It’s All About Jesus

Did you hear about Taylor Swift’s recent declaration regarding her Christian faith? Despite her wholehearted support of the LBGTQ and pro-abortion agendas, she says her beliefs represent authentic Christianity.

Pete Buttigieg also claims the mantle of the “true Christian faith.”  His version of biblical Christianity allows him to marry another man, affirm transsexuality, and promote abortion all the way through birth including the moments after birth. His supporters accuse us of “weaponizing the Bible” because we do not agree with his radical and unbiblical assertions.

A pastor in Scotland recently stated that Franklin Graham “does not represent Christianity” because of his views regarding the LBGTQ movement.

Joel Osteen espouses yet another deviant form of Christianity. The title of one of his bestselling books, Your Best Life Now, sums up the approach of his “health and wealth” ministry. Yes, God does bless us in this life. Osteen, however, emphasizes the enjoyment of this quickly passing life over the saving message of the Gospel and Jesus promise of eternal life.

Chelsen Vicari wrote an interesting article on the Charisma News website titled, “How the New Christian Left Is Twisting the Gospel.” The part that intrigued me the most was the responses she received from quizzing a Sunday school class about Jesus. Everyone agreed that Jesus was God and lived a sinless life, but still believed he was just one of many ways to heaven. Many millennials today who identify as Christians go a step further and say that Jesus’ death on the cross is simply an example to follow.

What do all these varying views of Christianity have in common (and there are many more)? First, they ignore God’s Word in shaping their beliefs about Jesus.

Second, they deny the validity of Jesus’ words in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” When moderns attempt to construct their version of Christianity, without exception they reject the truths of this verse.

When we look at the current direction of history, we conclude it’s all about Israel. As for genuine Christian faith, Scripture tells us it’s all about Jesus.

Jesus Is the Only Way of Salvation

In Acts 4:12, the apostle Peter repeated the exclusive claim of Jesus regarding salvation, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Jesus is the only way to eternal life.

Way back in the Garden of Eden, God promised to send the “seed” of a woman who would defeat Satan and with that redeem humanity (Gen. 3:15). Way back in Genesis, the Lord had in mind one Person who would eventually be the one path of salvation for the entire human race. We see this in numerous places throughout the Old Testament as it pointed to Jesus as the one and final atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Is this not the message of John 3:16? Many who quote this verse miss its main point: it’s those believe in Jesus that do “not perish but have eternal life.” Salvation comes through faith in Jesus; He alone died for our sins. Jesus is the only path to the Father and eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8-9 excludes good works from having any part of our salvation, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Jesus alone saves; good works result from the Holy Spirit’s regenerating work inside us at the moment of salvation. Good deeds cannot save us; they result from our salvation.

Jesus said this in John 6:40, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” The same apostle who recorded those words of Jesus also wrote, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12).

Once people depart from the simple saving message of the Gospel centered in Jesus, it does not matter what they claim. They all miss the beauty of resting in Jesus atoning sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sins and eternal life. What or who do you trust for salvation? Is your faith in Jesus and nothing else?

Jesus Is the Truth

What puzzles me the most about many modern approaches to Christianity is that although they elevate Jesus as the central person of their faith, they do not believe His words. Many agree that He is God yet they reject His claim in John 14:6. How can Jesus be God and yet be wrong about His identity or the definition of marriage? It’s impossible.

I believe all of Jesus’ words and claims first of all because of His resurrection. The empty tomb is an established historical fact; as a result all theories that dispute the resurrection begin with an attempt to explain the missing the body. Jesus predicted both His death and the timing of His resurrection. For me, His empty grave verifies everything the Lord said about Himself, the Father, eternal life, and a host of other matters that pertain to this life and eternity.

In saying this, I do not want to discount the ministry of the Holy Spirit who also continually bears witness inside me that Jesus represents truth; He is who He claimed to be: God in the flesh. As the almighty God, His Words represent truth, which He is more than able to preserve and communicate to us through the written words of Scripture.

Why does all this matter? Those who claim that homosexual relations fit with the teachings of Jesus worship a much different Jesus than the One revealed in the Bible. In Matthew 19:4-6 Jesus not only confirmed that marriage consists of one male and one female, but also verified that God’s creation of two sexes, no more, no less Jesus’ words here. His continuing revelation to us through His apostles dramatically contradicts the popular yet false views of Christianity

Furthermore, Scripture clearly tells us that human life begins at conception; abortion is murder. God is the source of all human life; the horrific and vile destruction of life in the womb in no way coincides with a belief in the Jesus as revealed throughout the pages of God’s Word.

Jesus Is the Life

Jesus is our life both now and forever. This current life can end in a heartbeat. Tragedy can strike us when we least expect it. That’s why it’s so foolish to place all our hope in outcomes that are temporal at best. Even with the best of circumstances, this life passes by so quickly.

Jesus remains our life no matter what happens on this earth and someday, hopefully soon, He is coming to take us home to His Father’s house in heaven (John 14:2-3). As followers of my blog know, I love writing about our eternal hope and the firm biblical basis for it.

I do not claim to have all the answers, but my study of Scripture over many decades has convinced me that the Lord is coming for His church before the tribulation and He will return with us after this time of wrath on the earth to a repentant Israel who will greet Him with the words, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Luke 13:35). Amen!

Besides the false view of Christ, a key problem with the modern and errant views of Christianity is that they fail to look beyond this life. They reject Jesus’ clear repeated teachings about hell. They regard Him as a great teacher and yet they disagree with so much of what He taught concerning His return to earth, His future kingdom on earth centered in Jerusalem, and eternity.

In short, these self-appointed authorities on “authentic Christianity” look for life exclusively through earthly pursuits. Rather than worship Jesus as He is revealed in Scripture, they use Him to suit their fleeting temporal purposes. They claim a Christian identity while at the same time they deny the life-giving message of Christ that extends into forever.

From Genesis 1 through Revelation 22, the message of Scripture remains the same: it’s all about Jesus.

Jesus is only way of salvation; all other paths lead to eternal torment. Yes, it is very much an exclusive claim, but He’s the only path that ends in life.

Jesus is truth. We can trust His words in an age where everyone creates and worships the Jesus or the god of their own making. Apart the standard of Scripture, who can say whose is right and who is wrong? If the modern views of Christianity have one thing in common, it’s a denial that Jesus is truth.

Jesus is life. Those who trust Him inherit eternal life at the moment of salvation remain secure in Him until the day He calls us home.

We cannot divorce Jesus from His revelation to us in Scripture, to do so leads to death. The Lord warns us against doing exactly that, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).

Please notice the close connection Jesus made with Himself and His words, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matt. 24:35). Is it any wonder that the apostle John began his gospel account identifying Jesus as simply the Word?

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3 Reasons Why Israel is Vital to our Future Hope

Those who follow my blog (click here) know I often write about Israel’s continued place in God’s prophetic program.

Why do I do this? Why not just write about the signs and our immanent hope in Jesus’ return as I often do? Why defend Israel’s place in God’s prophetic program?

It’s precisely because our expectation of Jesus’ soon return is so important that I defend Israel’s future role in prophecy. Israel is the focal point where on one side we have those who believe the rapture is near and on the other side those who dismiss our hope in Jesus’ soon return.

Why is Israel so vital to our future hope? The future of Israel . . .

To finish reading this post and make comments, please go to my website or click on the following link: 3 Reasons Why Israel is Vital to our Future Hope.

My Christmas Newsletter

Has the Grinch Visited Your Home?

Ruth and I recently saw the movie Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch in a theater and thoroughly enjoyed it. That inspired us to also watch the original Grinch animated version from 1966 as well as the Grinch movie starring Jim Carey.

Our recent focus on the Grinch caused me to wonder about all the forms he takes each Christmas season.He often steals our joy by making the season all about the presents, the preparation for family dinners, or an elusive “Christmas spirit” that never seems to warm our hearts like it does in the movies. . . .

I share this newsletter as a way to say Merry Christmas to all who follow this blog.

If you would like to receive my newsletter throughout the year and not just at Christmas, please go to my website and signup at the prompt on the main page. My Newsletter provides monthly insights into current events, highlights certain signs, and provides quick links to further articles on my blog.

You can access this newsletter by clicking on the following link: My Christmas Newsletter.

God’s Steadfast Love

Through all the ups and downs of my life, these words from Lamentations 3:22-25 have remained dear to my heart, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. . . . The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”

The Hebrew word for “steadfast love” is chesed. You might see it translated “lovingkindness” or just “kindness” in other versions. It’s difficult for one English word or phrase to capture its total meaning in the original. In Scripture, chesed is used almost exclusively for the Lord’s enduring covenant relationship with His people and His never-ending faithfulness and unfailing love for all who belong to Him.

The promises and blessings of Lamentations 3:22-25 belong to those within this special covenant relationship with the Lord. In Jeremiah’s day this was Israel. Today, it applies to all those in Christ by virtue of the new covenant. . . .

To finish reading this post and make comments, please go to my website or click on the following link: God’s Steadfast Love.

 

The Barren Road of Revenge

Nestled away in the historical books of the Bible is a tale of sordid revenge. It’s the story of Ahithophel and his deep hatred for King David.

I can guess what you must be thinking. Who in the world was Ahithophel and why should I care about his quest for vengeance?

Let me begin by answering the first part of your question.

Ahithophel’s Betrayal of King David

For many years, Ahithophel served as David’s closest advisor and more than likely was a close and trusted friend as well (see Psalm 55:12-14).

To read the rest of this post and comment, please go to my website and click on The Barren Road of Revenge.

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Where’s God?

I’m deeply grieved by what I see today. I fully realize evil has existed since the Garden of Eden and I also know that past civilizations have exhibited the same wickedness, or worse, before their demise.

If you are like me, however, you sometimes wonder, “Where’s God in all the violence and evil around us? Does He not see the ever increasing wickedness and violence?”

The Lord recently responded to my dismay by turning my attention to the book of Habakkuk, named after a prophet who ministered in Judah shortly before Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and took the people captive.

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3 Compelling Reasons to Love God’s Word, Part 2

For as long as I can remember, I have always thought that if God exists and is powerful enough to create all that we see, then He’s certainly capable of communicating His Word to us in an accurate and trustworthy way. It’s not that I based my belief on reason, but my thinking opened the door to accept the claims of Scripture to be God’s Word to us.

During my years in seminary I studied many compelling arguments for the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture. These further confirmed my belief that a God powerful enough to put the stars in place, and name them, could certainly communicate with us in a way we could trust with utmost certainty.

In my last post, we examined the necessity of Scripture in regard to setting moral standards. Likewise, without God’s authoritative word, one’s guess as to what God is like would be just as good as another.  One’s view of how to inherit eternal life would be just as good as the next. Can you see why this is another compelling reason to trust and love Scripture?

2. The Bible Is God’s Revelation to Humanity

Scripture tells us that God reveals Himself through nature. Romans 1:20 says that creation itself reveals many things about God including His existence, “his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature. . . .” Yet, there are many things we cannot know about God’s nature in this way. Of utmost importance, we would not know the Lord’s plan of salvation apart from God revealing it to us. We would not understand the significance of Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection apart from His revelation.

The coming of Jesus marked the crowning point of God’s revelation to humanity (see Heb. 1:1-2). We have His words in the Gospel as well as in the rest of the New Testament as Jesus revealed His words through His apostles. John described Jesus as “the Word” emphasizing His role as revealing the Father to us (John 1:1-14).

Jesus’ resurrection authenticates His claims and words. It proves that Jesus is God, one with the Father as He said, and thus more than able to authoritatively and accurately communicate God’s nature and plan of salvation to us.

Apart from Jesus walking out of His tomb, Christianity would not exist. Without the resurrection, the apostles would not have had any good news to proclaim. However, because our Savior is alive today we can trust His claims about Himself, His promises, Scripture, and His words. During His ministry, He verified the inspiration of the Old Testament and pointed to His continuing revelation through His apostles.

Jesus said this about His Words, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

Matthew 24:35 records one of Jesus’ more startling claims, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Why would He make such a dramatic claim if He did not intend to preserve His word for us today? The New Testament is by far the most preserved document from antiquity; we have the words Jesus spoke and the apostles later wrote.

God gave us His Word so that we would possess authoritative answers to the problems that confront us in this troubled world.  The Bible shines as God’s light in a world groping in darkness.  Without the inspired word of God, where could we go to resolve the mysteries of life? How would we have a sure hope of a joyous eternity?

 

 

What Brings Us Joy?

Do you ever have times when a line from Scripture jumps out at you and cannot get past it in your thoughts? One morning this past week was such a time. As I was reading in Proverbs 10, the first line of verse 26 struck me in such a way. It says, “The hope of the righteous brings joy.”

Our hope brings us joy; the anticipation of Jesus’ appearing and all that He has promised us for all eternity.

It’s the specifics of our hope that inspire me when I get out of bed in the morning. They are the reason I am able to joyously look beyond the impact of aging on my body. They are the reason I still feel young at heart and enjoy silliness, laughter, and having fun. Christ has redeemed the inner me and given it eternal life. Time is irrelevant to my spirit; my inner being does not have to age along with my body.

This is why something deep inside me groans when preachers gloss over biblical references to Jesus’ appearing to take us home or when popular authors ignore the matter altogether. Are they not doing a disservice to the body of Christ by keeping the hopes and joys of their audience pinned to the things of this life? I believe so!

A glorious day of redemption is coming (see Rom.  8:23-25). It’s the time we receive our glorified bodies and experience total wholeness not only physically but also emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. It’s when we will be forever free from the very presence of sin.

I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to preach again and excitedly proclaim the joy that comes from focusing on our hope of Jesus’ return to take us home, to the place He is specially preparing for us (see John 14:1-3). What wonder awaits us when we return with Him to earth and experience the incredible joys of the kingdom?

Can we even imagine the excitement of reigning alongside Christ with physical bodies like His?

Yes, our hope should bring us incredible joy. We should be jumping up and down with excitement.

Please Note: I am going to be updating my blog soon with a new title: Our Journey Home. The emphasis will still be on a two-world perspective and include our walk with God in anticipation of unending joy and glory.

 

3 Compelling Reasons for Hope

Jesus’ tomb is empty; it’s an established historical fact. All the attacks on Jesus’ resurrection come in the form of trying to explain the vacant grave. They do this because they cannot deny the reality that His body was missing from His tomb.

However, no one has ever been able to come up with a credible explanation for Christ’s empty grave. Jesus is indeed alive!

The resurrection matters so much to our faith because if Jesus did not walk bodily out of His grave, if His body was buried somewhere else in ancient Israel, then humanity has absolutely no hope.

The reality of Jesus’ resurrection matters to our hope in so many ways!

Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. . . .  If in Christ we have hope in this life only we are of all people most to be pitied.” Do you understand what the apostle is saying here? If Christ did not rise from the dead, then our faith in Him is totally worthless and we are more to be pitied than anyone else in the world. Wow!

The reality of Jesus’ resurrection matters to our hope in so many ways!

1. The Resurrection Verifies Jesus’ Claims

I hear so many people say Jesus was a good moral teacher, but they deny most, if not all, the claims Christ made about Himself.

What would happen if I were to go through the area where I live making these claims?

• That I was equal with God the Father
• That I was the only way to God the Father and eternal life
• That those who reject me will perish; they will end up in hell
• That as God I had the ability to forgive sins
• That after three days I would rise from the dead
• That someday I would return to the earth in great glory with all the world watching

Would I be hailed as a great teacher after making such claims? Something inside me says, “No!” I would more than likely end up in the psych ward at the local university hospital under lock and key.

You cannot make the assertions Christ did without backing them up in a convincing and overwhelming way. Jesus’ resurrection did exactly that!

No one can make the claims listed above (all of which Jesus made during His ministry) and later be regarded as a fantastic teacher. It’s impossible.

You cannot make the assertions Christ did without backing them up in a convincing and overwhelming way. Jesus’ resurrection did exactly that!

2. The Resurrection Establishes Jesus’ Credibility

So many people say they worship and trust Jesus, but then state they do not believe so many of the things He said.

Suppose you are selecting a guide to take you on a three-day hike deep into a dense and dangerous wilderness territory. You have read Surviving in the Backwoods written by candidate A and although he said many things in his book that you like, you believe he got almost everything wrong about what it takes to survive in the wild. And on top of that, he has never ever hiked in the area you want to explore.

Would you hire him? Unless you feel a tad suicidal at the moment, probably not.

Is this not what so many do with Jesus? They believe He was wrong about the Genesis story of Adam and Eve, the Genesis flood, and the credibility of the Old Testament but claim to worship Him. I do not understand such logic. Why would anyone revere someone who in their mind was flat out wrong about so many basic aspects of their faith?

The resurrection verifies that Jesus is trustworthy not only in His claims about Himself, but in everything else He said. It also proves He is able to do the impossible.

3. Jesus Alone Is Able to Take Us Home

Jesus’ resurrection gives us hope because it demonstrates He is able to give us eternal life.

If I am alive when Jesus returns, He will change my earthly body into an immortal and imperishable one and take me to His Father’s house, to a place He has specially prepared for me. The same is true if I die before His appearing. It should be beyond obvious I cannot do any of this for myself once I am dead.

So, how can I trust Jesus to do the impossible in raising me from the dead and at the same time say his beliefs about the purpose of marriage, God’s creation of each of us as either male or female, and His views on morality and the sanctity of life are not only totally wrong but highly offensive? I absolutely cannot do that. Either Jesus is right about marriage and life or He is a fraud incapable of giving me eternal life or providing any hope in this life or in eternity. There is no middle ground.

If Jesus got these basic things totally wrong then He is still in a grave somewhere, is either a lunatic or a liar (if not both), and my faith is utterly in vain (at best). The tens of millions of people throughout history who died refusing to denounce Christ gave their lives totally in vain failing to denounce some liar who lived long ago.

Are you beginning to see why I cannot say Jesus was wrong about these controversial issues and still have an ounce of faith in Him?

Listen to the words of the apostle Paul again, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of all those who have fall asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). This is where our hope rests!

Jesus is alive; He rose from the dead; His words are true regardless of what anyone says about them.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, we know that all His words are true regardless of how unpopular they are at the moment. Popularity does not establish credibility or truth; Hitler was incredibly popular in Germany during the 1930’s and early 1940’s. Now his name is an anathema everywhere on earth.

Jesus was the most unpopular person of His day. But today, two thousand years later, hundreds of millions of people trust Him to give them everlasting life because His tomb is empty. Jesus’ resurrection forever establishes his words as true and gives us an unfailing foundation for our hope. He is alive; He is coming again!!!

The resurrection is why we treasure the words of Jesus and trust Him. It’s why we possess an unfailing hope of spending eternity with Him.

It’s why we can have supreme confidence in His claims, words, and supernatural power.

He’s alive! He’s alive indeed!

Shipwrecked!

The Bible bad guys in Shipwrecked! teach us about our walk with the Lord. We learn where their thinking went awry, which led to disastrous decisions. They looked to the things of this life to bring them satisfaction.

In keeping with an emphasis on knowing God, I conclude each chapter in the book with a “Walking with God” section. The purpose of these concluding paragraphs is to focus on what each character teaches us about walking with the Lord through all the ups and downs of life.

When life does not go as planned, relying on a memorized list of what to do (or not do) rarely helps us. Instead, it’s our walk with God that gets us through those times. Although what he sends our way remains unpredictable, his character never changes. Even in the darkest times, we can know he dearly loves us and will provide the strength we need for whatever we face.

Shipwrecked! stresses bringing the Gospel into everyday frustrations and setbacks!

This book is now available on Amazon.com