Random Thoughts on the Really Good News

“...the wages of sin is death...” (Romans 6:23a) You and I, and everyone else, are sinners and that is why we die. No amount of bible study, church attendance, witnessing, walking the aisle, or baptisms will change that. The cross of our Lord Jesus did not change that fact. The human race are still sinners and "the wages of sin" is still "death" . All of the saints of bygone eras have passed away. It is the destiny of human beings - ALL of us - Christians, Muslims, Atheists, and everyone in between - even Christ Jesus himself died. What followed the cross is the gospel, the good news which revealed God's plan for sinful humans after we die. For it was after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus that God revealed to Paul the good news of what follows death... "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive…" (1 Corinthians 15:22) And after the cross and resurrection of Jesus, God revealed to Paul why a world of sinful people will...

"God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19). The secret to worthwhile faith is figuring out whom we believe - God or man. That is no easy job. For who among us has actually had a two way conversation with God? We pray but it is always one sided. We talk to God, He doesn’t talk back…does He? What most people believe God has said comes from a man or women who claims to have spoken with God. If we have not heard from Him directly ourselves, we must then decide whether the person who is preaching to us has…or simply thinks he has…or is actually conning us knowing he hasn’t. So what are you saying Robert? Well, first of all I am saying I have NOT directly heard from God, and it is my conviction that I have NEVER met or listened to someone who has. What I have done is to assume that God spoke to men of old, inspired to do so, and wrote dow...

“For us, who love God, who are the called according to His purpose, there is an awareness that He is working all together for good” (Romans 8:28). God is working ALL together for the good of all. This truth is so refreshing to me in a world of religious, political and journalistic fabricators. Truth has become what they perceive it to be, or would like it to be.  But when people discover an absolute truth about God, they will find that it is always working things out for the good of mankind, all of them.  Yet it is my experience that only those who love God have the “awareness” that God is working “all together for good”  in this world.  All who have lived on this planet - even the religious, political and journalistic fabricators among us - will discover the truth that they have been saved by the grace of God. “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…this is good and acceptable in the sigh...

“Then Jesus called out in a loud voice, Father, into your hands I commit My Spirit...It is finished…and when He had said this, he breathed his last.…with his own blood he entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." (Luke 23:46; John 19:30; Hebrews 9:12) “It is finished” - “Eternal redemption” - “once for all” Rejoice!

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB) After studying the Greek I think the Aramaic Bible in Plain English captures the truth better than some of the other English translations… “For it is by his grace that we have been saved through faith, and this faith was not from you, but it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8 Aramaic Bible in Plain English) So from where does this saving faith come if this faith “was not from you” ? Glad you asked... “Because we know that a man is not justified by works of The Written Law, but by the faith of Yeshua The Messiah, we also believe in Yeshua The Messiah, that we should be made right by the faith of The Messiah, and not by the works of The Written Law, because no one is made right by the works of The Written Law.” (Galatians 2:16 Aramaic Bible in Plain English) Did you catch that – it is not YOUR faith, but the fai...

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says...I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments—sword and famine and wild beasts and plague—to kill its men and their animals!" (Ezekiel 14:21) DEATH by various natural phenomenon are God's four dreadful judgments. Note that there was not even a hint of eternal conscious torment after death.God has and will continue to send those four judgments ending in death during this present evil again which we live. At the Cross, however, God through Christ Jesus revealed His plan to save all from the DEATH caused by His judgments. This salvation is the result of the LOVE of God for the "ungodly" , all of whom are "powerless" to save themselves from His "wrath" - DEATH. ”You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much mo...

"And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” (Matthew 10:28 CLNT) Your translation of the Bible probably renders the word "Gehenna" as “hell”. That is unfortunate and an example of how the Bible was translated into English according to the bias of the translators to promote the vain "directions of men" rather than the Word of God. "Yet in vain are they revering Me, Teaching for teachings the directions of men." (Matthew 15:9 CLNT) "Gehenna" refers to the garbage dump outside of Jerusalem where trash and dead bodies of animals and criminals were burned. Among that garbage, the worms did not die and the fire was not quenched until it had accomplished the job of destroying the body. "And if your hand should ever be snaring you, strike it off. It is ideal for you to be entering into life maimed, rather than, having two hands, to come away i...

Jesus said… ”...is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is mine...is your eye evil because I am good..." (Matthew 20:15) Muslims believe they are the only ones destined for heaven. Christians think the same thing. The reason is that both want their good deeds or faith to determine their salvation. Nevertheless, the world has only one Savior, and his salvation is a free gift, according to the Bible… “For by Grace are you saved...For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life...For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive...The last enemy that will be abolished is death… so that God may be all in all.” (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:22-28) Christians and Muslims alike have leaders whom they believe are men of God. They follow their teaching and trust and put faith in those men. They may think their faith is in Allah or God, but it is really in what their leaders have told them about Allah or God. Neverthe...