Faith and hope, although closely related, must not be mistakenly thought of as perfect matches. In Hebrews, it gives us a good definition of what faith is:
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
If faith is the assurance of things hoped for, then faith cannot exist without hope, but hope can exist without faith. In other words, hope would, in a sense, be a lesser version of faith. For example, if you have faith that something is going to happen, you believe in your heart that that thing is going to happen. If you hope for something to happen, you wish or long for that thing to happen, but there is not assurance in your heart. Faith is the assurance or confirmation of hope. We also must realize that there are two parts to faith, there is the confirmation of hope in your heart, and then there is the works, or deeds that comes along with it. In the book of James, it quite clearly tells us that faith without works is useless and dead:
James 2:17 "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
James 2:20 "Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?"
The bible also tells us that faith is what gives us our salvation:
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith..."
Therefore, if there are two parts to faith, the believing and the works, and we are not completing one of those two parts, than how is it possible that we have salvation? Quite frankly, you are not saved if you are only completing one of these parts to faith. It is not that you are not saved because you are sinning often, but it is because if you truly have faith in God, it would result in an attempt to follow God's commandments and not just throw them aside. I am wrighting to those of you that claim to be christians, but in your heart you feel no guilt for your sins and make no attempt to turn away from the flesh. For those people are only decieving and tricking themselves. I do not mean to comdemn anyone by what I am saying, but rather, I want to speak only the truth and help those who are only completing one part of faith to realize the mistake they are making and possibly give them the knowledge to correct it.
The bible also talks about faith as being a christians shield:
Ephesians 6:16 "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one."
The bible refers to faith as a shield for many reasons. First of all, there is the fact of being able to overcome anything with faith in God. And second of all, there is the concept of when we are being spiritually attacked, we will be able to remind ourselves of the truth because of the faith within us. Faith is a strong tool and dependable attribute if it is set in the correct spot. Do not set your faith in the wisdom of men, but instead, set it in the power of God (1 corinthians 2:5).
I think it is essential that I explain what I mean by "works." I did not mean that if a person does not do good things then he is going to hell. What I meant, and this could be easily mistaken, was that if you are making no attempt to turn away from sins and feel no guilt or conviction of your sins, then indeed, you have no right to call yourself a christian. "works" is the attempt to turn away from the flesh and live in the spirit.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
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Saturday, March 13, 2010
Men and Women's Role
Men and Women both have very different roles in relationships and in the church and really just in general. In today's society, many people want to focus on the idea of equality in the church, in relationships, and equality in political issues. How society today views equality is incorrect and twisted to the wants of certain people. First we will talk about a women's role.
Speaking in terms of authority, women are the least capable and least able to handle a position like this and should not be in a position of authority over man:
Timothy 2:12 "I do not permit a woman to teach or to excercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet."
We also must realize that in the beginning, God created man first and then created woman because it was not and is not good for man to be alone, God also created woman to be a helper to man:
Genesis 2:18 "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.' "
Women must realize that they are the glory of man because they were made from man:
1 Corinthians 11:7 "For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man."
The deffinition of glory is "something that is a source of honor fame or admiration." Therefore, for a woman to be the glory of man, she must show him honor, respect, and admiration. But we must not make the mistake of thinking of women as a slave to men, but we will talk about this matter more when we speak of men's role.
Speaking in terms of authority, women are the least capable and least able to handle a position like this and should not be in a position of authority over man:
Timothy 2:12 "I do not permit a woman to teach or to excercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet."
We also must realize that in the beginning, God created man first and then created woman because it was not and is not good for man to be alone, God also created woman to be a helper to man:
Genesis 2:18 "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.' "
Women must realize that they are the glory of man because they were made from man:
1 Corinthians 11:7 "For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man."
The deffinition of glory is "something that is a source of honor fame or admiration." Therefore, for a woman to be the glory of man, she must show him honor, respect, and admiration. But we must not make the mistake of thinking of women as a slave to men, but we will talk about this matter more when we speak of men's role.
If women are meant to be a helper to man, they should not be leaders in the church or in marriage. The authority should be given to the man. I have heard the defence that when this is talked about in the bible, it is only talking about that time period. If we are basing our views off of this, than how do we know that Jesus didn't just mean to save people from back then? The fact of the matter is that when someone says this, they are arrogantly twisting the word of God to what they're flesh desires. Many women do not realize this, but they should not be trying to get men to be attracted to them or try to show off there looks. But instead they should be modest and self-controlled:
1 Timothy 2:9 "Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,"
Women should not be spending an immense amount of time on their hair or jewelry or make up in the morning, but instead, they should focus on how the Lord chose to create them, and realize they are more beautiful in their natural state.
Now, let us speak of a Man's role on earth. Men have the authority in the church and in a relationship with a woman:
1 Corinthians 11:3 "But I want you to understand that the head of every man is christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God."
1 Corinthians 14:35 "If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church."
One of the most important things a man must realize though, is that although he has authority over a woman, by no means does this mean that they should be treated as less than us. It simply means that women should be submissive to the man while the man should love his wife and realize how delicate she is:
1 Peter 3:7 "Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered."
Men must realize that women are the weaker vessel and treat them as such. A woman must be treated, by a man, with love, and understanding. But most importantly, the Man must realize how delicate a woman is. I cannot stress enough how neccesary it is for a man to take the role of leader in the house and in the church, but also realize how delicate the woman is. Men must realize that how a woman looks is just how God intended her to be and since the bible tells women to not worry about how they look, we must focus on if they love the Lord our God. And base our relationships more off of that. In order for man and woman to be obeying God's commands, they must be take the appropriate rolls.
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Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Good God VS. Evil Earth
Recently, some people have been asking me how it is possible, if God is so good, that there is so much evil and suffering on earth. I feel compelled to help, anyone with this view, correct it and base there beliefs off of God's word and not twist there understanding to what makes sense to there human mind.
People often times make the mistake of deciding themselves, what is "good" and what is "bad." However, although few people realize this, it is not our decision to decide what is good and what is bad. We are imperfect human beings and we are constantly following our fleshly desires, this makes us even less qualified to set the boundaries for good and evil when we are so oftenly living in sin. Instead it is God who decides what is Good and Bad:
Psalms 51:4 "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgement."
Notice, that he says I have sinned against you and done what is evil in "your sight," not his own. Because we enjoy sin, we therefore can never fully understand good from evil like God can. So to understand how there is suffering and evil on the earth, we must first realize that this is not our job to judge what is good and evil. We also must remember that at the beginning of the earth everything God had created was good:
Genesis 1:31 "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."
At the beginning of when God created the earth, everything he made was good but then the earth entered into the curse of sin when Adam and Eve sinned against God:
Genesis 3:17 "And to Adam he said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;"
God promised Adam and Eve that if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they would surely die, therefore if they would of not eaten of that tree, no one would die today(although we must remember that if we would of been put in that case one of us would of done the same thing, so the blame is not on Adam and Eve, but on the human race). This explains why people die in the earth, it is not God being mean to us, but it is us getting exactly what we deserve.
We must also remember that whenever God does something that seems evil to us, it is not, because what God does is made holy because he is God. For we are his creation and he may do with us what he pleases:
Romans 9:15 "For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion'."
Also, we must realize, that although suffering will come about in life, do we forget about the good things God gives us? Why is it that these are commonly less acknowledged than are the bad things? All things that are good come from God, even the very fact that we are alive:
James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."
When we are suffering, it helps us to endure more sufferings to come, and helps us to understand Jesus's suffering, and therefore, be able to become closer to him, and more deeply understand his love for us when we began to experience suffering for ourselves.
Romans 5:3 "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering poduces endurance,"
Phillipians 3:10 "That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,"
These are all biblical explanations for suffering on earth when we have a good God. We must remember not to turn to our own logic and mind but instead, think about what the bible has to say about it, if you are denying or getting worked up about these explanations because you think it would make God mean to not make our earth good, than you most certainly are focused on your own logic.
People often times make the mistake of deciding themselves, what is "good" and what is "bad." However, although few people realize this, it is not our decision to decide what is good and what is bad. We are imperfect human beings and we are constantly following our fleshly desires, this makes us even less qualified to set the boundaries for good and evil when we are so oftenly living in sin. Instead it is God who decides what is Good and Bad:
Psalms 51:4 "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgement."
Notice, that he says I have sinned against you and done what is evil in "your sight," not his own. Because we enjoy sin, we therefore can never fully understand good from evil like God can. So to understand how there is suffering and evil on the earth, we must first realize that this is not our job to judge what is good and evil. We also must remember that at the beginning of the earth everything God had created was good:
Genesis 1:31 "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."
At the beginning of when God created the earth, everything he made was good but then the earth entered into the curse of sin when Adam and Eve sinned against God:
Genesis 3:17 "And to Adam he said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;"
God promised Adam and Eve that if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they would surely die, therefore if they would of not eaten of that tree, no one would die today(although we must remember that if we would of been put in that case one of us would of done the same thing, so the blame is not on Adam and Eve, but on the human race). This explains why people die in the earth, it is not God being mean to us, but it is us getting exactly what we deserve.
We must also remember that whenever God does something that seems evil to us, it is not, because what God does is made holy because he is God. For we are his creation and he may do with us what he pleases:
Romans 9:15 "For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion'."
Also, we must realize, that although suffering will come about in life, do we forget about the good things God gives us? Why is it that these are commonly less acknowledged than are the bad things? All things that are good come from God, even the very fact that we are alive:
James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."
When we are suffering, it helps us to endure more sufferings to come, and helps us to understand Jesus's suffering, and therefore, be able to become closer to him, and more deeply understand his love for us when we began to experience suffering for ourselves.
Romans 5:3 "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering poduces endurance,"
Phillipians 3:10 "That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,"
These are all biblical explanations for suffering on earth when we have a good God. We must remember not to turn to our own logic and mind but instead, think about what the bible has to say about it, if you are denying or getting worked up about these explanations because you think it would make God mean to not make our earth good, than you most certainly are focused on your own logic.
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Sunday, March 7, 2010
Love the Lord your God with all your might (3)
This post is going to conclude this three part study we have been working on, in deuteronomy 6:5. In this portion we are going to be focusing on "Love the Lord your God with all your...might." For the last time, once again, we must understand what the bible means by the word "might." In this part of the verse, some bibles translate the word to "strength" which is the same thing as "might." So for this post, we are going to be going by the word "strength" in order to avoid confusion. Now, when this piece of scripture is talked about in Mark 12:30 Jesus uses the greek word "ischus" which means: ability, might, power, strength. It is quite obvious that Jesus is not talking about our physical strength because everyone who is a christian is not "buff" or "ripped." Instead, Jesus is actually talking about our ability or our power. When Jesus comes into our life, he renews our strength or "ability"
Isaiah 40:31 "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
In this verse it quite obviously is talking about our ability or power. Running is an ability that takes power; walking is an ability, these are all metaphorical examples of what God does to our ability. Furthermore, Proverbs 24:5 says:
"A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might,"
This verse is saying, in simpler words, that a man who is very wise or has much knowledge in God has more strength than a man who is unwise, and since not everyone who is smart is physically stronger than someone who isn't very smart, we must not make the mistake of assuming that the bible is speaking of physical strength. Now that we understand what the bible means by "strength," we can understand what it means to love God with all of our "strength." Since the word Jesus used in Mark 12:20 means ability, power, or strength. We know it is not physical strength or physical power and that leaves us stuck with "ability" which we have already talked about. The word ability means: "competance in an activity or occupation because of one's skill, or training." This may seem a little fuzzy, let me try to explain. God is our trainer and what he wants of us is our occupation, that he will train us in. So, in order to love God with all of our strength or ability, we must be willing to let God train us so that we are able, and willing to do what God has planned for us. As I was studying deuteronomy 6:5, I realized that that one verse really sums up pretty much the whole bible if you dig deep enough.
Isaiah 40:31 "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
In this verse it quite obviously is talking about our ability or power. Running is an ability that takes power; walking is an ability, these are all metaphorical examples of what God does to our ability. Furthermore, Proverbs 24:5 says:
"A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might,"
This verse is saying, in simpler words, that a man who is very wise or has much knowledge in God has more strength than a man who is unwise, and since not everyone who is smart is physically stronger than someone who isn't very smart, we must not make the mistake of assuming that the bible is speaking of physical strength. Now that we understand what the bible means by "strength," we can understand what it means to love God with all of our "strength." Since the word Jesus used in Mark 12:20 means ability, power, or strength. We know it is not physical strength or physical power and that leaves us stuck with "ability" which we have already talked about. The word ability means: "competance in an activity or occupation because of one's skill, or training." This may seem a little fuzzy, let me try to explain. God is our trainer and what he wants of us is our occupation, that he will train us in. So, in order to love God with all of our strength or ability, we must be willing to let God train us so that we are able, and willing to do what God has planned for us. As I was studying deuteronomy 6:5, I realized that that one verse really sums up pretty much the whole bible if you dig deep enough.
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Thursday, March 4, 2010
Love the Lord your God with all your soul (2)
In the second part of this study, we are going to be focusing on the "Love the Lord your God with all of your...Soul" portion of the verse.
In this section, we also must identify what the bible means by the word "soul." The bible says that man cannot harm the soul (matthew 10:28), so this tells us that the soul is not a physical thing, but we must not mistake this by saying that the soul is not as real as a physical thing because it is just as, if not more, real as our physical being. The soul is our spiritual being, it is one of the main things that distinguishes us from animals and "beasts of the earth," because animals do not have souls, they are simply mans helper. Throughout the bible, it repeatedly talks about the soul being revived or restored by God (Psalms 23:3, Ezekiel 18:20). If the soul needs to be restored, this means something must be making it indecent or unacceptable to God. We also must realize that if God is the only one who can effect our soul (Matthew 10:28), this means he is the only one who would be able to restore it. The thing that has been dirtying or making our souls unacceptable to God from near the beginning of time is sin (1 peter 2:11). And the way that we wipe sin out of our life is by asking God for forgiveness because of his amazing sons sacrifice. If a clean soul in unacceptable to God, then we cannot completely love God with all of our soul unless we are asking for forgiveness and God is wiping away our sins. This does not mean that if we forget to ask for forgiveness for one sin, that we are condemned to hell. God knows that we are forgetfull beings and far from perfect and as long as we are trying with all of our soul to stop the wicked things of the flesh, our sins will be forgiven through Jesus Christ. So then, how do we love God with all of our soul? We must first realize that we are imperfect beings and thank God for his son and pray for forgiveness of our sins. And if you are asking God for forgiveness with a sincere heart and have been convicted of your sins, then God has made your soul pure, and you will find that you are already loving him with all of your soul. Now, in the bible, Jesus also talks about our souls being at rest if we are willing to follow him (Matthew 11:29). What does this mean? It simply means that we will be living in his will and our soul will be clean, making us more at rest with how pure our soul is and we will be sure of where we are going to go when we die (heaven). If we are truly loving God with all of our soul, than we will be feeling convicted rather often.
In this section, we also must identify what the bible means by the word "soul." The bible says that man cannot harm the soul (matthew 10:28), so this tells us that the soul is not a physical thing, but we must not mistake this by saying that the soul is not as real as a physical thing because it is just as, if not more, real as our physical being. The soul is our spiritual being, it is one of the main things that distinguishes us from animals and "beasts of the earth," because animals do not have souls, they are simply mans helper. Throughout the bible, it repeatedly talks about the soul being revived or restored by God (Psalms 23:3, Ezekiel 18:20). If the soul needs to be restored, this means something must be making it indecent or unacceptable to God. We also must realize that if God is the only one who can effect our soul (Matthew 10:28), this means he is the only one who would be able to restore it. The thing that has been dirtying or making our souls unacceptable to God from near the beginning of time is sin (1 peter 2:11). And the way that we wipe sin out of our life is by asking God for forgiveness because of his amazing sons sacrifice. If a clean soul in unacceptable to God, then we cannot completely love God with all of our soul unless we are asking for forgiveness and God is wiping away our sins. This does not mean that if we forget to ask for forgiveness for one sin, that we are condemned to hell. God knows that we are forgetfull beings and far from perfect and as long as we are trying with all of our soul to stop the wicked things of the flesh, our sins will be forgiven through Jesus Christ. So then, how do we love God with all of our soul? We must first realize that we are imperfect beings and thank God for his son and pray for forgiveness of our sins. And if you are asking God for forgiveness with a sincere heart and have been convicted of your sins, then God has made your soul pure, and you will find that you are already loving him with all of your soul. Now, in the bible, Jesus also talks about our souls being at rest if we are willing to follow him (Matthew 11:29). What does this mean? It simply means that we will be living in his will and our soul will be clean, making us more at rest with how pure our soul is and we will be sure of where we are going to go when we die (heaven). If we are truly loving God with all of our soul, than we will be feeling convicted rather often.
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Monday, March 1, 2010
Love God with all of your heart (1)
There are going to be three sections on this next subject that we are going to be speaking of. All though the verse we are going to be talking about seems simple and mundane, it is actually a very complex part of the bible once you began searching more deeply and thoroughly through the word of God.
Deuteronomy 6:5 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
During this section, we are going to be focusing on the "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart" portion of the verse. We must first start off by acknowledging what the word of God means by the word "heart." When it uses the word "heart," it is quite obviously not speaking of our physical heart which keeps us alive and beats constantly, but rather, it is speaking of our mind set and morals. You may ask how I know this, allow me to explain. The heart is completely sinful and "evil" from the time you are born.
Genesis 8:21 "...for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth."
Our physical heart cannot be evil, it is simply sitting there and keeping us alive. When we have an evil intention, it is always in our mindset or it is due to poor morals. If someone has just gone through a divorce and they say "My heart hurts," It is not their physical heart that is putting them in pain, instead it is their mindset that has been troubling them.
How than do we do good things if our mindset is constantly evil? God gives us a new heart or purifies the one we have.
Deuteronomy 30:6 "and the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live." The word circumcise means to "purify spiritually."
In other words, we can only do things pleasing to God if our mindset is changed and purified by
God. Now that we understand what the bible means by the word "heart," we can interperate correctly what it means to love God with all of our heart. In order to love God with all of our heart, we first must be given a new heart that is pure and cleansed by God. Without this new heart, we can do nothing pleasing to God, and therefore cannot love him, as this would be pleasing to him. This means that God will purify our mindset and our morals for good and holy things and get rid of the evil and unholy things. Loving God with your "heart," or mindset (which are the same thing as we discussed earlier) means that your morals are based off what the bible commands us and your mindset must be set on holy things and not evil things, therfore after God has cleansed our "heart" or midset, we will already be loving God with our heart because God himself would of already have set them in the right place.
If our physical heart is not working correctly, our physical body will become worthless. In the same way, if our "heart" or mindset is not set in the correct place, our life will become worthless.
Deuteronomy 6:5 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
During this section, we are going to be focusing on the "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart" portion of the verse. We must first start off by acknowledging what the word of God means by the word "heart." When it uses the word "heart," it is quite obviously not speaking of our physical heart which keeps us alive and beats constantly, but rather, it is speaking of our mind set and morals. You may ask how I know this, allow me to explain. The heart is completely sinful and "evil" from the time you are born.
Genesis 8:21 "...for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth."
Our physical heart cannot be evil, it is simply sitting there and keeping us alive. When we have an evil intention, it is always in our mindset or it is due to poor morals. If someone has just gone through a divorce and they say "My heart hurts," It is not their physical heart that is putting them in pain, instead it is their mindset that has been troubling them.
How than do we do good things if our mindset is constantly evil? God gives us a new heart or purifies the one we have.
Deuteronomy 30:6 "and the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live." The word circumcise means to "purify spiritually."
In other words, we can only do things pleasing to God if our mindset is changed and purified by
God. Now that we understand what the bible means by the word "heart," we can interperate correctly what it means to love God with all of our heart. In order to love God with all of our heart, we first must be given a new heart that is pure and cleansed by God. Without this new heart, we can do nothing pleasing to God, and therefore cannot love him, as this would be pleasing to him. This means that God will purify our mindset and our morals for good and holy things and get rid of the evil and unholy things. Loving God with your "heart," or mindset (which are the same thing as we discussed earlier) means that your morals are based off what the bible commands us and your mindset must be set on holy things and not evil things, therfore after God has cleansed our "heart" or midset, we will already be loving God with our heart because God himself would of already have set them in the right place.
If our physical heart is not working correctly, our physical body will become worthless. In the same way, if our "heart" or mindset is not set in the correct place, our life will become worthless.
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