Random Thoughts on the Really Good News

There is one God  and there is one Lord, God's only begotten Son.    "...there is one God, the Father, out of Whom all is, and we for Him, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through Whom all is, and we through Him..."    (1 Corinthians 8:6-7) "The Father has dispatched His Son, the Savior of the world."   (1 John 4:14-15) "In this is love, not that we love God, but that He loves, and dispatches His Son, a propitiatory shelter for our sins."  (1 John 4:10) God sent  His Son into the world to be a ransom  for all, and to reconcile all created beings  to  God. When done, God will be All in all of creation. "There  is one God, and one mediator of God and mankind, a Man, Christ Jesus, Who is giving Himself a correspondent RANSOM for ALL..."   (1 Timothy 2:5) "...to RECONCILE ALL to Him (making peace through the blood of His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens"   (Colossians 1:20) "Now, whenever al

“...for this we are toiling and being reproached, that we rely on the living God, who is the Savior of all mankind, and especially of believers. This things be charging and teaching.” (1 Timothy 4:10-11 CLNT) I am unaware of any institutional Christian church group that is "teaching"  what the above verse clearly says -  that GOD is the "Savior of all mankind".  But it is clear that "all mankind" have been "ransomed" by Christ Jesus. "For there is one God, and one mediator of God and mankind, a Man, Christ Jesus, Who is giving Himself a correspondent Ransom for all."  (1 Timothy 2:5-6) The Bible addresses two types of people in various eras. Those who BELIEVE God, and those who do not - the UNBELIEVERS.  Believers come to a knowledge of their salvation in this age. Unbelievers will come to that knowledge at the close of the ages. Below is a summary of what the bible teaches with regard to the Salvation of All. BELIEVERS become a

"...whoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33) What is denied is REIGNING with Christ in the ages to come. "If we endure, we will also REIGN with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us." (2 Timothy 2:12). When we are told we are to REIGN with Christ, who are we reigning over if Satan, the fallen angels, and all unbelievers are in hell? None of God's created beings will be damned forever in the mythological underworld of hell. But they will be reigned over and righteously chastened until all bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord - to the glory of God.  "As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God...at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10-11) And when God&#

“Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them.” (Leviticus 18:5) This pretty well sums up God's first covenant with Israel. It depended on their faithfulness to obey the law. That did not work out very well for Israel. But God knew it wouldn’t and so through Jesus their Messiah, God replaced the old promises with better ones. "He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.” (Hebrews 8:6) This new covenant depends solely on the faithfulness of Jesus their Messiah. It will be firmly established by the "God of all Grace" in a future age. After Israel suffers for awhile in this age, they will be perfected in the next! “Behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took the

Paul writes… "…I have been entrusted with the evangel (gospel) of the Uncircumcision, according as Peter of the Circumcision (for He Who operates in Peter for the apostleship of the Circumcision operates in me also for the nations.)" (Galatians 2:7-8 CLNT) There are two gospels (good news messages).  Both centered in Jesus but not the same. One gospel “for the circumcision” and the other gospel “for the uncircumcision” . Gospel Number One:  The term "Circumcision" of course refers to Israel, God's chosen people, and the Circumcision Gospel was "entrusted" to the Apostle Peter.  It tells them what Israel must do to participate in the earthly Kingdom promised to them. Following is a summary of that good news message: 1. They were instructed to repent, be baptized, obey the law of Moses and have faith that Jesus is the Messiah.  While Jesus was on earth He preached this gospel message to Israel only.  After His resurrection and ascension Peter and his

"For we are aware that the entire creation is groaning and travailing together until now. Yet not only so, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruit of the spirit, we ourselves also, are groaning in ourselves, awaiting the sonship, the deliverance of our body." (Romans 8:22-23 CLNT) "It is better to travel well than to arrive." - Buddha Such is the opinion of false religion and its leaders who set their minds on this life because they fear or are ignorant of the next. The Buddha has millions of followers who he has taught to focus on the journey rather than the destination. Quite frankly, Christianity is not much different. It focuses most of its attention on the journey because they fear the destination. But that is the religion of men. The truth of the God is not focused on our failures and suffering along the way, but the "glory" of our destination... "For I am reckoning that the sufferings of the current era do not deserve the glory abo

"...the ration of Sin is death, yet the gracious gift of God is life eonian, in Christ Jesus, our Lord...if, then, you were roused together with Christ, be seeking that which is above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Be disposed to that which is above, not to that on the earth, for you died, and your life is hid together with Christ in God. Whenever Christ, our Life, should be manifested, then you also shall be manifested together with Him in glory." (Romans 6:23;Colossians 3:1-4 CLNT). The result of sin is death in this eon, but the "gracious gift of God is life eonian" in the next, where we will “be manifested with Him in glory.” "Glory" is our final destiny. Paul speaks of this Glory often in his letters... "...we have the access also, by faith, into this grace in which we stand, and we may be glorying in expectation of the glory of God." (Romans 5:2 CLNT). “Thus also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in cor

"Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil…God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” (John 3:19; 1John 1:5) The famous philosopher Plato once said...  “The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”   Those who do not believe that God is the Savior of ALL are simply afraid of the "light" and need to get to know him a little better. " I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. ” (John 8:12) When Phil Spector was part of the 50’s band "The Teddy Bears" he wrote a song that went to #1 in 1958. It was inspired by his father but when I hear it I think of the God and Father of mankind - the title of the song was… "To know him is to love him"   "No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will

What happens after Jesus returns and raises me from the dead? "...forasmuch as He assigns a day in which He is about to be judging the inhabited earth in righteousness by the Man Whom He specifies, tendering faith to all, raising Him from among the dead...in the day when God will be judging the hidden things of humanity, according to my evangel, through Jesus Christ...for all of us must be manifested in front of the dais of Christ, that each should be requited for that which he puts into practice through the body, whether good or bad." (Acts 17:31; Romans 2:16; 2 Corinthians 5:10) Then what? "...each one's work will become apparent, for the day will make it evident, for it is being revealed by fire. And the fire, it will be testing each one's work -- what kind it is. If anyone's work will be remaining which he builds on it, he will get wages. If anyone's work shall be burned up, he will forfeit it, yet he shall be saved, yet thus, as through fire.

Jesus, the Son of God is the perfect MAN and has demonstrated for all to see what mankind can and will become when they have been born of the Spirt into the resurrected immortal life… “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body…The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust…Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven...this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality...Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:38-54) But until our resurrection… "Now we see a reflection in a mirror; then we will see face-to-face. Now I know partially, but then I will know completely

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth…male and female create he them…. then to Adam He said, because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat from it; cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life, both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (Genesis 1-3:19) Sin brings death - so is there any plan to remedy this situation? Yes:  Salvation  - Plans A and B SALVATION - PLAN A:    “…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of your Father in heaven…Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-45) I cannot think of even one Christian who loves his ene

Before you read this you should take a few minutes and read all the books of the Old Testament...OK now read all of the books New Testament...Now that you’re done - Just kidding! – but when I read them I found out that... 1. There is only One God. OT: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One...” (Deuteronomy 6:4) NT: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and man...the man Christ Jesus...” (1 Timothy 2:5) 2. God owns everything and everyone and it is His WILL to save everyone. OT: “The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1) 
 NT: ”He made known to us the mystery of His will....who works all things after the counsel of His will...who will have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (Ephesians 1:7-11; 1 Timothy 2:4) 3. Only God possesses immortality, everyone else dies. OT: “...for dust you are and to dust you will return...the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns t

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9) True riches are not the result of what we do for ourselves, but are the result of what Christ Jesus has graciously done for us. The word "grace" is the Greek word "charis" which means a gift producing joy. Jesus has done something for mankind that will bring us all joy...eventually.  "For His anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime.  Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning" (Psalm 30:5) God was in Christ reconciling sinful people to Himself... "Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given...God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5) Believing

A well-meaning Christian said - “Man is still in desperate need of a Savior.” I know he meant well and it may sound right, but think about that statement. It denies that Jesus was and still is the Savior. We do not NEED a Savior, we have one! Jesus came “...to seek and to save those which are lost” and told people that  “if I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me”.   After being lifted up on the cross Jesus said  “Father forgive them...it is finished” (Luke 19:10; John 12:32; Luke 23:34; John 19:30) Christianity is “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” claiming salvation for themselves (which is true), but denying it to everyone else....making it simply an offer from God which must be received and accepted.  In reality the salvation of "all people" was "finished" at the cross of Jesus and proved by his resurrection.  The salvation of "ALL" people is the truth that needs to be believed and shared by the church. It is