Random Thoughts on the Really Good News

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord . . . . .” (Genesis 6:8) Why did Noah find GRACE in the eyes of the Lord? Because it is the nature of God to be gracious and merciful. Noah and his family were saved from the flood by the grace of God…but that salvation was temporary…he and his family eventually died. That is God’s will for this present evil age. But it is also God’s WILL and plan that ALL mankind be saved from STAYING dead…again by the loving GRACE of God…it is called the RESURRECTION. It is our blessed hope, and it will be glorious! “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men…” (Titus 2:11) “For by grace are you saved through faith…it is the gift of God…” (Ephesians 2:8) “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who WILL HAVE ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a RANSOM FOR ALL, to be testified i

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, through the will of God, and brother Timothy, to the saints and believing brethren in Christ…Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Colossians 1:1-2 CLNT). I once heard a Preacher say that “every believer is a saint”. That is not necessarily true. He would be more accurate if he had stated that “a saint is one who believes WHAT GOD SAYS". You may believe what your pastor, priest, rabbi, sheikh, mom or dad says, but that does not make you a “saint”. We have many who are “believing” what their various religious doctrines say…but that does not make them one of God’s saints if what they are believing does not line up with what God actually says. Sooo it is REAL important that we know what GOD says and not just what men say God says…read it for yourself…follow the example of the Berean Jews. Do not learn what God has said from men, but from reading it or having it read to you. “Now the Berean Jews were of more no

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." (2 Corinthians 4:17) Now consider what Paul considered "light" ... “…five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep…many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” (2 Corinthians 4:24-27) They were light when compared to the weight of the glory that awaits us at the close of this life and our resurrection to immortality. "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.” (Isaiah 65:17) ”However, as it is written: What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived -- the things God has prepared for those who love him”. (1 Corinthians 2:9) And all will eventually love

“…avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:23-26) It will be found that the teachings presented in the four gospels (especially the Sermon on the Mount), but also in Acts, Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude and Revelation, are in exact accord with the Old Testament predictions regarding that restored Kingdom promised to ISRAEL. They are almost wholly in disagreement with the teachings of grace for ALL as presented by Paul in his letters. Failure to keep these teaching separate when studying the Scripture is the basis, in my opinion, for all of the theological differences found among the various sec

“For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” (2 Corinthians 4:11) I have read thousands of words of men trying to explain this in commentaries on the bible…unnecessary in my opinion. They make everything complicated – I suppose so that their explanations make them sound smart. What Paul is saying is simple if we remember that although the bad news is “the wages of sin is death” … the good news (gospel) is “the free gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE” (Romans 6:26). So Paul is simply saying that just as Jesus died, so we ALL must die, and just as Jesus was RAISED to immortal “life” , so shall we be raised to eternal, immortal life. “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died” (2 Corinthians 5:14) “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:24) “Therefore, just as through one man sin en

In Luke Chapter 18 Jesus told the sinners and publicans whom the religious crowd despised that they “ought always to pray, and not to faint…” and that God would “avenge them speedily” . But then lamented with regard to the religious folks “Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Then Jesus spoke a parable to the religious leaders who thought that “they were righteous, and despised others” as follows: “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess…And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner…” Jesus declared “I tell you, this man (the sinner) went down to his house justified rather

Is God really Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent? Is God’s love and mercy infinite? Is God sovereign over ALL? Both Muslims and Christians express that He is but their “theology” does not always fit their expressed faith. From my vantage point it is because most Christians and Muslims depend solely on their religious leaders to tell them what the Bible or Koran says. Tell me honestly, is your doctrinal views based on your personal reading and meditating on the Bible…or on what someone has told you about the Bible. Depending on how you answer that you will know whether you are trusting in the “word of men” or in “the Word of God”. Don’t misunderstand me, it is OK and common to trust the opinions of those whom you respect and trust. The problem is that sometimes even those good, sincere, well-meaning people…are wrong! When they are, how are they going to know? They themselves might not even know because they are just passing down what someone they trusted told them...for centuries. W

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1) All sane people understand the simple truth that if they live, they will also one day die. That is also biblical truth and is verified by experience so every sane person believes it whether they believe in God or not. But those who believe God also believe that after a man or woman dies there is another life “eternal in the heavens” . This helps us live righteously. ”For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad…he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:10, 15) Even though all mankind has this eternal house in the heavens guaranteed to them, there is also going to be a day of rec

I have skimmed over several books over the last 5-10 years written by those who purportedly went to heaven and were told to go back and tell people about it. There are numerous other people who claim to have had a “near death experience” in heaven or hell. I was recently asked what I thought about one of those books and the subsequent movie. Here goes… There are the only three places in the New Testament where I find that men were allowed to see the future. Peter, James and John were with Jesus on what we call “the mount of transfiguration”; Paul as he related in his second letter to Corinth; and John as recorded in the Revelation. The Bible tells their stories as follows: “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves…then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus… As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, ‘Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Ma

“I exhort, then, first of all, there be made supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, for all MEN: for kings, and all who are in AUTHORITY…for this is right and acceptable before God our Savior, who doth will all MEN to be SAVED, and to come to the full knowledge of the TRUTH; for there is one God, and one mediator of God and of men, the MAN Christ Jesus, who did give himself a ransom for ALL -- the testimony in its own times...in regard to which I was set a preacher and apostle...I do  not lie...a TEACHER of nations, in faith and TRUTH…Let a WOMAN in quietness learn in all subjection, and a WOMAN I do not allow to TEACH…but to be in quietness, for Adam was first formed, then Eve, and Adam was NOT deceived, but the WOMEN, having been deceived, into transgression came...” (1 Timothy 2) Why does Paul mot allow women to teach? Paul apparently believed MEN are to have “authority” in the family, governments, and the Church which includes the role of teaching the TRUTH. That

“The earth is the LORD'S, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1) “…every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:11) These verses clearly say that ALL that dwell in the world belong to the LORD and that Jesus Christ is LORD. So listen as the Lord Jesus talks about all who belong to him. “And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of ALL which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” (John 6:39) “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you… that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) “…while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God…” (Romans 5:8-9) I sometimes wonder if the reason prayers are not answered is simply because Christianity does not believe God…or have for

Was Jesus Christ our “substitute”. Theologians believe so and sometimes refer to it as “vicarious atonement”. The doctrine can be summarize as follows:  Jesus “paid the price” for our sins by dying on the cross.  Of course this is not true since both believers and unbelievers all suffer and die eventually. NOTE the catch phrases “paid the price”. You hear that all the time in church. Think about it.  If Jesus paid the price for our sin and the wages of sin is death, then we should not die.  Or if the horrible doctrine of eternal conscious punishment was the price for sin then Jesus would have to be eternally punished to "pay the price".  Of course neither is true. Man dies and no one is eternally punished. Romans 6:23 clearly says that... "the wages of sin is death” And 2 Timothy 2:11 clearly tells us that we must die in order to live... “if we be dead with Him shall we live with Him.” So what did Jesus actually DO at the cross? First what he did

What about conflicting English translations of the Bible? Sincere teachers of the Bible should point out that there is a difference of opinion with regard to the translation of the oldest Greek manuscripts. Here is an example: Matthew 25:46 King James Version "And these will go away into everlasting (aionios) punishment (kolasis) , but the righteous into eternal ( aionios) life." This verse is most frequently quoted to me to defend the false doctrine of eternal conscious torment in hell. The verse is translated by Young's Literal Translation as follows: “And these shall go away to punishment (kolasis) age-during (aionios) , but the righteous to life age-during.” This reflects the true meaning of this verse, as originally inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it does not introduce any contradiction to Paul’s later revelation of the eventual Salvation and Reconciliation of ALL. And when the context in which Jesus was speaking is examined it becomes clear that he is

“24Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ὁ τὸν λόγον μου ἀκούων καὶ πιστεύων τῷ πέμψαντί με ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον, καὶ εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται ἀλλὰ μεταβέβηκεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν. 25ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἔρχεται ὥρα καὶ νῦν ἐστιν ὅτε οἱ νεκροὶ ἀκούσουσιν τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ οἱ ἀκούσαντες ζήσουσιν. 26ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ἔχει ζωὴν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, οὕτως καὶ τῷ υἱῷ ἔδωκεν ζωὴν ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ: 27καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ κρίσιν ποιεῖν, ὅτι υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ἐστίν. 28μὴ θαυμάζετε τοῦτο, ὅτι ἔρχεται ὥρα ἐν ἧ πάντες οἱ ἐν τοῖς μνημείοις ἀκούσουσιν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ 29καὶ ἐκπορεύσονται, οἱ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ποιήσαντες εἰς ἀνάστασιν ζωῆς, οἱ δὲ τὰ φαῦλα πράξαντες εἰς ἀνάστασιν κρίσεως. “ (John 5:24-29) This is the way the Greek reads which is the language spoken by  most when Jesus was born. What WE have is umpteen opinions of men as to how to translate those words into English. Here is what I believe to be the best unbiased translation of the above into English, the Concordant Literal New Testament. 24 "Veri

Man cannot save himself…he must first be humbled…then saved by the one who can. “For without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22) Before God allowed evil and sin into the world, He had a plan for its removal. It is the shedding of the blood. Sin demands a harsh judgment - the shedding of blood…death! The innocent sacrificial lamb has died, extending the life of the sinner, but the sinner eventually dies...death is necessary for remission. The plan of salvation is simple, the execution of that plan is harsh, but the final result is the salvation of both the sinner and the sinless lamb…the deliverance from death…first for the innocent lamb (Jesus), then for all sinners. Is it that simple? It is for me….it is finished. “The next day John sees Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. . .” (John 1:29)  “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

“And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8) Humility is one of those things God likes. Most of us have a hard time being humble because the world teaches us to be proud. The world says that low self-esteem is a major problem. However, this is the person God "esteems"... “. . . this is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit…” (Isaiah 66:2) God likes simple, humble folks who trust Him….so do I. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Jesus said this about how the Pharisees ministered to their flock: "For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders" (Matthew 23:4). Sound familiar? If the ministers who you are associated with do these things…exit the door and never go back if you enjoy liberty. These rules and regulations leave you frustrated, guilt ridden and depressed. Jesus came to set you free from rules and regulations of religious institutions, whether Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu or any other religious system. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed" (Luke 4:18). Paul talks about our "reconciliation" and this "liberty "... "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry

"In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 56:11). "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6) Faith does not save anyone from the wages of sin. The Grace of God took care of that at the cross of Christ Jesus. However, Faith that God loves and saves sinners does deliver us from the fear of death and enables us to have peace and joy in the midst of difficult circumstances. And of course, that kind of faith pleases God.  Faith in what men say about God generally leads to doubt, guilt, and depression. If you get that from those you hang out with on Sunday, find some new friends. "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

Again, the truth is the truth whether people (including Jews and Christians) believe it or not! “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, CONDEMNED SIN in the flesh” (Romans 8:3) What did Paul mean when he said Jesus “condemned sin”? In what respect is “sin” condemned by Christ? The obvious truth is hidden from most Jews and Christians because they do not believe the truth that sin…all sin…everyone’s sin…was atoned for on the cross. They only apply it to those who join their various groups by doing those things their groups require. But that is not what God says. Sin condemned mankind to its "wages" …which is "DEATH" . (Romans 6:23) Christ “condemned SIN”  and "death" to be swallowed up in Victory at the resurrection. God in his Son “condemned sin” to being temporary…to bring death only in this life. Although every person will die because of sin, it

The truth is the truth whether people (including Jews and Christians) believe it or not. “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his MERCY endures forever” (Psalm 118:29 KJV) “For by GRACE are you saved…” (Ephesians 2:8 KJV) GRACE and MERCY…the flip sides of God’s coin of Love. MERCY is God’s not giving to mankind the judgment they DO deserve….extermination in death. GRACE is God’s giving mankind what they DO NOT deserve….the free gift of resurrection from death to immortal life. This is the coin that God flips to determine our eternal destiny…either way it turns up WE WIN! “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:54) That is the TRUTH from the BIBLE and yet not one institutional Church or Synagogue that I am aware of will teach it.

Are ALL things really of God? Again… ALL… things, good and evil. Listen to the Apostle Paul. “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are ALL things” (Romans 11:36). “There is but one God, the Father, of whom are ALL things“   (I Corinthians 8:6). “ALL things are of God” (I Corinthians 11:12). “ ALL things are of God ” (II Corinthians 5:18). “Him who works ALL things after the counsel of His Own will” (Ephesians 1:11). “For whom are ALL things, and by whom are ALL things” (Hebrews 2:10). Did God inspire Paul to say this? Listen, you cannot just harmonize some of the Scripture. Either it all can be harmonized or none of it can be trusted. It is absolutely necessary, in my view, for God to eventually reconcile and save all mankind if “All things are of God” …the evil as well as the good. Therefore eternal conscious torment in hell must be a false doctrine. The bible clearly teaches that "ALL things are of God" but it also says WE can do ALL things through CHRIST. ”No

Twenty six times in Psalm 136 God declares that "His mercy endures forever ". How many times does God have to repeat a phrase for us to believe it? "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him." (Lamentations 3:21-24) Unfortunately, most Christians will not believe his " mercy endures forever" even if it was declared one thousand and twenty six times.

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom EVERY family in heaven and ON EARTH derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in LOVE, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:14-21) 1. Pray to be strengthen by His Spirit 2. Pray that we grasp and come to know the depth of the love of Christ This is the prayer we should be praying for

"Opening his mouth, Peter said: I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality" (Acts 10:34) There are some Christians who are obsessed with heaven and hell. It is all about "up or down" to them. I suppose they believe it is real...I am not sure, because they do not spend much time doing anything about it...except talk….especially the theologians. The theologians would rather spend time writing a book about it or putting stuff on their webpage...as if anyone they consider hell bound would actually read what they say. I really think they believe God likes them better than those hell bound folks. But God does not "show partiality" and no one ends up in Hell...theologians just made that up to have something to write about. God loves sinners unconditionally...and we are all sinners. He chastens everyone as needed for remedial purposes. All will eventually be reconciled to God (Colossians 1:20). Only an unbelieving self-righte

“…it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) It is interesting to me that some otherwise intelligent Christians actually think God gave humans “free will” in regard to their eternal destiny. And have the foolish idea that if He did not, then humans are merely automatons. They speak of “free will” as if it is a doctrine found in Scripture and yet cannot produce one verse which says so. God is the only being with absolute free will. Those who believe God gave mankind “free will” or “free moral agency” in relation to eternal destiny do not believe God…they prefer to trust men. Now let’s get something clear. By “free will” I am referring to “self-determination” which means being free to choose without regard to ANY outside influence. Tell me, you who think you are saved as a result of your “free will”, did you get up one day, and apart from any influence whatsoever, just decide to ask God to save you. Of course not, you were

"Yet now, apart from law, a righteousness of God is manifest, being attested by the law and the prophets, yet a righteousness of God through Jesus Christ's faith, for all, and on all who are believing, for there is no distinction, for all sinned and are wanting of the glory of God. Being justified gratuitously in His grace, through the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:21-24 CLNT) At this point in Paul's Roman letter he has clearly set forth that all mankind...the good, the bad and the religious... ALL are sinners. Mankind's only hope is the unmerited favor of God for sinners...His GRACE. Paul then relates the good news: 1. "A righteousness of God" has now been brought to light which is for all sinners. 2. This righteousness is through "Jesus Christ's faith" ...as opposed to the sinner’s lack of faith. 3. Jesus Christ's righteousness is "for all" mankind. 4. "There is no distinction" made betwee

"Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." (Colossians 1:28) What was Paul "warning every man" about? And what was he teaching "every man in all wisdom" ? In verses 19-21 Paul had said this about Jesus: "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him (Jesus) , and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation" Paul was teaching that God has reconciled "to himself all things" . Paul was warning his listeners that it is immature (less than perfect) to teach or believe that Jesus would FAIL to reconcile to G