How to Share Your Faith

I love the method of  "Way of The Master".  We must confront sinners with the need for God's grace. We MUST give the bad news to the lost before giving the good news of salvation.

13 Letters

All of Paul's letters in the NT like you have never heard them!  You may not like rap music but I would challenge you to listen to the lyrics and you will soon see that they have more theology in them them most church's teach in a year.

Should We As Christians Judge?

(To be clear I am not saying this lady is in error. I just want to bring some clarity to the issue)





After watching this video I think it is important to make some important distinctions that was not made and will be sure to cause much confusion.

1)-The Bible is clear we can not judge a persons heart. Ultimately that is God's job.


2)-We are not to judge the unbelievers.
                
                (1 Corinthians 5:12-13 ESV)
"For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

Those who do not believe in Christ are judged already:



                  (John 3:18 ESV) 
"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."

It is right and Biblical to say that we are not to judge the unregenerate because they will face the judge of the universe and will have to answer to Him alone.

My area of concern though is a problem I have seen a lot as of late especially in light of the debates about "gay-marriage" and homosexuality.

Many believe that not judging a persons heart extends into "Christians can not judge actions or a religion as right or wrong".  And that is my fear with this video. Why I am sure this sweet young lady has the best intentions, I think we need to make sure that we understand Biblically how we are to judge things and we do make judgments everyday. Lets look at a few examples:

1)-The Atheist worldview. Why we do not judge the Atheist, we most certainly judge their worldview as being opposed to scripture and the Biblical worldview.  We would say that the worldview that "matter is all there is" would be in error and wrong.

2)-Sex before marriage. Again, we  do not judge the individual but the action of sex before marriage we are told plainly in scripture is wrong (1 Corinthians 5). 

3)-Homosexuality is a sin according to the Bible (Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6) and so we should not as Christians be voting to pass laws which will endorse this un-Godly behavior.

In Mark 6 Jesus tells the apostles to go out and preach to the surrounding area to repent

of their sin. For us to do evangelism the heart of the gospel is repentance which means we are affirming there are certain behaviors that Holy Scripture tells us is wrong.

Jesus tells us:

     (John 7:24 ESV)

"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

We must be able to make judgement so we can be able to discern truth from error!

Here is a great piece from an article written on how we as Christians should judge:

"How to Judge the Lord's Way

How do we untangle this mess about "judging"? The solution is not difficult to understand, but it is difficult to live by. If you will remember and live by these next four principles of Jesus regarding judgment, you will be walking according to the Lord's mercy and truth in this extremely important matter of "judging".

First, we are to judge all things (people's behavior and words/beliefs) against Jesus' Words, for Jesus, who is the Word of God, is the standard of truth (John 14:6; 17:17).

(In regard to this first principle of judging, it is extremely important to distinguish between a person's beliefs/doctrine versus their amoral behaviors or physical characteristics. We are to carefully judge all beliefs against Jesus' teachings, and we are NOT to judge people's amoral behavior. Amoral behavior means non-faith customs, traditions, ceremonies or actions that have no moral or spiritual implication. For example, the way someone brushes their teeth, or how or what someone eats, or the manner of their speaking, etc. We are also not to judge someone's physical appearance i.e. their body shape, skin color or facial structure.)

Second, when judging other's behaviors and words, we are to be careful that we are not committing similar sins or errors(Matt. 7:1-6). To be correcting someone for a sin that we have not gained control over (by the power of the Holy Spirit) is hypocritical.

Third, we are to be slow to judge and quick to listen and to forgive (Matt. 7:1-6, 6:14-15).

Fourth and finally, we are not to condemn anyone as hopelessly beyond the reach of God's mercy (Luke 6:37). The follower of Jesus should never tell someone, "you're going to end up in hell, period". Not even Jesus - the only one to ascend into heaven (John 3:13), and thus could justly give that judgment, and who certainly knew many people who were going to end up in hell - brought that condemnation"

( http://www.jesusfamilies.org/Articles/Judging.htm )

 There is a real danger in telling Christians they are not to judge unless we clarify what type of judging we are talking about. Sadly some Christians refuse to even say something is sin or a worldview is wrong because they think it is wrong to judge.

We are to discern truth from error and that is only done by judging all things according to Sacred Scripture and if it goes against what the word of God says, we call it out as error.  

Sadly there are some who are so crippled by their misunderstanding of this issue they will not even speak out  against false religions and cults. When Joel Osteen was asked by Larry King if Jesus was the only way to heaven he claimed it was not for him to judge 

The Bible is clear that Jesus is the only way to heaven (Acts 4:12, John 14:6) and so when asked if another religion that denies Jesus is the only way to heaven is wrong then we should say YES! 
According to scripture all other roads are false. We do not judge the individuals heart but we MUST judge a false system that denies Jesus is the only way.  We are commanded to:


            
            (2 Corinthians 10:5)
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ"




When Joel was asked about the Mormon religion and asked if it was Biblical Joel again disgraces Christ by refusing to take a stand and call a false religious system wrong

Why I am sure this girl had good intentions I think it is important that we make sure we are clarifying what we mean. 


So in summary


1)-We do not judge anyone's heart or their eternal destiny


2)-We DO judge actions, false religious systems, and everything according to the word of God.




Watch this video of Larry King asking John Macarthur if other religions are wrong:

This is how a Christian is suppose to respond. He does not shrink back. He does not judge individuals but rather false systems as being false in light of the Bible.

My prayer is that this will clear up this often confusing issue and that as Christians we would be good examples to a watching world and even more important, that we please our Lord and Master.
            
              (1 Thessalonians 5:21 ESV )
"But test everything; hold fast what is good."

Bible Study 1 John 2:1

        (1 John 2:1 ESV)
" My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

We will continue our study in 1 John 2 looking at the first verse.

Verse 1 says   "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

We talked about this in chapter one but we will point out a few things regarding this verse.

1-The admonition we see from the Holy Scriptures is that we are to be Holy as God is Holy (Mathew 5:48). This gets to the issue of what is called  "Total Depravity" which essentially states that every part of man is depraved (Mind/Will/Emotions).  Because of the fall man is dead in sin (Romans 5:12)  and can not obey God's commands perfectly and that is why we need a Savior.  Let's look at some of the verses that support the view of Total Depravity.

(Click here to read more about this doctrine http://www.gotquestions.org/total-depravity.html)

Psalm 143:2 - Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.

Romans 11:32 - For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. (c.f. Galatians 3:22)

Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

2 Chronicles 6:36 - "there is no one who does not sin"

Isaiah 53:6 - All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way

Micah 7:2-4 - The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together.The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge.

Romans 3:9-12 - What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (c.f. Psalm 14:1-3, 53:1-3)

1 John 1:8,10 - If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we make [God] a liar, and his word is not in us.

Mark 10:18/Luke 18:19 - And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."

(http://www.traviscarden.com/total-depravity-verse-list)

When God the Holy Spirit regenerates us and then indwells us we are no longer slaves of sin

                     (Romans 6:5-11 ESV)

"For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

However because we have inherited a sin nature from Adam, we still continue to sin. While it is true we do not make a "practice" of sinning (1 John 3:9) we still sin because we have not gone through the final stage in our salvation which is glorification (Please Click This link to learn what Glorification is http://www.gotquestions.org/glorification.html).

John is telling us that we are given the Holy Scriptures and in them the tools to fight temptation and to flee sin  (Please listen to this great series by John Macarthur on the Full Armor of God). (http://www.gty.org/resources/sermon-series/307/the-armor-of-god )

However when we do sin (And we will) we can come with confidence to Jesus because He is our advocate. This gets into Christ's role as our intercessor. Let's look at a few verses that expound on this:

       (Hebrews 1:3-4 ESV)

"He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs."

When we read about the role of the priest in the OT we notice that they never sat down. In fact they did not have a chair in the temple because the work was never done. However when Christ finished His work on the cross he was able to sit down signifying the work was done. He now is interceding for God's elect:

               (Hebrews 7:23-25 ESV)

"The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."

Jesus as our intercessor is the one who reconciles sinful man and Holy God. 

                (Romans 5:10-11 ESV)
"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

Before God regenerates us we are dead in sin and rebels against God. We are enslaved to sin and a child of wrath (Ephesians 2). After salvation though our position has changed in that Christ has imputed his Righteousness to us (Click Here to learn more about imputed righteousness http://www.gotquestions.org/imputed-righteousness.html). 


However our condition is still fallen and sinful and this is why John tells us that if we do sin we can come to Christ and He will make intercession for us.

(Click Here to read more on Christ's role http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-interceding.html)

Meditate on this truth today friends! As said before, if you have sins that you need to confess before God,then do NOT hesitate.  

Come Weary Saints: Sovereign Grace Music

Wretched: Preaching to Goats.

This is soooo good! There is a trend in many church's to cater the service around the non believers that may wander in to the service. The purpose of church is to equip and edify the believers, NOT non believers. That being said I would not advocate not allowing non believers to come if they are truly seeking however we should never cater our service and preaching to the non-believer. John Macarthur does a great job in explaining this

What Is The Gospel?

As I have been teaching through the book of Mark on Wednesday nights and going through the essentials of the faith on Sunday the topic of why did Jesus die on the cross and how to share are faith comes up.

I have some thoughts on this and would love some feedback.

Many times when we share the gospel with people we want to go right to the good news that "God has a wonderful plan for your life". I think it is VERY important to note that we need to give people the "bad news" before rushing to the good news.

What is the bad news? That man has sinned and because of our sin we need to be reconciled to God and if we are not then we will face the wrath of God for eternity. Sadly I think we have focused so much on God's love we fail to understand God's wrath. We need to be balanced in our view of God and realize God is Holy.

The reason Jesus came was not to give us an example (Though He is an example) and neither did he come to give us a life of wealth, health and prosperity. Jesus came to reconcile fallen sinful man to himself. When we evangelize, to skip right to the good news of the gospel and telling them to come to Jesus for any other reason then that they are sinners and need to repent and submit to Jesus Christ is or will face His eternal wrath is to miss the primary purpose of the gospel.

I think we are scared to give the full picture of who God is for fear of scaring people off so often times we "De-fang" God and do not talk about His wrath and Holiness.
I often times myself when talking to others about Christ catch myself wanting to avoid talking about sin and how bad it really is. I constantly have to remind myself that salvation is of the Lord and it is not for me to try and make the message more palatable so it goes down easier.

As I have been going through the book of Mark you see Jesus is hated and chapter 6 tells us the people took offense at him. Are His slaves better than the Master?

Jesus said if they hate me they will hate us (John 15:8) and that his message is an offense (Mark 6)

PLEASE do not misunderstand what I am saying. I am NOT saying that we do not love people. I am NOT saying that we be rude and offend people just to offend them.

I am saying that if we really love people we tell them the truth even if they do not want to hear it. If they are offended at the message then that is between them and God but our duty is to share the truth of God's word and trust his word and the Holy Spirit to do the rest.

God is love but he is also just and Holy

Acts 17:30
"Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."

We are to love people and that's why when we give the gospel message we tell them the truth as to why they need to come to Christ.

Ray Comfort gives the example of a man in a plane and during the flight a employee told him if he put the parachute on it would improve his flight. He put it on and it was uncomfortable and poking him. Then other passengers started laughing at him and in anger he threw it off because the lady told him the parachute would improve his flight and instead he was uncomfortable and laughed at.

What if she would have came to the man and said the plane is out of gas and we will be in real danger soon so put the parachute on. Now he does not care if it is uncomfortable or poking him because he knows without it he will die. The fact others are laughing at him does not matter to him and he clings tight to the parachute because it will save his life. He did not put it on to "improve" his flight but rather to save his life.

One does not come to Christ for a life of care free living and no troubles. If that's how we present the gospel then as soon as troubles come then they think Christianity has failed them. However when they come for the correct reason which is that man has been separated from God and needs to be reconciled, when bad things happen he is not swayed because he did not come to Christ for a care free life but rather to be reconciled to God through His son.

I know my grammar stinks but I wanted to share my thoughts on this. Feel free to share your thoughts. God Bless

Also I am not saying I am better than anyone else or saying I am not sinful etc.....
And I certainly do not want to come off as arrogant or harsh.

I am the biggest sinner I know and I above all need God's grace!

      (1 John 1:8-10 ESV) 
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

Today we will finish chapter 1 of this tremendously theologically rich book!

Verse 8- As we went over in my last post, the reason man can be reconciled to God is because of the atoning work Jesus did on the cross.

Some have wrongly assumed that when one becomes a Christian they can get to a point where they do not sin any longer. The book of 1 John is written to believers, not non-believers. 

That being said the apostle John is telling us that as believers we are not going to be perfected in this life to where we do not sin.
"If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves"

To deny that we are sinful is to be deceived. We need to distinguish between Justification which is the one time act of God declaring the sinner righteouss based on the work of Christ on the cross. When this happens we are brought from death to life (Romans 6:11).

This passage is dealing with sanctification. Here is a quote from an article on the gotquestions webpage and I would ask the readers look at this paper and study it so they are equipped to answer this question which comes up a lot:

"Sanctification is a three-stage process – past, present, and future. The first stage occurs at the beginning of our Christian lives. It is an initial moral change, a break from the power and love of sin. It is the point at which believers can count themselves “dead to sin but alive to God” (Romans 6:11). Once sanctification has begun, we are no longer under sin’s dominion (Romans 6:14). There is a reorientation of desires, and we develop a love of righteousness. Paul calls it “slavery to righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).

The second stage of sanctification requires a lifetime to complete. As we grow in grace, we are gradually – but steadily – changing to be more like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). This occurs in a process of daily spiritual renewal (Colossians 3:10). The apostle Paul himself was being sanctified even as he ministered to others. Paul claimed that he had not reached perfection, but that he “pressed on” to attain everything Christ desired for him (Philippians 3:12).

The third and final stage of sanctification occurs in the future. When believers die, their spirits go to be with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). Since nothing unclean can enter heaven (Revelation 21:27), we must be made perfect at that point. The sanctification of the whole person—body, soul, and spirit—will finally be complete when the Lord Jesus returns and we receive glorified bodies (Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:35-49)."

(http://www.gotquestions.org/progressive-sanctification.html)

Verse 9- "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

By being on our knees broken before the Lord we are confessing our need and dependence upon him. Sanctification is an ongoing process and will be until the day we die.  When we do not confess our sins we can drift from our Lord and end up very miserable and under the discipline of God.  We are told:

    (Hebrews 12:6) 

"For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

It is for our own good that God drives us to our knees and recognizing our need in him so we do not get confident in our own abilities.

As the "Prince of Preachers" Charles Spurgeon said:

"The “superior” person will always be lost, take my word for it. The more superior he
is, the more sure he is to be lost; I mean not that he is superior, but that he thinks
himself so, superior to all teaching. He is not prepared to be a learner, he is ready to
set up as a teacher, and a master of anything you like. He is not the kind of man to
enter the gates of heaven; he carries his head too high for that. He is a man of broad
thought; and, of course, he goes the broad way. Narrow-minded people go in the
narrow way; but then it leadeth to life eternal, and therefore I commend it to you."  

Verse 10- "If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

We know that God is a God who can NOT lie

         (1 Samuel 15:29) 

"He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind."

    (Numbers 23:19)

"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?"

   (Titus 1:2)

"A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time"

Take these truths friends and meditate on them. If you have sin that is separating you and your Savior then fall on your knees right away and ask for forgiveness.  Our Lord promises that He will forgive you and the discipline which we all endure is for our own good.

IN DARKNESS: History Of Jehovah's Witnesses Watchtower Bible Tract Society

Great documentarie on one of today's fastest growing cults. If you do not know much about this topic then please educate yourself.

Joe Rogan Mocking Noah's Ark

(WARNING: This Video Contains Explicit Language)


This article is a response to Joe Rogan who is the host of "Fear Factor" and numerous UFC events. Rogan is a comedian and a outspoken atheist. He decides to have a good laugh at the Bible, but as we will see Rogan has no clue when it comes to theology!

.10- Rogan starts by  saying even an eight year old retarded boy would have questions about the story of the Ark. Right from the start he attacking the intelligence of those who hold to the Biblical account of the flood. Sadly instead of going to the actual text and reading what Holy Scripture says he instead has to build fallacious arguments and insert things into the account that the Bible never says.


.30- Rogan Says that God was angry because the world was so wicked and instead of telling them they were doing wrong he decided to drown everybody

Response


I am not sure where Rogan is getting his information. Man knows whats right and wrong because God created man with a conscience that knows right from wrong. Sadly men do suppress the truth:


            (Romans 1:18-23 ESV) 
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.


We also know from early on that man was offering a sacrifice for their sin:

             (Genesis 4:1-7 ESV)

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
( http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=427 )

Man knows right from wrong and from the beginning were making offerings to God. This idea that those on the earth did not know what sin was and that God just decided to destroy them is ridiculous.

Secondly God gave man 120 years to repent and they refused:

            (Genesis 6:1-3 ESV)

"When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”

Jesus himself gives us insight when he tells us:

(Matthew 24:37-39 ESV)

"For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."

Men love darkness rather than light (John 3:18-22) and it has been that way since the fall. It is not that men do not know what the light is but rather man hates the light and will not come to it for fear their deeds will be exposed.

@1:03- Rogan claims that all the other boats supposedly did not work

Response

I think we need to keep in mind that this was a world wide flood and it would last for a year meaning it would need to be able to have food and water for survival for a year. It was a boat that would have to be specifically designed for the task at hand.

Here is a great article dealing with the stability and structure of the Ark and why just "any" boat would work
 (http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n2/thinking-outside-the-box)

@1:10- Rogan makes a "straw man" argument where he is building and argument the Bible never makes and then tears it down

Response

The Bible NO WHERE says that Noah brought 2 of every animal. Lets look at a couple issues:

1)-Noah did not take marine animals with him on the ark. The Bible tells us what categories of animal were taken

"The text that follows in Genesis 6:20 goes on to explain. “Of the birds after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.” God therefore limited “all flesh” by specifying three categories: (1) birds; (or fowl); (2) cattle; and (3) creeping things."

2)- The text says Noah was to bring two of every "kind" the text does not say "species" which is a man made classification system which was made by Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778).

Noah could take two dogs and from them get several different species of dogs through whats known as "micro-evolution".  To claim Noah would have had to take "millions" of animal on the Ark is fallacious.
Here is a great article dealing with micro-evolution   (http://creation.com/dogs-breeding-dogs )



To see more information on what is a "Kind" and how it differs from "Species" please read
( http://creation.com/variation-information-and-the-created-kind )

@1:15- Rogan mocks the idea that the animals willingly came into the Ark.

Response

Rogan is an atheist and thus rejects miracles and the supernatural working of God. After all if you do not have a God that exists then you can not have acts of God. Rogan's presuppositions of naturalism is driving his world view. If God exists then leading the animals to the Ark is not a big deal. If he created the universe then leading the animals he created to the boat would not seem like a big deal in my opinion. We would have to look at arguments for God's existence and not just dismiss the idea. Mockery and ridicule is not an argument.

Here is a great article addressing Rogan's objection

 (http://icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=2470)

@1:30- Rogan says they sailed away for forty days and forty nights and civilization began new.

Response

Rogan again gets the details completely wrong. I understand this is just comedy but at least get the details of what you are mocking straight.  It rained for forty days and forty nights but the majority of the water would have come from the ground and the shifting of the plates underneath. It rained for forty days but the water came from under the ground for 150 days:

               (Genesis 7:11-12 ESV)

"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights."

             (Genesis 7:24 ESV)

"And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days."

            (Genesis 8:2-5 ESV)

The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

The Bible is clear that this was not some little flood but rather it was a major event in earth's history.   Those interested can read more about Noah's flood and how exactly this event could have taken place.

(http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/really-a-flood-and-ark)

@1:45- Rogan continues to mock and ridicule by asking how big was the boat to hold the "millions" of animals.

Response

I have already shown his claim of the "millions" of animals is fallacious. As far as the size of the Ark, the dimensions are given in the text.

        (Genesis 6:14-16 ESV)

"Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks."

A cubit is about 18 inches or so. (http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n2/original-cubit)

The Ark would have had no problem holding all the animals. Rogan mocks and ridicules but he does not even know how many animals go on the boat and secondly he does not even know how big the boat is.

It is said  " The total available floor space on the Ark would have been over 100,000 square feet, which would be more floor space than in 20 standard-sized basketball courts."

Also " The total cubic volume would have been 1,518,000 cubic feet [462,686.4 cubic meters] --that would be equal to the capacity of 569 modern railroad stock cars." 

We should also remember that Noah would have took babies and did not have to get the full grown animals such as giraffes.  We are told " Doctors Morris and Whitcomb in their classic book,The Genesis Floodstate that no more than 35,000 individual animals needed to go on the ark. "

( http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-c013.html )

@2:20-Rogan asks what were the animals eating for all that time and animals eat other animals so how would that work

Response

Here is an incredible resource that answers many questions such as what did the animals eat, how did they go to the bathroom, etc...   (http://www.amazon.com/Noahs-Ark-A-Feasibility-Study/dp/0932766412)

            (Genesis 6:21 ESV)

Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.”

Noah and his family had made sure to take enough food with them and God in his grace provided for them so they would be taken care of. As has been shown there was more than enough room to store the food.

As far as his question about animals eating other animal this is a false assumption. We are told that death is the result of man's sin and that everything was created to be vegetarian:

               (Genesis 1:29-30 ESV)

"And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so."

This is why before one launches into an attack on the scriptures they should at least know what it says. I think it can be inferred from the text that it was not till after the flood did the carnivorous activity begin:

             (Genesis 9:1-3 ESV)

"And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything."

@2:45-Rogan mocks the flood by asking where did all the black people come from

Response

Why does he assume they were all white on the Ark? This is an elementary mistake on his part. There is enough genetic diversity among eight people where we could easily get the wide variety of skin colors we see today. Please see (http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/are-there-different-races)

The funny thing is that Rogan mocks those who believe Noah's Ark as being stupid and yet he makes one bad line of reasoning after another. This is what happens when you are full of arrogance and pride and will not even understand the position that you are mocking.

I am not going to bother addressing the rest of the conversation between Rogan and the archaeologist because I just wanted to deal with Rogan's mockery and misrepresentations of the text.

The Bible is probably the most attacked book on the earth because of it's claims and because of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. People were mocking Noah back in his day and people in 2012 mock God and his word today.   I would ask those reading this to pray for Mr. Rogan, that he would encounter the Lord of glory and repent of his sin and submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  

I want to be clear that I am not attacking Mr. Rogan as a person but rather his arguments and as a Christian, I am commanded to do that :

                 2 Corinthians 10:5
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 

Hell: The Final Destination of The Lost

Here is the Sunday school class I taught last Sunday on Hell and the final destiny of the lost. This will be at least a two part series.
We are going through the book "Convictions Without Compromise" and I draw from Dr. Geisler systematic theology 4

Hope you enjoy it. This is a issue that can be hard to teach on but I do my best to be faithful to the text.

 (http://www.amazon.com/Systematic-Theology-Vol-Church-Things/dp/0764225545)

Should Christians warn others about Hell? This well known outspoken Atheist say's for a Christian to believe that others are going to Hell and they will not share the truth with the lost must really hate them to not warn them and tell them the truth.  Sad day when the Atheist has to lecture the Christians on evangelism

Bible Study 1 John 1:6-7

                    (1 John 1:6-7)
"If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."

While it is true that in this life we will never get to a point of perfection and be sinless, we are to repent from sinful behavior and be grieved and broken over our sin. 

Lets jump into our Bible study  as we tackle verses 6-7


One question that I am often asked by fellow Christians is how we can know if we are truly saved and children of God?  1 John gives three basic tests:

1)-Doctrinal- That is there are certain truths we must confess to even be a Christian (Verses 2-5)


2)-Obedience- As we will see their are numerous verses that tell us that one of the way's we can know if we have been "Born Again" is by our obedience to our Master.  Lets look at a few of these verses:   (The third test is the subjective test of the Holy Spirit and we will tackle that one in the future) 


(1 JOHN 2:2-3)
"And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked."

We see that to profess Christ does not mean one actually possesses Christ. We do not do good works to be saved but rather because we are saved good works will flow (Ephesians 2:10).

Every other false system claims we must do something to "please" the deity. The Bible is clear that there is NOTHING we can offer in addition to the work of Christ done on the Cross

(Romans 3:28 ESV)
"For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law."

(Romans 4:1-5 ESV)

"What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness"

The OT saints were saved the same as we are today. By grace ALONE, through faith ALONE, by Christ ALONE. Our obedience to Christ demonstrates we are children of God.

(1John 3:7-10)
"Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother."

Here we see that why we as believers will not be perfect and we still sin, we are not to make a PRACTICE of sin.

The verses are very clear that to walk blatantly in sin and to make a PRACTICE of sin, demonstrates that you are not a follower of Christ.

Verse 7 makes it clear that it is the blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanses us from our sin. Not our good works but by the work and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

(2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

The love God has poured out on his elect should fill our hearts with a desire to be obedient to the Master who bought us and redeemed us from sin and death.

Atheist Christopher Hitchens Makes Shocking Confession

(Christopher Hitchens was an outspoken Atheist who recently died do to cancer)

I must say that when I saw this I was rather amazed. I was amazed at two things:


1)-Christopher Hitchens has made millions of dollars from selling books and doing debates and is well known for his brutal attack on Theism.


As Hitchens recounts his conversation with Dawkins off camera he says in essence if he had the chance to get rid of Theism he wouldn't do it.


Could it be that deep down Hitchen's knows that God exists?



(Romans 1:18-21 ESV) 
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened."

According to Holy Scripture  ALL MAN knows that God exists but in our sinful nature we suppress this truth. The text says God's evidence for His existence is plain for all to see so we do not have an excuse.

The Atheist can not stand before the throne of the Triune God and plead ignorance. Scripture  say's we know God exists but we rather worship the created things rather than the Creator.

Could it also be that Christopher know's that with the atheist worldview it is bankrupt on issues of morality and ultimate purpose and that the atheist worldview is really not all that beautiful.

Friedrich Nietzsche is notable for having declared that "God is dead"  has written several different works. One of his more interesting pieces he wrote is a parable called 
"The Mad Man".  Here is a video of Ravi Zacharias reading this parable:

Here is the parable in written form:

                        The Mad-Man

"Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the market-place, and cried incessantly: "I am looking for God! I am looking for God!"
As many of those who did not believe in God were standing together there, he excited considerable laughter. Have you lost him, then? said one. Did he lose his way like a child? said another. Or is he hiding? Is he afraid of us? Has he gone on a voyage? or emigrated? Thus they shouted and laughed. The madman sprang into their midst and pierced them with his glances.

"Where has God gone?" he cried. "I shall tell you. We have killed him - you and I. We are his murderers. But how have we done this? How were we able to drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What did we do when we unchained the earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving now? Away from all suns? Are we not perpetually falling? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there any up or down left? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is it not more and more night coming on all the time? Must not lanterns be lit in the morning? Do we not hear anything yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we not smell anything yet of God's decomposition? Gods too decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, murderers of all murderers, console ourselves? That which was the holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet possessed has bled to death under our knives. Who will wipe this blood off us? With what water could we purify ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we need to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we not ourselves become gods simply to be worthy of it? There has never been a greater deed; and whosoever shall be born after us - for the sake of this deed he shall be part of a higher history than all history hitherto."

Here the madman fell silent and again regarded his listeners; and they too were silent and stared at him in astonishment. At last he threw his lantern to the ground, and it broke and went out. "I have come too early," he said then; "my time has not come yet. The tremendous event is still on its way, still travelling - it has not yet reached the ears of men. Lightning and thunder require time, the light of the stars requires time, deeds require time even after they are done, before they can be seen and heard. This deed is still more distant from them than the distant stars - and yet they have done it themselves."

Some great insights From this website says:

"What Nietzsche is concerned at in relating the above is that God is dead in the hearts of modern men - killed by rationalism and science. This same God however, before becoming dead in men's hearts and minds, had provided the foundation of a "Christian-moral" defining and uniting approach to life as a shared cultural set of beliefs that had defined a social and cutural outlook within which people had lived their lives."

"Nietzsche seems to be suggesting that the acceptance of the Death of God will also involve the ending of accepted standards of morality and of purpose. Without the former and accepted faith-based standards society is threatened by a nihilistic situation where peoples lives are not particularly constrained by considerations of morality or particularly guided by any faith-related sense of purpose."

(http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/philosophy/friedrich_nietzsche_quotes.html) 


Because we have been created and God has put his knowledge in us, as much as we may want to get away from Theism we can't.  

2-The second thing that amazed me is that Hitchens himself said in essence he could feel the disdain and confusion coming from Dawkins.  Here is two people that hate God and have made millions of dollars doing books and debates and here Hitchens is saying if he had his foot on the neck of Theism he wouldn't finish it off.  

Hitchens says the way Dawkins looked at him had stayed with him and he will never forget it.  Almost as though Hitchens himself got to see the anger and rage that the natural man has toward God and if given a chance to finish the theists off he would not pull the trigger.

It would definitively be interesting to have been a fly on the wall in that conversation.  

I would love to see Hitchens in eternity worshiping the Lamb of God. Some may gasp at that but we need to take a minute to look at some Biblical theology. We should in no way feel that we somehow deserve heaven and Hitchens deserves hell. Truth is that before God regenerated us we ALL rage and fight against God.  Don't believe me? What sayeth the scriptures:

                  (Romans 5:6-8 ESV)
"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

             
               (Ecclesiastes 9:3)
 -"Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead."

            (John 3:19-20 ESV)

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed."



           (Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV)you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."


As a Calvinist I believe salvation is not dependent on man but rather on God:

           (John 1:12-13 ESV) 
"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

            ( James 1:18)
"Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."

            (1 Peter 1:3)
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead"

            (Titus 3:5)

"He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit"

          (2 Thessalonians 2:13) 
"But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruitsd to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth."

        (Ephesians 1:3-6 ESV)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved."

The truth is that salvation is of the Lord and no one should feel like he deserved Hell and we deserve heaven. The last verse I posted tells us he chose us because of the purpose of His will

 and so we should be the first to recognize the goodness and mercy of God which was extended to us was not anything in us.

Keep preaching the word of God friends and do not lose heart. Our Sovereign Savior has chosen us to fulfill his purposes of spreading the gospel to bring people to Himself for the purpose of His will!

Bible Study 1 John 1:5

We will continue with our Bible study as we have been going through the book of 1 John.
Today we will be exegeting verse five.


              (1 John 1:5 ESV)
"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."

When we say that God is light it is not just a metaphor but rather an attribute of God. Saying God is light is to say that God is the great illuminator.

            God is spiritual light.

  (Psalm 31:16 ESV)

"Make your face shine on your servant;
save me in your steadfast love!"

(2 Samuel 22:29 ESV)

"For you are my lamp, O LORD,
and my God lightens my darkness."

God's word is our guide through a world that is dark and bound in blindness. We are told that man by nature  LOVES darkness rather than light because there deeds are evil (John 3:18-20)

(Psalm 27:1 ESV) 
"The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?"

          (John 8:12 ESV)

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Every other way than Christ will lead to a dead end. If one wants out of the darkness then the only alternative is to flee to the cross and to Christ who shines brighter than the sun!

God's glory is the outward radiance of his nature and in this light is displayed is the outward expression of the inward nature of God.

We see in the OT God's outward Glory displayed for all to see:

                     (Exodus 13:21-22 ESV) 
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

The Israelite's kept their eyes on the light and followed the light. They were surrounded by evil and by pagan cultures yet kept their eyes on the Lord. I think that applies to us today in that we have God's word and instead of trying to compete with the culture and  the latest fads we just need to point people to the light which is the word of God:

(Psalm 119:105 ESV)

"Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path."

We see another astounding display of God's glory in Mathew 17 with the mount of transfiguration: 

                     

             (Matthew 17:1-8 ESV)

"And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only."

In closing our gracious Master has displayed his kindness and his mercy to us so we do not have to run from the light nor do we need to be scared of the light.  We can have full confidence in the work of our sovereign

King on the cross and that when we are examined under the bright light of God's perfection we can stand confident, not in anything that we have done but knowing that Jesus paid it all and all to Him I owe! 

PLEASE take time today to meditate on these precious truth's from the word of Sacred Scripture and reflect on God's kindness to us:

        (John 3:19-21 ESV)

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Does A Higher Power Exist?

Ray comfort does a great job explaining that because we have sinned against God and when we stand before Him on the day of Judgement we will have to give an account of our lives.  Sadly many today in America want to rush to tell the person they are evangelizing the good news of the gospel. Sadly though the "good" news of the gospel will not make sense unless we tell them the bad news first.


We need to explain there was a literal Adam and a literal Eve with a real fall. Because of man's sin (Romans 5:12) we need a Savior who can reconcile us back to God (2 Corinthians 5:18).


Remember next time you share your faith with the lost that promising people that if they come to Jesus that their problems will go away, you are not telling them why they need to come to Jesus.  The reason man must turn from sin is to flee the wrath of God.


          (2 Peter 3:7)
But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

The Final Destiny of The Lost

Join us Sunday morning as we look at the final destiny of the unbeliever. We will be looking at the Biblical basis for Hell, the Nature of Hell and the duration of Hell.

We will be looking at some objections such as:

If God is all loving how can he send people to Hell for eternity?

Does Hell exist or does God just Annihilate those who never trusted on His name?

What does Jesus say about Hell?

You do NOT want to miss this friends. We will have time for questions as well as we look at this doctrine.

Community Fellowship Church 217 N Trade st Mathews, NC
Class starts at 9:30am

Are You a Good Person?

        (Romans 3:10-20 ESV)


"as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;

no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.”

“Their throat is an open grave;

they use their tongues to deceive.”

“The venom of asps is under their lips.”

“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

in their paths are ruin and misery,

and the way of peace they have not known.”

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin."

Bible Study 1 John 1:3-4

Hello friends. Today we will continue our study in 1 John.



(1 John 1:3-4 ESV)

'that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete."

Verse 3-  We are being told these truths so that we can not only have fellowship with our brothers and sisters but ultimately fellowship with the Triune God of the universe!

The apostle John goes to great lengths to tell us he SAW   the events surrounding Jesus and that this is not some fabricated story that has no basis.

The things John is telling us are spiritual truths that MUST be believed in order to have fellowship with the God of the universe. Sadly many people want to throw out doctrine and just focus on "love".  To be a Christian is to believe certain doctrinal truths. If we do not have these distinctions then how can we say Mormonism is false when they say they love Jesus and believe in him. Of course the problem is that they have the wrong Jesus and we know that based on the doctrinal truths that John has written to us in his letters.

Joel Osteen who has a massive following was interviewed a while back on Fox News and was asked his view on Mormonism. Remember Joel has one of the largest church's in America and has made millions in his book sales. Sadly this is what happens when theology dose not matter

We live in an age where doctrine is a dirty word. I recently saw a picture with the slogan "It is better to be kind then to be right". Sadly I can not even count how many Christians that I know that hold this un-Biblical un-Godly worldly philosophy. Truth matters friends and truth divides from error.

To be a Christian is to be a slave of Jesus Christ. There are doctrinal truths that we must believe to separate the kingdom of Christ from the kingdom of the cults. Many times I hear that Christians have to much head knowledge and not enough "love".   I have yet to meet these people. Where I live in the Carolina's theology and head knowledge is very hard to find. We can not apply the truth's of the Gospel if we do not know them. How can we follow the teachings of Christ if we are ignorant of what he says.

The apostle John is clear that to have fellowship with the Triune God of the universe then we MUST  believe certain doctrinal truths.


Verse 4- John talks about the joy that the gospel brings. The main point of life is not health, wealth and happiness. The purpose of life is to know the Creator of the universe and be reconciled through Jesus Christ.

What Joy we have that should amaze us everyday. Sinful man who is by nature:

1)-Dead in sin  (Romans 5:12- 1 Corinthians 15:21)

2)-A child of God's wrath (Ephesians 2)

3)-Hostile towards God (Romans 8:7)

4)-Loves sin and darkness (John 3:18-20)

5)-Is a friend of the world and an enemy of God (James 4:4)


We could go on but we see that in our selves and by ourselves we are doomed. Yet our Glorious Savior lays his life down for the sheep:


               (John 10:11 ESV) 
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

That while we were helpless and could do nothing to save ourselves Christ  steps in:

            (Romans 5:6-9 ESV)

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God."

This is the best news we could possibly have. I will leave you with one of the most amazing passages in scripture for you to meditate on today. Think of these incredible truths today and take time to marvel at our Glorious Master who loved us and rescued us  from death.

Summary:

1)- Verse 3

A)- The apostle John saw Jesus do many might works. His information is not from hear say but was an actual witness of the event

  B)-Man has sinned and is cut off from God from birth (Romans 5:12) and there are certain doctrinal truths  that must be believed to be a Christian which will allow us to have fellowship with our Creator.

2)- Verse 4

A)-The amazing grace that God has poured out on sinners which is the good news!

B)-We are completed in the sense that we are fulfilling our purpose for which we were ultimately created for which is union with God. Or as The Westminster Shorter Catechism says:

What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever

I will leave you with this passage from Ephesians to meditate on:

                      (Ephesians 1:3-14 ESV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.