. It is handy to have all of these available for comparison.

So what's my message in all of this? Choose your Bible carefully.There are a lot of good Bible translations available to us today. When in doubt, go with a trusted, respected translation of the Bible. And remember Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart."

-Mark -
- Christian Researcher-
-June 5, 2006-

A good resource on the Web for Bible translations is www.Biblegateway.com. They have Bibles in many languages and translations. However, they do not have the Geneva Bible.
TheGeneva can be found at www.genevabible.org/Geneva.html.

Supreme Court 1892

2006-05-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

The following is a declaration made by the U.S. Supreme Court in
1892. I wonder what they would say today on the same subject...

mArk

"Our laws and our institutions must neccessarily be based upon the
teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it
should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent, our
civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian.
"No purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any
legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people.
This is historically true. From the discovery of this continent to
the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation.
There is no dissonance in these declarations. There is a universal
language pervading them all, having one meaning; they affirm and
reaffirm that this is a religious nation. These are not individual
sayings, declarations of private persons: they are organic
utterances; they speak the voice of the entire people.
"The happiness of a people and the good order and preservation of
civil government esentially depend upon piety, religion, and
morality. Religion, morality, and knowledge are necessary to good
government, the preservation of liberty, and the happiness of
mankind."

Statement of Belief

2006-05-20T23:26:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to Mere Christianity. I'm going to start things rolling with my statements of faith. Enjoy, and God bless.

mArk

______________________________________

1. God created all that is, life and non-life.
-Genesis 1

2. All people have sinned, and cannot save themselves.
-Romans 3:23, 3:10

3. God chose His children before the foundation of the earth.
- Revelations 13:8, 17:8

4. God knows those who are His, and those who are not.
-Romans 8:28-30, John 10:26-29

5. Jesus is the living Son of God.
- John 8:54-58, John 1:1-5, Phillipians 2:6

6. Jesus came to Earth as a man, died for our sins, and rose again to give us eternal life.
-Romans 6:4-10, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Phillipians 2:6-8

7. Jesus' sacrifice is sufficient for all who believe in Him.
-John 3:16, Romans 10:9-13

8. God knows who will choose Him because He chose them (us) first.
-Romans 8:28-30, Romans 11:7

9. It is only because we were chosen (elected) that we can choose Christ.
-John 1:12, 13, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Timothy 2:10, Titus 1:1,

10. Salvation is only through the finished work of Jesus Christ.
-Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9, 10

11. Jesus' blood paid for our sins in full; removed them as far as the east is from the west.
-Romans 6:10, Hebrews 10:10, Psalm 103:12

12. Jesus is coming again to Earth, visibly, and in the sight of all mankind.
- Phillipians 2:9-11, Matthew 24:30, Mark 13:26, Acts 1:11, Revelation 19:11-16

13. God is sovereign, and He does what He will.
- Job 38-42, Acts 17:22-31

*Note: These Scriputre references are provided as Biblical examples, and are not intended to be all-inclusive. As such, there may be many more references than are stated here.

-Mark-
-Christian Researcher-
-Updated 20 May, 2006