Tag: New Testament

Doctrine and Salvation


I am having a hard time with this one so bear with me.

Our Lord, Jesus, specifically said that we come to the Father through Him. By accepting Him as our Lord and Savior we are saved. There was no particular doctrine involved, at the time there were no Baptists or Methodists or any other religion besides Judaism or pagan beliefs in the area where He lived.

According to John 14:6: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

This is not a doctrinal statement and it does not give partiality to any belief other than in Jesus and God, the Father and the Spirit since He is the Comforter that was sent after Jesus ascended to Heaven. These concepts are not in question between doctrines or between true believers. The problems have arisen over the years because of disagreements in the church itself, regardless of the denomination.

These disagreements have resulted in hurt feelings, splintered families and broken churches. We are all trying to worship the same God and His Son, Jesus, so why can’t we get along? The reason may be as simple as this: we are human. We have differences of opinion about everything, especially religious topics.

Can we get past this and worship the One True God and His Son? Yes, we can if we follow what He teaches us in the Bible. The way to know Him is there because that is where God reveals Himself to all of us, through His Word. Doctrines don’t reveal or save anyone, regardless of their origin.

The apostles were with Jesus and gave us our New Testament by their writing to the churches which they started. Jesus said to go and tell the world the good news about salvation through believing in Him and by repenting of our sinful ways. Follow Jesus and allow Him to live in you and through your life in this world.

Sometimes, actually most of the time in our lives, we who are Christians are the only representatives of Jesus that many people see. It is through our actions and our words that they can see Him and if we don’t act like our heart has been changed, what will they conclude? If your heart has not been changed by allowing Jesus in, why not pray that He will come into your life and change you into that “new creature in Christ” mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Sometimes, our churches are split in two because of hard feelings and pride. Sometimes it is because of jealousy. Sin can cause more problems in churches than it does in your daily life. The reason behind this is that it is not recognized until it has done the work that Satan intended for it to do. Sin in churches is easy to see for someone outside the church but hard for those inside. Although it is the effect of sin that we can see, not the sin itself. We are not to be judges toward our brethren, that is left up to God alone.

I know that I may get many comments about being judgmental toward others because of this but I am only stating an opinion and an observation. From outside a church it is hard to know what the cause of the split is, whether it is personal or is it due to “factions” inside the church.

In 1900 there were only about one thousand religions in the world. Now, there are over ten thousand. Many of them are man made and don’t follow the One True God so how can we be so fractious in the Church that Jesus and His disciples started, regardless of the denomination? Satan has caused the splits in the church over the years and has laughed each time a denomination has split apart. Satan is the main cause of these problems because he attends church more than most of us do.

Christians need to get back to the basics of Christianity, telling others about Jesus, calling for a revival in our congregations and bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus and the reason why He is needed in their lives today! If we are not doing that, then we are not doing what Jesus told us to do as His followers.

Our life…does it matter?


Many people ask this question and wonder if it does matter. The answer is YES! Because you are alive, you matter and your life matters! God doesn’t make mistakes and you wouldn’t be alive on this earth if your life didn’t matter in some way.

He has a purpose for each of us and all that we have to do is find it. Many people think that they will never find their purpose in life and they are right….if they never look for it! Your purpose or reason for being is, in a nutshell, to have a personal relationship with God. Everything else will fall into place after that, but until that part of your life is working like it should nothing will seem to be right. There will always be a feeling of loss or emptiness in your life and you will attempt to fill it with something.

That is why the drug trade and other problems that plague the “human condition” are so plentiful. Many people are looking for something, anything to fill that place that only Jesus can fill. In some of my other writings, if you want to call them that, I have called it a “God-sized hole”, and that is exactly what it is! It is a space that only one thing, one being in the universe can fulfill!

Your life matters to the Creator of the universe,you matter! Your life does have meaning and a purpose and He knows exactly what that is and He has given you the ability to fulfill that purpose. No one else can do that except Jesus and He will when you ask Him to come into your life.

Can you do it on your own? Yes, you can exist and have a life without Jesus but what will you do when you die? Our life doesn’t end when this body is dead. The Bible teaches that from beginning to end. We are supposed to live eternally with God but when you reject His offer of salvation through Jesus that eternal life will be in hell!

I have had many friends who said that they would rather party with Satan than live in Heaven.

I don’t understand that line of thought because there will be no party in hell! There will be no laughter, no fun, no light, no water, only separation from God and darkness and heat, lots of heat! That is why the Bible calls it the second death because without God or Jesus, there is no life!

Do your own research into the Bible. Read the New Testament, especially the book of Romans. There is a way to life and it is only found in Jesus, and then your life will matter, here and in the hereafter.

New Year, old problems


The dishes need washing, the grass will soon need cutting, I’ve gained a few pounds so I need to go on a diet (tomorrow), etc.

These are the problems that we deal with year after year and they never seem to go away! Well, it just proves that you are alive, that’s all! So what else is different about you that most others haven’t experienced? Is there anything?

It is likely that there is very little that anyone has experienced something that most of us have not, at least not yet. How can we deal with the problems that we have now and the ones that we will experience in the future?

The one ingredient that we all need is a relationship with Jesus. Once we have that we can deal with our problems, if not under our own strength then with His guidance and His strength. I know that some will ask me “Why can’t I just do it on my own?”; to answer that I would like to ask you if that has worked in the past?

Living our life on our own strength and our wisdom works for a while and we may be able to get by like this for as long as we are here. But, what about the minute after you die? I know there are many who say they are atheists, or Buddhists or Muslim or Mormons, or any of a number of other religions which don’t follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but what will you say when you are standing in His presence?

Regardless of whether you believe in Him or not you will stand before Him at some point in eternity. That will be the point where you will acknowledge Him as Lord but He will say “Depart from me, I never knew you”. There will be many in that day who think that their salvation is secure who will find that they are mistaken.

Examine your heart and the Bible so that you can come to Him now before it is too late because once you have crossed over into eternity, there is no second chance. You cannot be prayed out of hell, and yet you weren’t intended to be there anyway. It was made for Satan and his demons not for us, but if you have rejected the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament that is where you will be.

This is not a pleasant message to write to you but it must be said. Our time grows shorter with each passing day, each of us only have today and are not guaranteed tomorrow. Seek the Lord while He can be found and don’t put it off because if your tomorrow doesn’t come and you stand before God, what will you say in your defense? There is nothing that can be said which will do you any good. Your own works and your life will condemn you if you haven’t accepted Jesus as your savior.

Please, do so now before it is too late. I read about a man once who was giving a eulogy at a funeral telling the people there the same thing that I have told here. When he sat down, he fell over dead in the pew. His time had come. What will you do with Jesus and your life?

The End of Days?


According to the prophecy that is in the book of Revelation, I would say so. Mainly because of the number of prophecies that have already been fulfilled. In general, all of the prophecies that were to be fulfilled before the time of tribulation have been fulfilled. The only ones left are those which precede the seven-year peace accord that the Antichrist will broker between Israel and her enemies.

There are many people in the church today who think that we, the church, will be gone before this happens. I am not so sure. There is another view that shows the church being subjected to the first half of the Tribulation and then taken away to Heaven before the wrath of God is poured out on the world. It is a very compelling argument and it has many scriptures to back it up. I am very interested to see just what will happen in the next few years because I believe we are that close to the time of Tribulation which will come on the whole world.

“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only”. Matt. 24:36; our Lord told His disciples this in the Olivet discourse after they asked Him about the signs concerning the end of the age. We are living at that time or immediately before it right now. I know there have been many people who have said that the end of the world is on this day or this day, but no one knows! Your last day on earth is your personal “end of the age” and we have no clue as to when our last days are, thankfully! The times that we live in are and have been told about many times in God’s Word, from Daniel and Ezekiel to Joel and Isaiah then to the New Testament and the book of Revelation in particular. This time in our world should not surprise anyone if you have ever read God’s Word.

There are many who say that they will wait until their last day to accept Jesus as their Savior, but you and I don’t know when our last day is! It is arrogance beyond measure to plan your life that way because as soon as you leave home, your life is in danger! Even when you are at home, you may die of a heart attack, stroke, or any other ways. We are not given X number of years and days to live, and we don’t know when our last day is, only God knows that. Thankfully, He keeps that a secret from us.

The end of the church age is near and we are living in the “last days” right now and have been for a long time. Since the state of Israel became a nation again, there are few prophecies left to be fulfilled before the times foretold in the book of Revelation. In the past sixty years technology has advanced at a rapid pace, the world has grown smaller due to the rise of the amount of technology that is available to us on a daily basis. We do have the ability to talk to someone on the other side of the world and see them talk to us by way of the Internet. The Bible says: “But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” Daniel 12:4

Our world is beginning to see some of the signs of the “end of the age”, but not the ones foretold that would be immediately prior to it. God loves us all and wants us to have a relationship with Him. If we choose not to accept the gift of the grace offered to us through Jesus’ sacrifice for us, we are the ones who will condemn ourselves to everlasting punishment! The day or the hour may not be known by us because our personal “day and hour” could be at any time since we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

Get into God’s word, the Bible and ask Him to reveal what His will is for you because it is important to Him and to you and your family. He loves you and all of us and doesn’t want any to perish, but if we wait too long our chance to accept His gift of Grace may pass us by and then all you can say when you stand before Him is “I am sorry, Lord, I waited too long and I didn’t realize my condition in time”. The most dreaded words that anyone could hear at that point are “Depart from Me into everlasting punishment because I never knew you”. There will be a tear in His eyes when you are told this, but it will be too late. Don’t let this happen, come to Him and give your life to Jesus before it is too late!