The Great Quest Of Man

"... But if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him"  (Deut. 4:29, NLT).

You cannot deny the fact that you have been looking for something all your life to find some sort of satisfaction or fulfillment.  People are looking for love in all the wrong places!  Even Solomon tried money, pleasure, knowledge, wisdom, peace of mind or with others, work and ambition, and whatever the world had to offer, including women, but all to no avail!  The wiser and educated we become, the more emptiness we are capable of, and the vacuum inside grows.  Nature abhors vacuums and this is the worst state we can be in, to have no meaning and purpose in life.  Today people cannot even entertain themselves, they're so empty (famed Christian psychiatrist and student of Freud, Carl Gustav Jung, said that the "central neurosis of our time is emptiness"), and this void makes them feel blase even about modern-day achievements like the space shuttle or HST (Hubble space telescope).

The point is that, though people sometimes won't admit it, they're on some kind of frantic search for happiness, fulfillment, or meaning, or even find the answers to life's problems.  Augustine rightly pegged man as having an inward desire only God can satisfy ("we are restless till find our rest in God"), and Pascal agreed that man has a "God-shaped vacuum" in his soul.

We promote the American Way, as it were, and this is highly imperialistic and is known as American exceptionalism, in that we think we've got the market cornered on the good life.  Actually, Americans are no more happy than other developed nations.  Americans seek to impose their way of life on the world as superlative and exemplary:  better education, political freedom, and high standards of living.  Yet we still suffer high crime and citizens with no reason to go on living, with rising suicide rates even higher than homicide rates.  People are looking for something, indeed, but not for God, though they think they are:  they're really searching for meaning in life, the answer, or relief from anxiety or depression.  In other words, man does not seek God, the Benefactor, but the benefits (cf. Rom. 3:11).

There are fringe benefits to knowing God, and He does bless His children, but we must seek Him and find Him: this endeavor begins at the point of salvation, and the Christian life's business is pursuing God and His face.  Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, and it would suffice; however, Jesus said that we see Him and that is the equivalent.  The writer of Hebrews (2:9) explains this Beautific Vision as:  "But we do see Jesus..."  The eyes of our hearts have been opened and anyone born of the Spirit can see the kingdom of God at work.

In man's desperation, he grasps at every passing straw, and as he reaches for it, it slips away.  Many are filled with boredom because of their emptiness and lonely despair, which can only be cured by knowing Christ and following Him.

In the final analysis, man has an intrinsic and natural duty to obey God, rewarded or not, simply because He's our Creator.  Our purpose for living is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever (cf. Isa. 43:7).  Without God life is nonsensical.  Whatever we do, ought to be to God's glory (1 Cor. 10:31), and find enjoyment, for this is the gift of God--our labor to show the image of God.  Never be discouraged doing the work of the Lord (slackness in it is cursed in Jer. 48:10), "knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Cor. 15:58, HCSB).  Rick Warren says that the consequences or your job won't last forever [but for your purposes, mission, and ministry will].  William James says we ought to spend our life on something that will outlast it--indeed every day we strike a chord that will vibrate for eternity in the symphony of heaven.
Soli Deo Gloria! 

Just Gimme The Facts!

"Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne."  (James Russell Lowell, 1844, The Present Crisis)

We must measure our faith by the object it's in--its validity is dependent on the reliability and trustworthiness of the facts.  There is no such thing as perfect or total objectivity with man, and the faith we have begins with something we cannot prove, but accept as a starting point. Even in geometry, they make assumptions.  Note that your presupposition determines your conclusion:  if someone tells you he saw your wife talking to a man and said she was cheating, you would conclude that she wasn't, but just made a friend because you know her and he doesn't!  That's an example of two people seeing the same fact in different lights and drawing separate conclusions. You cannot use circular reasoning, assuming there is no God, and then concluding there are no miracles, for instance; because the presupposition that there is no God is a leap of faith.  God has given a man all the proof he needs and has no excuse not to believe there is a God (cf. Rom. 1:20).

Believing something doesn't make it true, nor does disbelieving something make it false (objective truth exists regardless of belief, and can be known--"you will know the truth and the truth will set you free," according to John 8:32, NIV).  Truth is reflective of the mind of God and agrees with God's reality and the world--it's absolute and timeless.  According to Augustine, "all truth is God's truth" and consequently "all truth meets at the top" according to Aquinas. Note that people confuse fact and truth, or truth and opinion.  We have a right to our own opinions, but not our own facts.  There is no universal belief, but there is universal truth!  We don't have the right to fabricate our own truths, but we have a right to our own opinion, even if people disagree.

Christianity is a religion of facts and the believer has nothing to fear from scrutiny, there is no suddenly discovered the so-called fact that's going to destroy the credibility of Christianity after 2000 years.  In order to discover truth in a scientific sense or using the scientific method, you must be willing to go where the facts lead--dogmatic science is not science.  Socrates said that in order to begin learning you must admit your ignorance. and to find truth, you must admit you could be wrong! All knowledge begins in faith, and Augustine said that he believes in order to understand.

God is able to open the eyes of our hearts to see spiritual truth.  If you are unwilling to admit you could be wrong, you will never arrive at the truth--even scientists have been wrong, historians have misinterpreted history, and philosophers have come up with unsound, wacky ideas.  All of the wrong ideas have been because man basically only accepts the facts that fit his opinions or theories.

Spiritual truth is not subject to scientific analysis, Christianity is the only religion based on history, and if you could disprove its reports the faith would crumble--many have tried, only to fail and to become believers.  You cannot disprove or prove history in this scientific, empirical sense since history by its very nature is nonrepeatable.  God is metaphysical and we cannot measure God, or subject Him to laboratory conditions with variables and experimentation.  God is neither audible, visible, tangible, nor auditory.  God cannot be known by our tests or experiments, because He demands faith. The question of God's existence is philosophical, and out of the domain or province of scientific research or verification.

It takes faith to believe in God, but once you do it's like the proof of the pudding is in the eating--"taste and see that the LORD is good" (cf. Psalm 34:8). But it also takes a leap of faith to disbelieve in God or to become an atheist--he cannot disprove God because logically no one can ever disprove a universal negative (e.g., try disproving the existence of little green men somewhere in outer space!).

The problem with an atheist is that he cannot defend his position and there is virtually no substantial evidence that cannot be refuted for that worldview.  The fact is that it takes more faith to be an atheist; Norman Geisler wrote a book, I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.  Ray Comfort wrote God Doesn't Believe in Atheists, to make a similar point!   The problem with an atheist is that they don't want to believe, not that they cannot.  It's not an intellectual problem, but a moral one--they don't want accountability for their life and principles.

People also don't have an open mind, they have their minds made up and don't want to be confused with the facts.  In the theory of evolution, they have twisted and manipulated the facts to fit their theory, not fit the theory to the facts.  It's not a matter of which side (creationism or evolution) has faith or reason, but what set of presuppositions one commences with.  It has never occurred to atheists that they could be wrong (they are just unwilling to accept the God-hypothesis, which they find repugnant), and what those consequences would be (hellfire and judgment). 

Faith precedes reason and I must stress that all knowledge begins in faith. Proverbs 1:7 says that the "fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge."  We all learn from each other, even Christians, because no one has a monopoly on the truth or even on wisdom (that includes Solomon). In the final analysis, what conclusions you reach depend upon your preconceived notions and how willing you are to follow the evidence and the facts to the truth.

The purpose of Christianity is salvation, not education or enlightenment in the Buddhist sense, and the Bible was written to change lives and save souls, not to increase our knowledge.  We must never be content just to be doctrinally correct but must realize the importance of applying our knowledge.  When we learn something we must ask what difference it makes and what our purpose in learning it is.  Knowledge is not an end in itself, but a byproduct and a means to an end.  Ignorance is not bliss, and it's not knowledge that binds us but ignorance.  Jesus said that knowing the truth sets us free (cf. John 8:32).

I'm not referring to the possibility or existence of absolute truth, of which Postmodernists are suspicious of, but of facts that we should be able to agree upon (Christianity is one religion based on facts).  Facts are basically propositions that are indisputable, such as the sun's eclipse on such and such a date.  It used to be considered fact that the earth was flat and the center of the solar system until science was enlightened!   Science has been called a moving train since its theories and so-called facts vary over time and adjust to new experiments and data.  For instance, astronomers no longer hold that the cosmos is eternal, but that there was a big bang and it had a beginning.  The whole point is that if we cannot even agree upon the facts, how are we going to get along and progress?

The danger in today's intellectual power elite or the intelligentsia is the rise of "scientism," or using science for unscientific purposes and assuming that the only reliable facts are those derived by scientific endeavor; e.g., Carl Sagan said that evolution is not a theory, but fact, and that "the Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be."  These statements are unscientific, and, just because a reputed scientist makes them, doesn't lend them credence nor viability.

Everyone, in summation, is a person of faith (it's not a matter of faith versus reason, but which set of presuppositions you adhere to):  Secularists put a lot of faith in science and the scientific method and deny outright the supernatural, and won't let a divine foot in the door; while Postmodernists have faith that you can know nothing for certain and all truth is relative--no one is in a position to judge your truth--especially religious or spiritual truth and reject the fact of science being the answer to man's dilemmas; atheists have faith that God cannot does not and must not exist--unfortunately, the weakness of their philosophy is the problem of atheism per se, which cannot be validated or proved, and is irrational.

On the other hand, Christianity is rational and meant to be understood by the mind, but it's not rationalism, putting ultimate faith in the power of reason as the only epistemology because he chief function of reason is to show that some things are beyond reason.  Soli Deo Gloria!  

Being Soft On Sin

"I have kept myself from my sin"  (cf. Psalm 18:23). [Note "my sin" not "sin," since perfectionism is not possible this side of glory.]
"Who can say, 'I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free form sin?"  (Prov. 20:9, NLT).  
[Note that repentance is progressive and we are never too good to repent of some sin since there is no perfectionism state in the believer.]
"I have seen the consummation of all perfection..."  (Psalm 119:96, NKJV). 
 "... There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent" (Luke 24:47, NLT). 
"... [T]hat they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance"  (Acts 26:20, HCSB).  [The whole point is a changed and transformed new life in Christ.]

Repentance is a mandate and God demands that "everyone" repent (cf. Acts 17:30); it's a clear mandate, not fire insurance.  And no one can say he is good to go apart from obeying this recurring motif of Scripture.  God grants repentance as a gift of grace and a privilege (cf. Acts 5:31; 11:18) and is good to us and patient in order to lead us toward it (cf. Rom. 2:4).  Some mistakenly believe that repentance is merely changing your opinions about sin: au contraire, it's a change of heart, mind, and will--and a change of behavior is the proof (cf. Acts. 26:20).  

Yes, repentance is a prerequisite, but it is the imperative and result of God's special grace in the heart (grace doesn't just facilitate it, but is necessary and sufficient)--so that we change from the inside out.  We must all come clean and own up to our sin or wrongdoing and make our U-turn or about-face from sin toward Christ.

In short, we must repudiate sin, and renounce it to show our change of heart. The true sacrifices of God are a contrite heart and David illustrated this with his penitential Psalm 51 and in verse 17 (NKJV) he says, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart--these, O God, You will not despise."

Prophets of old had the thankless job of preaching repentance (actually they called them to turn from their wicked ways and return to the Lord), and they did it as part of their job description to bring about true revival, which only results from total repentance, no matter the source (inspired preaching or prophetic utterance).  The mere mention of the word sin is taboo to some preachers because it's such a "killjoy" word!  God levels the playing ground and calls everyone a sinner, and it makes no difference to what degree, we all fall short, since it's not okay to fudge a little, one cannot say his sins aren't very serious, for example saying, "I only pilfered a few bucks from petty cash."  This is theft, period, no exceptions.

Prophets have a way of making you feel uncomfortable and ill at ease in your sin.  Sermons are meant to meet people where they are, and the good preacher knows his flock and is able to do this.  People get the message that sin repels God's nature like matter and antimatter cannot coexist.  Why doesn't God do something about all the sin and evil in the world?  He has, He made you!  Prophets also make the comfortable and complacent feel uncomfortable and convicted, while the troubled conscience is given hope.

The same message has dual effects, subject to the condition of the soul.  John the Baptist began his ministry with this prerequisite:  "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!"  Jesus, likewise, began:  "Repent and believe the gospel!"   Repentance is not some additional work we must accomplish to make ourselves qualified to believe or be saved, but a work of grace in our hearts, bringing us to a knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 2:25).  You cannot have true repentance without the accompanying saving or genuine and sincere faith--they go hand in hand and cannot be separated, but only distinguished--like two flip sides of a coin.  True repentance bears fruit to show its reality according to Acts 26:20 (quoted above), and if there's no change in one's life, his repentance is suspect.  Works are no substitute for repentance or faith, but only it's proof and evidence.

Calvin Coolidge, a church-going president, came home from church service and his wife asked him what the sermon was about:  "He preached on sin!"  What did he say about it, his wife inquired:  "He was against it!"  This is the gist of the gospel, God will not countenance sin, and we must not only measure the strength and sincerity of our faith but the thoroughness and completeness of our repentance. The fault of churches today is that they make and allow sinners to feel comfortable in their sin, with no urgent call to change their ways.  The church shouldn't be a place where sinners feel comfortable but become convicted of their sin, otherwise, they will get false assurance, not based on the truth of the gospel message.  They are welcome as seekers, but must realize that God is not soft of sin, but is holy--and without holiness, no one will see the Lord. (Cf. Heb. 12:14).

Now, all believers are still sinners in a technical sense (cf. Gal. 2:17), but believers are called saints and brethren and are justified sinners, members of God's family in Scripture, not sinners.   Jesus came to call sinners to repentance, and in reality, one never ceases to repent (it's not just a one-time event, but a progressive one with daily renewal), just like he never ceases to believe or grow in his faith, but believers are never to become callous or indifferent to sin and sinners but to have their conscience kept sensitive, not immune and insensitive to its presence and voice.  It's not always how big your faith is, but how complete your repentance--they go hand in hand!

What is appalling in some Christian churches or circles is that they pick on certain sins that offend them in particular; namely, homosexuality, divorce, alcoholism, drug abuse, etc.  Even ex-cons are treated with contempt of unwelcome arms as if they aren't as holy as the others (beware of a holier-than-thou attitude per Isa. 65:5).  The worst of sins is the one of pride in the heart (cf. Prov. 6:17), and this is only visible to God because He looks on the heart of man, his motives and spirit, not the outward appearance (1 Sam. 16:7; Prov. 16:2; 21:2). "The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart"  (Prov. 20:27, NKJV).  

Churches tend to be legalistic in the appraisal of man and only see "sins," and not "sin."  We need forgiveness from what we've done and deliverance from who we are.  It is true that we need to be saved from what we are (sin), as well as what we have done (sins), by justification and sanctification respectively, but then we are not to pick on certain pet sins that offend us, but to mention that the whole problem of man cannot be solved apart from the conviction of sin, accomplished only by the Holy Spirit (John 16:8), and man must repent of his inner rebellion against God manifested in manifold "sins."

When we focus on merely one sin, let's say smoking is one, all we do is produce reformed sinners and not born-again ones.  Just because some alcoholic has been dry or clean and sober, doesn't mean he's saved.  This problem is compounded by many alcoholics who go to AA meetings and take their pledge and substitute this for the benefits of the local church.  They reduce Christianity to an AA pledge or the buddy system, and just because this keeps them sober, they think they are walking with the Lord or living a victorious Christian life--they must have higher goals than just sobriety.

In the story of the so-called sinful woman who anointed Jesus' feet, the Pharisees were offended by her "sin" because they felt self-righteous.  We are all sinners saved by grace in Christ and God doesn't see our sin anymore, but only the imputed righteousness of Christ on our behalf.  And Jesus didn't see it this way, but that she only loved Him (love is the fulfillment of the law, cf. Gal. 5:14; Romans 13:8, 10) and all the more, because she had been forgiven more:  the point is that all of us have been forgiven "more," but we just don't realize it.  William Jay of Bath said that he is a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior!  Only when we realize the seriousness, reality, and severity of our sin, do we acknowledge that we have a real, serious, complete Savior who can give us victory over sin.  Yes, Paul said that we are more than conquerors in Christ (cf. Rom. 8:37).

When we get saved we are set from the power of sin and are no longer under its dominion, and this means all sin, including our pet ones or the ones that easily beset us (cf. Heb. 12:1).  Romans 6:18 (NLT) says, Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living."  Verse 14 says, "Sin is no longer your master...."  We are to let no sin have dominion over us  (cf. Psalm 119:133).  Even David prayed not to let any sin have power over him, as he says in Psalm 19:13 (NLT):  "... don't let them control me...."  David is speaking of presumptuous or great sin and we are to pray for victory as a matter of course.

Church is not a place for people to feel that their sins are overlooked or countenanced.  It's true that you can come to Christ as you are, but you cannot stay that way!   But they should become convicted and find solace only in repentance and the power of the gospel message to change them from the inside out.  We aren't looking for reform or conformity, but the transformation that only God can accomplish.  What He's done for others, He can do for anyone!   We welcome sinners but not with the approval of sin!  Just like they say that we love the sinner but reject the sin.  

Just like it says in Jude 22-23 (NLT):  And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.  Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment.  Show mercy to others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives."  We need to stop confirming sinners in their sin by accepting or overlooking sin.  The ideal place for bringing conviction is from the pulpit and the message is to be dependent upon the conviction of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 16:8);  it's not our job to convict of sin, but only God can do this.

A concrete example of a church being soft on sin is when they go out of their way not to condemn homosexuality, though we are not homophobic either, we are not to give the impression that it's not a sin!  Leviticus 18:22 clearly condemns this sin, but we are not to go on a witch hunt against this particular offense either, as being known as an anti-gay church; but churches are to be "anti-sin."  It's just as bad to boast that your church has no homosexuals attending.  Those churches that make it a mission to aim their guns at any particular sin, overlook sin in general, and that all sin offends God--why is, for instance, that you don't hear any anti-gluttony sermons?  It's probably because too many churchgoers are guilty of it!  When God demands repentance, it's of all our sins, not just the ones that offend others, ourselves, or the church!  It's no wonder we all tend to justify our personal sins and condemn those in others!  As it is written in Psalm 36:2 (NKJV):  "For he flatters himself in his own eyes, When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates [to hate his own sin]."

We shouldn't need to doubt the gravity of sin (there's really no such thing as a small sin), for Israel was given a graphic reminder of their iniquities every Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and do we need to see the Via Dolorosa of Christ and His passion, from the flogging to the mockery, to the crucifixion, whereby He suffered on our behalf without complaint, completely voluntary for the joy that was set before Him?  If sin weren't such serious business, God would've found another way to solve the sin question apart from Christ's death on a cross. Isaiah realized that sin cannot survive in God's presence because of He is thrice holy and said, "Woe is me, I am undone" (cf. Isa. 6:5).  Job likewise repented in "dust and ashes" upon seeing the LORD (cf. Job 42:6).   At a certain point of time the day of grace is over, and God appraises man with a plumb line of scrutiny, and he is found wanting:  He proclaims,  "... I will no longer ignore all their sins"  (Amos 7:8, NLT).  In Gen. 6:3 God says, "... 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever....'" Thank God we have a Savior:  "... [And] you are to name him Jesus, for he shall will his people from their sins"  (Matt. 1:21, NLT).

The conclusion of the matter is that it is no wonder that the closer you grow towards God and see His face in Christ, the more aware of your own sins you become and how repugnant they seem to you?  Familiarity normally breeds contempt, but not so with Christ, the apostles grew more aware of their own personal failures and shortcomings, and Peter himself declared bluntly:  "Depart from me O Lord, for I am a sinner!" (Cf. Luke 5:8).  While Christ alone could declare to the skeptics, "Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin?..." (John 8:46, NLT).

Note that one must realize he is lost before being found, since the locus of the problem is our old sin nature, and one must become convicted of sin, before being set free of it in Christ:

"O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, Do it for Your name's sake; For our backslidings are many, We have sinned against You"  (Jeremiah 14:7, NKJV).   

"... For you have stumbled because of your iniquity [sin has been your downfall!]"  (Hosea 14:1, NKJV).   

"For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation.  There's no regret for that kind of sorrow.  But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death"  (2 Cor. 7:10, NLT).   Soli Deo Gloria!  

A Bona Fide Savior

We don't worship a martyr for a good cause, or a good teacher of moral principles, nor even a great example or role model of how to live life to the full, but a risen Savior who gives us a real hope of heaven and even a more abundant and fulfilling life in the here and now, which we learn to live in light of eternity as God's will is revealed to us through Scripture.

We must realize we are lost before Jesus can find us, for He came to seek and to save those who are lost (cf. Matt. 18:10; Luke 19:10).  That's why a good rule of thumb for evangelistic outreach is to get them lost first!  We are not to reach out with an easy-believism that downplays the importance of taking up our cross and following Him, as we learn to deny ourselves.  It's also called cheap grace that doesn't point out the cross to bear only justifies the sin, not the sinner.  Salvation is not cheap at all, but costs us everything--it's free, but paradoxically it's at the cost of ownership of our lives as we follow Him as Lord of our life.

It has been said wisely that, the more we realize what a sinner we are, the more real of a Savior Christ becomes.  Also, the closer you get to Christ, the more aware and convicted you become of your own shortcomings, failures, and sins.  William Jay of Bath said that he is a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior!

The gospels are not bios of Christ and do not attempt to describe Him, but to make Him known.  That's the difference:  We can know our God personally--a facet of God denied by Islam and Eastern faiths.  In other words, God gets personal with us and is a personality to get to know through His residence in our hearts.  The purpose of Jesus becoming manifest to the world was to save us, because that was our problem, and we were lost in sin and needed forgiveness and justification.  Jesus didn't come to educate us or enlighten us, but to open our spiritual eyes, and not to tell us what creed to believe, but to change our lives by residing in our hearts in personal union and fellowship.

Our salvation differs from Eastern tradition because it's not just learning a code of conduct, rules to live by, good advice, nor a collection of wise sayings to ponder, but is a restoration of our relationship with God.  The religions of the world believe in a creed, Christians believe in a person!  We don't need another to-do list, list of taboos, or prohibitions to refrain from legalistically.  God teaches us right from wrong and writes His law in our hearts so that we need no one to order us to do the right thing.  Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to anoint and teach us so that we can go directly to the Bible and read God's Word for us and speaking to us.

The reason Jesus is a Savior is because He is in the business of changing and transforming lives.  We learn an exchanged life in Christ with Jesus living through us!  If all you want to do is to improve your behavior, or kick a habit, or reform your vices, any religion will do, but if you want to know God, Christianity is the only one the foots the bill and can satisfy; merely acknowledging Him for who He is doesn't satisfy, we must surrender to Him and trust Him implicitly and unconditionally.  Yes, it might cost something to follow Jesus, but it costs more not to!  The whole beauty of our faith is that it rests in the power of God and not our own wisdom (cf. 1 Thess. 1:5; 1 Cor. 2:4-5)!

One pertinent promise to believers is that God promises that they will not be dissatisfied or disappointed in Christ (cf. Isa. 28:16; Rom. 10:11)--it's the way to the more abundant life Christ promised in John 10:10.  Walking in the Spirit, or with the Lord is a joy to transform and once you've experienced it, you want to pass it on!   One thing about the real McCoy of a genuine follower of Christ is that you can discern they have been with Jesus because it's apparent and cannot be denied because the Spirit will be irresistible and noticeable.  The Christian soon finds out that if he has Christ, he has all he needs and all that is necessary for a fulfilled life that has purpose and meaning.

All religions will tell you some moral principles and virtues, but everyone falls short because the real problem is man's sin, and only Christ gives us the power to overcome it and defeat it victoriously--we are not all on our own to find our own enlightenment or to reform ourselves by our own efforts and strength.  Christ is the threefold Savior:  As Prophet, He saves us from the ignorance of sin; as Priest from the guilt of sin; as King from the dominion of sin!  Yes, Jesus saved us--He did; He keeps us--He does; He's coming for us--He will!  Jesus was more than just another teacher or prophet--the Law did come through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus (cf. John 1:17).   He is the very personification of truth itself (cf. John 14:6), and all who are of the truth hear His voice (cf. John 18:37).

There is a world of difference between putting a new suit on the man, and putting a new man in the suit!  This is shown just as Paul said in 2 Cor. 5:17 (NLT):  "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"  A point in fact:  Jesus isn't looking for sidekicks, admirers, groupies, fans, nor buddies, but worshipers, lovers, and devoted servants who trust Him to take the pilgrimage with Him as their Pilot or Captain, going wherever He leads, following in His steps.

We must reverence Him for who He is, not just patronize Him with human respect or homage as a great leader, teacher, or example.  We must not only believe that He lived and died on a cross, but did so for us and is alive today!  The whole summation of Christian ethics is summed up in following Him, and this means a surrender to His lordship and ownership of our lives, there's no accepting Him part way or conditionally--He demands unconditional surrender, as it were; in the final analysis, obedience is the only measure of faith!  Genuine believers walk the walk and talk the talk, their profession is not bogus, but is demonstrated by a life of good works as proof (cf. Titus 1:16).

Of all the major world religions, you can remove its founder and still have the religion remain intact; i.e., Islam doesn't need Muhammad, nor Buddhism need Buddha--it's merely a collection of teachings and philosophy.  However, if you remove Christ from Christianity you disembowel it and there is nothing left--Christianity is Christ, and all else is circumference, it's been described by John Stott.  That's because Christianity is not a creed nor a code, but a relationship--this is not just a cliche, but a deeper truth to be recognized personally.   In short, salvation is but the establishment of a personal and family relationship with the person of God; while the only proof of salvation is fruit (cf. Matt. 7:16, 20)! We are saved to become a blessing (cf. Zech. 8:13).

We need to be set free!  "People are slaves to whatever has mastered them"  (cf. 2 Pet. 2:19).  Paul says in Romans 6:16 (NLT):  "Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?  You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living."  We are meant to stand fast in our liberty and not become slaves again (cf. Gal. 5:1).   Acts 13:39 (NIV):  "Through him, everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses."

The only way to be set free is in Christ:  "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed"  (John 8:36, NIV).  We no longer live in bondage to our old sin nature nor the yoke of the Law.  We do not have the freedom to live in the flesh, but the power to live in the Spirit!  We are no longer subject to the power of the Law:  "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace"  (Romans 6:14, NIV).  Soli Deo Gloria!  

Redeeming The Time...

"Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days"  (Eph. 5:16, NLT). 

Paul admonishes believers to "redeem the time because the days are evil" (cf. Eph. 5:16)!  We must get our plans in line with God's timing and will, for He makes everything beautiful in His time (cf. Eccl. 3:11).  We are only granted only so much of this precious element, which is merely a corollary of space and matter, and no one has more of it than any other until our time is up and we are called home.  We all have 168 hours in a week and the opportunity to get eight hours of sleep, if we are good at managing the time allotted us.

Time management is a managerial skill and it gets better with age and experience.  Jesus had a perfect timetable (never in a hurry nor late), and was always in God's timeline, will, and plan.  Note that Jesus never felt nor complained of being interrupted, for He recognized the providence of God in bringing about the glory of God and meaning to time.  We ought to respect each other's personal time, unless they are working for us, then we have the rights to make demands.

Since we are responsible only for the time given us (some have more downtime or free time than others, for instance), there are only a few things we can do with our time:  invest it; spend it; waste it and save it.  For example, prayer is never a waste of time, no matter how busy you are, and it's really an investment--the busier you are, the more you should pray!  We ought to save as much time as possible only in order to invest it in the Lord's work.  Wasting time is a sin and this is inevitable sometimes, but we must learn from experience.  How we spend time is a resume of our character and we should occupy and do things that are profitable and worthy of our time management.

Caveat:  Man is not made for idleness, but to be productive and busy in order to be fulfilled and have a purpose!  In sum, it's vital to make do with what time we are blessed with, because we are all virtually on borrowed time from God and will be held accountable, even for our R & R and what we do with our downtime, whether or not we can make it productive and meaningful.  Soli Deo Gloria!  

The Freedom Of The Will

"For who makes you to differ?  What do you have that you didn't receive?"  (cf. 1 Cor. 4:7).
"Apart from Me you can do nothing"  (cf. John 15:5).
By definition:  the will is the choosing faculty of the mind that makes decisions as it desires, apart from feeling any outside force--the issue is how free it is; basically, it's free to make mundane decisions but has lost ability to make divine choices to choose God apart from His work on our heart. What is important is that we still have self-determination; i.e., we make a decision for or against God voluntarily.   

Jonathan Edwards wrote a book by the above title, but he was a Calvinist, or as some call Reformed theologian par excellence, and wasn't propagating Arminianism or that grandiose idea or notion of a so-called free will  (liberum arbitrium).  "We are free but not freed," said Augustine--meaning we have retained the power to make choices and decisions, but have lost our liberty--we're voluntary slaves!  We sin and rebel against God precisely because we want to!  We are fallen creatures who have lost our inclination to good completely and totally--what so-called good we do is tainted (cf. Isa. 64:6) by evil motives and self-interest, like the applause of man.  We feel no outside force, though, which would be coercion or determinism.

Sin is rebellion against God's divine order and nature and anything that is repugnant to His holiness!  Martin Luther wrote the book, or diatribe,  De Servo Arbitrio, or, The Bondage of the Will, to refute Erasmus and the Catholic ideas of free will.  This word is never mentioned in Scripture, except for free will offerings, meaning voluntary ones.  We don't need a free will, but wills made free; we are not born free but born slaves to sin!  We get set free upon salvation and the Son is the only one who can adequately do it (cf. John 8:32,36).

In our decision making, the will is only a small part of the equation:  environment, heredity or genes, custom or tradition, pressure, etc. all play a role.  We all owe God for being born in America and most of us to Christian parents!  The thing about God being our Maker is that He designed our nature:  sanguine, choleric, melancholy, impetuous, happy-go-lucky, etc.  The point is that we didn't choose our nature!  We always act according to our nature, even whimsically or in an arbitrary manner sometimes.   As an analogy from nature:  the dove eats seed by nature; the hawk kills prey by nature; the vulture eats carrion by nature.  They will not act au contraire!   God is able to make us willing, though, and do so that we become believers (even against our former will), if He chooses to--God made a believer out of you and me, and it wasn't because we were virtuous or intelligent or even wise--we "believed through grace" (cf. Acts 18:27).

When we get saved, our whole soul and spirit gets saved: our heart, mind and will:  we become willing to do God's will; and able to comprehend God's Word, and able to love with our hearts and worship God with our spirits.  Our mind, heart, and will are all depraved--this is called total depravity (the first point of the Reformed acrostic TULIP).  If you deny total depravity you cannot maintain consistency with any of the other points in TULIP.  The will is wicked and stubborn (cf. Jer. 17:9; Isa. 46:12),   and needs redemption also--the heart of man is desperately sick and evil and we cannot know it (cf. Jer. 17:9).  God literally takes our stony hearts and makes them hearts of flesh (cf. Ezek. 36:26).

God bends our wills to His will by an act of sovereign grace ("grace reigns" cf. Rom. 5:21).  Our wills are not neutral in that they are able to weigh the pros and cons and make a freewill decision without any influence or wooing from the Holy Spirit to convict us and open our hearts to believe (cf. Acts 16:14).  Man was intended to have a mind to know God, a heart to love Him, and a will to obey Him, but this was lost at the Fall, but is restored at salvation. Note that we never ceased to be men, but ceased to be good--after the Fall man is inclined towards evil.


Acts 18:27 says that we believe through an act of grace--it's a gift per 2 Pet. 1:1 and God grants it to us according to Phil. 1:29.  God gives each of us a measure of faith according to Romans 12:3.  The people that believe in free will think that God's sovereignty is limited by our wills!  They also claim some desire to be saved while others don't--no one seeks God per Rom. 3:11!   God's sovereignty is total and He reigns and rules over all--what kind of God wouldn't be in control of all?  Our destiny is in God's hands, and He decides who will get saved, not us--it's not a matter of sincerity or of willpower!  Some very strong-willed seekers will never come to faith because they simply rely on themselves--it's not a matter of trying, but of trust.  Note the hard saying of Jesus in John 6:44 and 65 that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws and grants it.

Salvation is monergistic, not synergistic, that is, it's solely an act of God apart from our cooperation--we don't contribute to our salvation nor do any presalvation works.  We are dead spiritually and God quickens faith within us and regenerates us so that we can believe in our hearts.  We weren't elected because we believe (prescient view) but we are elected unto belief, so that "Salvation is of the Lord"  (cf. Jonah 2:9).  It is not of man and God working jointly or in concert, nor of man's sole effort, but of God alone!  We don't save ourselves--there's only one Savior!   God wants all the credit and glory and we cannot even say that we wanted to get saved apart from His grace--without which no one would believe.  The almighty and sovereign God is able to change our disposition so that we desire Christ!   Soli Deo Gloria!

My God, Wherefore Art Thou?

Pascal mused:  "What can be seen on earth indicates neither the total absence of God nor his manifest presence, but rather the presence of a hidden God;" and "I would not have searched for Thee if Thou hadst not found me."  The spiritual have dry periods when they had to search for God and wonder about His presence too:  "... How long will You hide Your face from me?"  (Psalm 13:1, NASB).  It's all about seeking God--being found--"I was lost, but now am found!"  We don't find Him: Isaiah 65:1 (NASB):  "I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me...."  He was abandoned on the cross and knows what separation from God feels like.  There is no temptation we can face that He hasn't been victorious over and can deliver us from.  Feeling alone?  God sometimes removes Himself to see what's on our heart, as He did to Hezekiah (cf. 2 Chronicles 32:21).

Francis Schaeffer wrote a book about God and declared: He is there and He is not silent.  God doesn't cater to triflers (cf. Heb. 11:6), but only those who sincerely and diligently seek Him with their whole heart and are willing to do His will.  We need to listen with the ears of our spirit and see with our hearts, as God opens up our deaf ears to hear Him.  "What we do see is Jesus" (cf. Heb. 2:9, NLT):  "The eyes of [our] understanding being enlightened" (Ephesians 1:18, KJV).  We need God to open the eyes of our hearts and see with our spirits (cf. Psalm 119:18).  When Jesus came He couldn't convince the skeptics and cynics no matter what sign He performed, they didn't want to believe (cf. John 12:37)!

You must want to believe or you won't, God doesn't make you do something you don't want to do, though He can change your mind and make you willing--this is a divine paradox of His sovereignty and providence.  People who know God see Him manifest everywhere, while the natural man or unbeliever doesn't see God even if He were right in front of his face.  The fact is that God's fingerprints and impact are everywhere and all we have to do is look.

Job felt abandoned by God and rightly so, he was undergoing a test of faith from God being administered through the hand of Satan.  Elihu wondered why no one asks, "Where is God, my Maker, who gives songs in the night?"  (cf. Job 35:10).  There does come a time when it is fitting and proper to wonder whether we are walking in the Spirit and or with the Lord.  We are to walk by faith, not by sight (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7), but we are to examine ourselves on a regular basis (especially during the Lord's Supper) and see whether Christ is living through us.  When we see Christ living in us and we have an exchanged life, not just a changed life, we have the ultimate proof of God's presence. Romans 8:16 says, "The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God."

When we are saved, it doesn't mean we have found God--the spiritual journey has just begun.  Seeing God's face is the main business of the Christian pilgrimage.  We initiate our search as believers, for the Bible clearly says that no one seeks God (no unbeliever, cf. Rom. 3:11).  When people "seek" God, they're looking for the benefits, not the Benefactor: peace of mind, the answer, prosperity, deliverance, fulfillment, or purpose--they don't want God!  Christians don't see with their physical eyes, but with their souls.  When we are saved, we don't just gain the Benefactor, but blessings as fringe benefits.  They want what they can get, or what He can do for them.   God has a blessing in mind for us, which we cannot pay back, don't deserve, and can't earn or ingratiate ourselves for.  It's a blessing to serve Him (cf. Psalm 103:2; 116:12; Rom. 11:35). Elihu declares the despair of Job:  "For he has said, 'It profits a man nothing that he should take delight in God" (Job 34:9, ESV).

Some may ask the believer, "Where is this God of yours?"  We are His hands, feet, voice, heart, and mind on earth and are to do His bidding and work for the lost--He lives in our hearts!   When God seems far, we may doubt Him, but it's only so that we can learn to seek Him.  David asked in Psalm 10:1 (NASB):  "Why do You stand afar off, O LORD?  Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?"  The psalmist goes on to say the wicked are too proud to seek God, they seem to think He's dead and there is no God.  What's is appalling today, is that many professing believers say they believe in God, but live like there is no God--they are so-called practical atheists!  Our job as believers who know the Lord is to make Him known and seen through us!  The world will not deny God is with us when they see God in us!

Isaiah proclaims in Isaiah 45:15 (NASB):  "Truly, You are a God who hides Himself...."  God doesn't force Himself on anyone and will only reveal Himself to those who seek Him:  "But from there you will seek the LORD our God, and You will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul"  (Deut. 4:19, NASB; cf. Jer. 29:13; Isa. 55:6;). There is a window of opportunity when God opens the door, so to speak, and we must "seek Him while He may be found" (cf. Isa. 55:6).  "Call upon Him while He is near: (cf. Isa. 55:6).  Job was in despair and came to doubt God's presence, though he was a godly man:  "Oh that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat!"  (Job 23:3, NASB).  We're in good company if we have searched for God because even Job did!

God is no man's debtor and no respecter of persons:  All who seek Him will find Him without any iffy reservations.  Psalm 9:10 (HCSB): "... You have not abandoned those who seek You, Yahweh."   But He demands sincerity, heart, and soul.  Where is God?  He is here, never yo forsake us; finding Him makes us realize:  He was there all the time!  God is never MIA (missing in action)--never doubt the whereabouts of God the LORD Shammah (cf. Ezek. 48:35),  "the One who is there."  When they say, "...Where is your God" (Psalm 42:3, NASB), we are to reply, "Where isn't He?  Christianity is about the God who is here and about the God who is in us.

Don't forget Jesus' name: "God is with us" (Immanuel).  The point of salvation is the restoration of our relationship with Him, and to put God in us (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16; Col. 1:27; Eph. 4:6)!  Cognizance is our responsibility and fault--grieving Him and not acknowledging His presence.  Point to ponder: Guess who moved?  God asked Adam where he was!  Hint to heed: Practicing/exercising of your spiritual gift will kindle the fire of the Spirit within!

A word to the wise is sufficient: Wise men still seek Him!  "Be still and know that I am God" (cf. Ps. 46:10).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Sin Is "In"

"In Adams fall, we sinned all"  (The New England Primer).   
"God be merciful to me, the sinner"  (cf. Luke 18:13, NASB). 
"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief"  (1 Tim. 1:15, NKJ). 
"... 'For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance'"  (Matt. 9:13, NKJV, cf. Luke 5:32).  


We must present the bad news of sin before the good news of Christ!  In other words:  Get them lost first!  The people are enslaved to sin and must be set free, self-help is no help, they need supernatural intervention by God's Spirit on their hearts.  It is sad that people think sin demonstrates their freedom, it only proves and shows their slavery.  We are all in the same boat, lost in sin just like one drowns in 700 feet of water as well as seven feet.  It is not the evangelist's job to convict of sin--that's the prerogative of the Holy Spirit!  Jesus came to save us from our sins (cf. Matt. 1:21) and was not aloof from sinners but reached out to them, getting down and dirty with common men.  

Sin is the way to go if you want popularity or to be cool; being holy is being square, uncool, or naive.  You have to be savoir-faire and know your way around the block, wise to the ways of the world, known as being streetwise or familiar with the game called life.  People nowadays believe that moral principles have evolved and adultery is no longer wrong, but anything goes if you can make up half-baked excuses for it or self-justification or rationalization.  Psychology won't even admit to the existence of sin.  Why?   Because Albert Camus said it best: "The absurd is sin without God!"  Dr. Karl Menninger, America's Freud and a Christian psychologist and psychiatrist, wrote a book entitled Whatever Became of Sin?

Psychology tends to see sin as mere deviance from the so-called norm (which is arbitrary, not absolute).  It seems like sin is creeping back into our vocabulary as we search for the answer:  we have found all the questions, according to G. K. Chesterton, now is the time to find the answers!  I believe we cannot solve our personal problems, and sin is the culprit, but we can manage them and get them under control--there's no such thing as sinless perfection in this life, because all Christians are merely works-in-progress, at varying stages of maturity and development.

Sin is sometimes called by pretty names to make it more palatable:  mistakes, poor judgment, weakness, bad habit, or even falling short of our own standards, not to mention God's, whose standard is the ultimate measure and judgment of sin.  We tend to glamorize sin and are becoming immune to its effect and influence, or even shock value as we see murder, rape, theft, etc., on TV and don't blink an eye because we are used to it and it doesn't offend us anymore--it seems okay to observe sin, but not do it?  The problem we have today in reclassifying sin and in not calling a spade a spade, as it were, is that we get enticed and drawn in unknowingly and become insensitive or immune to its influence.  If you were to take your bottle of rat poison and label it as candy in your cabinet, don't be surprised if your kids eat it--by changing labels and not coming to grips with what it is, we make it all the more dangerous!

Sin is our birthright and no one is immune from it--it's universal and no one can escape its clutches or power except by the grace of God in salvation.  The unbeliever has no power over his sin nature and can only sin, while the Christian has the ability to refrain from sin, as he has the ability to still sin at will.  We have become inoculated from sin, so we are unaware of its full impact.  Sin can be defined as our Declaration of Independence from God and a virus that affects everyone, for the Bible states:  "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"  (cf. Romans 3:23).  The first step to solving a problem with sin is admitting you have one, and the problem with sinners is that they don't see or admit their own personal sin--they justify themselves, which is the normal reaction.

We all have fallen short of God's ideal standard set by Christ in living the perfect life of obedience--the word, hamartia in Koine, or common Greek, means to "miss the mark" and is a marksman's word.  We aren't expected to be as "glorious" as God, for even Adam wasn't, but we miss the standard of the Law of Moses, which sets the precedents for all good and moral behavior and ethics for us to live by.  Sin is indeed a disease and we are all affected, no one is immune: we all have shortcomings, even by our own standards, and no one even lives up to his own expectations.

The command by God is to repent and turn from our wicked ways and follow on to know the Lord; we must renounce and denounce our sin and confess it, or say the same thing about it as God does, not some lame excuse for what we do in self-justification, which is our tendency. Sin has been our downfall:  "... For you have stumbled because of your iniquity"  (Hosea 14:1, NKJV).   We all can admit that there are things we "ought to have done," or have done something that wasn't God's will. 

Remember the words of God to Cain in Gen. 4:7:  "Sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it."  Sin is self-destructive and may be seen as a virus that has affected all mankind.  The point in seeing ourselves as sinners is to awaken us to the fact that we cannot save ourselves, we cannot keep God's Law, and we are powerless over it; this ought to make us see our need for salvation, not make us just resolve to do better or take a self-improvement course, as it were, lifting ourselves up by our own bootstraps engaging in a mere do-it-yourself proposition of good works or deeds.

Repentance is more than turning over a new leaf, reforming ourselves, making a resolution, or vowing to do better next time, but a change of heart, mind, and will from the inside out, that results in a change of behavior to prove its reality--that it's not bogus.  The purpose of God laying down the Law was not to show us a way of salvation, but to show us how bad we are and we are bad enough to need salvation; we should be suing God for mercy, not trying to save ourselves by good behavior, morality, ethics, philosophy, religious ritual, or good works or deeds--the essence of religion (works-based, not faith-based).  Pray for a lively sense of sin, says Samuel Rutherford, because the more we get it, the less we sin--gross sinners aren't aware of the degree of their depravity, while saints have a fine-tuned and sensitive conscience, that notices minutiae of sin.

Man is not basically good nor inherently good, but lost this at the Fall of Adam, and is basically and intrinsically evil through and through--if sin or evil would be yellow, we'd be all yellow--and it is affecting his entire being, which needs salvation--mind, heart, and will.  Note that even the will is stubborn and recalcitrant and needs salvaging by God and God must melt the heart and make one willing to believe by His wooing and drawing of the Holy Spirit.   We all "enjoy" our solidarity with Adam--yes, sin is fun and games for a limited time, then new sins must be found; Hebrews 11:25 says that there is pleasure in it for a season.  Theologians have analyzed man's nature and found him wanting:  He is not a sinner because he sins; rather, he sins because he's a sinner--we all born sinners and cannot escape our birthright; i.e., we sin and err from the womb (cf. Psalm 58:3).  Sin made its entree in Adam's fall and we confirm that sin by repeating it ourselves, showing we are no better.

Psychologists tend to blame society and the environment or even one's parents for our sins, but this is a cop-out, and escaping our duty and responsibility.  The first sin was committed in a perfect environment!  We all know better and don't need a lecture to tell us we are sinners:  Ovid said, "I see the better things and approve them, but I follow the worst."  It has been said, though, that we are great sinners, but Christ is a great Savior.  When we see ourselves as real sinners and unworthy in God's sight, we realize Christ is a real Savior.

We all have feet of clay and no can really clean up his act; we don't do any pre-salvation work (however, the work of God is to believe in Christ and this is all God's doing!) and we don't prepare ourselves for salvation, but come as we are in faith for our "healing" to be made whole, and God will do the transforming of our person to be made new in Christ's image. However, this is the catch-22 according to C. S. Lewis:  We must see how bad we are to be good, and we don't know how bad we are till we have tried to be good!  It's like finding out how addicted to cigarettes you are only after trying to quit, and realizing for the first time that you are not in control of your cravings.

No one fools God, for He sees through the veneer and all of us are in the same boat of being called sinners--He has leveled the playing field and demands repentance from all ("... but now God commands men everywhere to repent," according to Acts 17:30, NKJV).  Christians are justified, but still, sinners (cf. Gal. 2:17).   In the last analysis, sin is not just a shortcoming or weakness, but a sign of evil and a direct consequence of Adam's sin, as we have inherited this tendency to sin and cannot escape our birthright, except by the grace of God, who doesn't just whitewash us, but transforms us---a miracle in itself from the inside out.   Soli Deo Gloria!  

What Is Religion?

Christianity has been referred to as a religion, but to be accurate, it's a faith, because faith is essential to its schema of salvation and redemption; while Muslims don't put faith in Allah in the same respect but rely on their good deeds to earn merit; likewise for all so-called religions, which are really works-based salvation (all religions refer to salvation in some vein or aspect).  Works are vital to our faith, but spring from it, and do not substitute for it.  True faith will produce good fruit or good deeds as proof of its reality and that it isn't a mere profession or bogus, but saving and genuine, sincere faith.  

If you compare the world's so-called great faiths, you will realize Christianity stands out as unique and it wouldn't fit the standard definition of religion at all. The concept of grace is unique to Christianity! It's a real insult to the Christian to say that he "got religion" to explain his conversion experience, which is a miracle of transformation and a change from the inside out, not a mere turning over a new leaf or making a resolution to change habits or vices!  Any religion will do if all you want to do is mend your ways and some methodology of doing it; but Christianity alone gives the power to change and the motivation to do it; however, the change doesn't all come at once, the believer is a work in progress and God is working in him to perfect him into the image of Christ.  

To compare:  Religions are works based, and merit-oriented, and don't give any assurance or security to its adherents; Christianity, on the other hand, has both the assurance of salvation and the security in that state of grace;  religion is, in general, knowledge of a creed, based on human achievement, and done in the energy of the flesh, giving man the glory; but Christianity is grace-oriented, and merit has no place in it, it is done by the power of God in us and is based on divine accomplishment; religion is a big to-do list and tells you what you must do, basically in a fear of disobedience (Islam is called the religion of the sword and Islam means submission);  Christianity is about it all being done on our behalf by Christ on His finished work on the cross--it's a done deal or fait accompli!

It is no wonder that religion is characterized by doing good works because man is "incurably addicted to doing something for his salvation [Charles Swindoll quote]."  But if we had to do a work, we'd mess it up, so it's a good deal that it's by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone!  When Jesus was asked what work to do in John 6:29 He said that the work of God is to believe in the One whom He has sent.  Anyone from the feeble-minded to the intellectual can have simple faith and get saved, because it's all by grace and the gift of God (cf. Acts 18:27; 2 Pet. 1:1; Rom. 12:3; Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 1:29). 

We Christians don't boast in ourselves or in our flesh, as if we did something, but boast in the Lord because of what He has done. We don't attempt to gain the approbation of God or to ingratiate ourselves with Him.  We don't attempt to reach out to God and to strive to get in touch with Him reaching upwards;  in contrast, God reached down to us and condescended to our level.  It may be a surprise to know that only Christianity is based on history and facts  (archaeology, history, and even science) that have yet to be disproved, though many have tried.   Christianity is based on FACT, that no reasonable jury would object to if given the evidence for its case!  Search for yourself:  No so-called religion is based in historical fact--without the fact of the resurrection, there would be no Christianity! The Bible doesn't start out:  "Once upon a time."  Neither is it based in myth or unfounded, unsubstantiated stories without any evidence to corroborate them. 

Religion is the best man can do and Christianity is the best God can do--it's too wonderful for words and it's not something we would've dreamed up or imagined. In a nutshell, religion is a do-it-yourself proposition and lifting yourself up by your own bootstraps; Christianity is about a transformed life and new beginning of an exchanged life, not just a reformation or change, and all this is accomplished by God, not in our own power of the energy of the flesh.

In sum, even in Christianity works play a role; we are not saved by them, nor without them, we are not saved by good behavior, but unto good behavior.  We are saved unto good works according to Ephesians 2:10.  In religion, though, you must do works legalistically, or do them out of necessity, for your salvation--i.e., in order to win God's favor; in Christianity, you are already saved--you are demonstrating your salvation by your deeds and you want to do them out of gratitude; therefore you please God, having gained His favor, not to gain God's graces--the motive and attitude changes; viva la difference!  Religion can sanitize the soul; however, Christianity salvages it! Do you want to know a creed or a Person?    Soli Deo Gloria!  

Rules Of Engagement

"... This cup is the new covenant in My blood.  This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me"  (1 Cor. 11:25, NKJV). 

God is a God of order and design, not the author of confusion and chaos ("Let everything be done decently and in order," 1 Cor. 14:40), and everything He plans comes to pass, and everything that comes to pass, does so of necessity, according to John Wycliffe's tenet--God wastes no time and resources and leaves no margin of error; He doesn't play dice with the universe.  God's Plan will be accomplished according to the good pleasure of His will and glory; with or without our cooperation.  God has no Plan B or no backup!  He cannot fail, for He is sovereign as His prerogative is due to His omnipotence and omniscience, even knowing the future.  We have the privilege and honor to share in His glory and work, which we do as vessels of honor doing His will.

God is not arbitrary, capricious, nor whimsical, but methodical and orderly in all He accomplishes and desires.  His election of us was not random as if we got lucky!  It was according to His purpose, good pleasure, foreknowledge, and will.  God is sovereign because He has all power over His creation, and our freedom doesn't limit His sovereignty, and His sovereignty is not limited by our freedom!

Communion is the opportunity to represent our union and solidarity with the body of Christ and to share in His presence as a fellowship, restoring fellowship and keeping us focused on His death on our behalf till He comes for us in glory.  We must share in Christ to be one with Him and to have communion with Him.  Everything, including the Lord's Supper, is to be done properly, in order, and decently as if there were a protocol of good manners in His presence.  Communion requires faith and faith is what pleases God, not our feelings, which can vary like a weather vane in a whirlwind. It doesn't really matter what dogma you hold concerning the Lord's Supper, because it merely is a symbol of the New Covenant Christ made by shedding His blood, and the body that was bruised and striped on our behalf and given for us!

Christ gave His ALL, and He demands that we take up our crosses, which pale in comparison, and follow Him in obedience.  He doesn't expect of us anything He didn't do Himself!  Christ certainly doesn't expect our pity and isn't looking for sympathy for His passion, and He didn't exempt Himself from suffering either, though He didn't deserve any.  It wasn't karma He was suffering, but unjust and cruel treatment He didn't deserve, but it wasn't the nails that kept Him on the cross; His love for us kept Him nailed and on the cross, though He could've saved Himself, we wouldn't be saved then.

In celebrating the Lord's Supper we reflect on the forgiveness and mercy of God in sending the Passover Lamb, Jesus, to make propitiation for our sins, we also realize His omnipresence that He is with us as His name implies (God is with us!).  We get convicted by the Holy Spirit of our sins but realize that if we confess them He is ready to forgive and forget them.  God's mercies never end! As we partake of the emblems we are admonished to examine ourselves and our walk with the Lord, and this is something we should learn to do on our own as we mature in the faith--to constantly practice the presence of God, not just in church or during the Lord's Supper.  Confession should be a matter of keeping short accounts, not saving them up for communion!  But we are to tarry for one another and be patient with the weaker brother or newborn believer, reflecting on God's patience and long-suffering for us!

Caveat:  Just like it was a serious breach of holy protocol for the High Priest to enter the Holy of Holies with unconfessed or unrepentant sin under penalty of death; so God must bring judgment on any individual who doesn't regard or discern the body of Christ and partakes of the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner, showing no respect because God is holy and we are to treat Him with all regards to His presence with us in the person of Christ at communion to illustrate our direct access to His throne room.   Soli Deo Gloria!