This is based on some discussion going on on RO. A number of skeptics worry about God "sending" people to hell for eternity when they sinned for such a comparatively short time.
What did God do for us and to us and why
The crucifixion & resurrection:
It was not “just” death on the cross, and 3 days, and then all over. Jesus, the sinless One, paid the penalty and bore the sins of all man kind – from creation to now, and to the end, whenever that is. Can you imagine, being completely innocent, and yet bearing the guilt for the worst person you know? Multiply that to all the guilt of all people whoever lived and ever will live. I don’t think we are capable of even beginning to comprehend what Christ suffered from his arrest until the resurrection.
Heaven and Hell:
They are not simply “reward” and “punishment;” they are what we choose. We have the 70+/- years here on earth to make a decision. Make no mistake, it is our decision, not His. If we do not choose to make that decision for Christ, there is no place left for us except Hell. Hell was not originally meant to “house” human beings – it was made for “the devil and his angels.” But for people who refuse to choose Christ, the only way to Heaven, there is no other place for them. In Isaiah 5:14, it says that “Hell has enlarged herself.” This was necessary to accommodate the people who choose it. It is not necessarily a punishment. It is our choice. It is true that there are degrees of punishment and reward. The degrees of punishment seem to be based on knowledge more than the degree of the sin we commit – if we can even divide sin into degrees. Jesus said that more will be required of those who know more. This is in the Christian life, as well as in the non-Christian life.
We have all this life to make the decision. We can’t lay the blame on God if we make the wrong one. God is not punishing us for 70+/- years of sin. We have brought the punishment upon ourselves for refusing to accept the free gift he purchased with his blood, and is offering to us.
As for, why did God make us with free will? Because he wanted us to serve him by our own choice, not because we have no choice.
And who is eligible for salvation? The answer is in I Peter 3:9 – everyone – “He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” We all – every single one of us, every person who has ever lived and who will ever live – have that choice. If we make the right choice, we will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. If we don’t make a choice – well, that is impossible, because by not making the right choice, by default, we make the wrong choice.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
No comments allowed for the time being
Moderating comments did not discourage spammers and their ilk. I have turned off comments, and will leave them turned off for what I consider a reasonable length of time, after which I will turn them back on to see if I have discouraged the spammers. I just recently had my computer in the shop - Mike's, too - to clean up the malware. I have been given to understand that there has been a spate of malware showing up in computers in the past 6 months, according to the shop we had ours in. We think we may have a handle on it now, with various anti-malware programs and firewalls. What I'm thinking is that the spam is coming from the same places as the malware, and it may not go away any time soon. I think it is better to have the comments turned off than simply reject them, because I believe the spammers get paid regardless. I am sorry if I have inconvenienced anyone - I do like to have comments on my blogs, but I have had very few genuine comments recently - only 2 that have shown up since I started seeing spam, so it's probably no loss. I don't see a method of allowing selective posts to the point that I want to allow them - it's either risk spam, or allow none.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Notice Concerning Blog Comments
Due to a spate of spamming comments, I have been moderating comments lately. If a comment is obviously spam, it will be rejected; if a comment is so general it doesn't seem to apply to any of my blogs, it will be rejected. If I can't see clearly what blog entry it applies to, it will be rejected. There may be other reasons that I will feel that a specific comment will be rejected. I don't get many comments, but I am not so comment-hungry that I will allow just anything on my blog. Since I started moderating comments, I have seen only one that clearly applied to anything I wrote. So spammers, etc., don't bother - they will never see the light of day.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
How the Church Hinders the Kingdom of God - Part X
This is the last in a series of sermon notes based on a series of sermons by my pastor, Kevin Bockus.
X. Accepting the Unacceptable
In olden days a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking,
But now, everyone knows,
Anything Goes.
Matthew 13:24-25
Introduction:
The story was related about the two men who made an agreement with each other, that the one could kill and eat the other. As horrific as that incident was, many people defended the action because they were “two consenting adults.”
What was once unacceptable is now acceptable.
The church is not just quiet when it comes to these things, but has become comatose.
An anecdote was told about a couple in a church who seemed to be very devout Christians. When the pastor called on them, as could be expected, there was a Bible on the coffee table and a wall plaque attesting to their faith. They talk about thing that would be expected to be of interest to Christians. But as the pastor sits on the sofa, in a shelf just 3 feet from him are the family’s collection of movies. A quick glance shows him that most of them are what would be called “hard ‘R’” rated movies.
Let’s look at thinkgs the church needs to do in order to avoid accepting the unacceptable.
We need to wake up.
Matthew 13:24-25
We learn two things about the enemy:
• He’s calculating
• He’s conniving
Somebody needs to sound the alarm!
We need to speak up.
We cannot depend on the media to sound warnings for us.
Good things happen when God’s people speak up.
There was a boycott on Pepsi for donating money to a Gay & Lesbian organization. The boycott is no longer on. Why? Because Pepsi listened, and stopped supporting this organization.
Ephesians 4:15 – speaking the truth in love
We speak up because of love, not because we want to look “holier than thou.”
We need to shape up.
We must make sure that what we do matches our witness.
If you would feeling uncomfortable watching something on television, or a movie, if Jesus were sitting beside you watching, then you need to cease watching that type of thing.
II Timothy 2:16-23 – verse 21 “keeps himself pure”
Conclusion:
Don’t say,”I’m just one person; I can’t do anything.”
The most powerful alliance in the world is the Lord and His people.
Stop accepting the unacceptable!
X. Accepting the Unacceptable
In olden days a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking,
But now, everyone knows,
Anything Goes.
Matthew 13:24-25
Introduction:
The story was related about the two men who made an agreement with each other, that the one could kill and eat the other. As horrific as that incident was, many people defended the action because they were “two consenting adults.”
What was once unacceptable is now acceptable.
The church is not just quiet when it comes to these things, but has become comatose.
An anecdote was told about a couple in a church who seemed to be very devout Christians. When the pastor called on them, as could be expected, there was a Bible on the coffee table and a wall plaque attesting to their faith. They talk about thing that would be expected to be of interest to Christians. But as the pastor sits on the sofa, in a shelf just 3 feet from him are the family’s collection of movies. A quick glance shows him that most of them are what would be called “hard ‘R’” rated movies.
Let’s look at thinkgs the church needs to do in order to avoid accepting the unacceptable.
We need to wake up.
Matthew 13:24-25
We learn two things about the enemy:
• He’s calculating
• He’s conniving
Somebody needs to sound the alarm!
We need to speak up.
We cannot depend on the media to sound warnings for us.
Good things happen when God’s people speak up.
There was a boycott on Pepsi for donating money to a Gay & Lesbian organization. The boycott is no longer on. Why? Because Pepsi listened, and stopped supporting this organization.
Ephesians 4:15 – speaking the truth in love
We speak up because of love, not because we want to look “holier than thou.”
We need to shape up.
We must make sure that what we do matches our witness.
If you would feeling uncomfortable watching something on television, or a movie, if Jesus were sitting beside you watching, then you need to cease watching that type of thing.
II Timothy 2:16-23 – verse 21 “keeps himself pure”
Conclusion:
Don’t say,”I’m just one person; I can’t do anything.”
The most powerful alliance in the world is the Lord and His people.
Stop accepting the unacceptable!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
How the Church Hinders the Kingdom of God - Part IX
IX. Allowing Wolves to Live Among the Sheep
Titus 3:10-11
Introduction:
There are three truths we must realize if we are to protect ourselves against these wolves.
A story was told about a lone gunman entering a church and shooting up the place, killing several people, at last turning the gun on himself. Churches immediately started taking measures to protect their people physically. But what about those who are on the prowl to attack and destroy us spiritually?
Truth #1 – We’ve Been Warned
II Corinthians 11:14; I Peter 5:8
If we are going to be prepared, we must know who our enemy is.
• Fact #1 – Spiritual wolves are masters of deception; they disguise themselves as sheep and make themselves look like super Christians
• Fact #2 – Spiritual wolves are dangerous.
• Fact #3 – Spiritual wolves are evil – “Satan’s servants”
• Fact #4 – Spiritual wolves always reveal themselves. Don’t label a person a wolf on one incident; a wolf will have a consistent pattern.
• Fact #5 – Good people can morph into wolves. Some will distort the truth to gain a following
• Fact #6 – Spiritual wolves love power. They are “upwardly mobile” – false prophets, teachers and apostles.
Truth #2 – We’ve Been Hesitant
• We foolishly believe people will change without discipline.
• The intertwining of personal relationships.
• We’re afraid of collateral damage.
• We don’t know what to do.
Truth #3 – We’ve Been Instructed
Conclusion #1 – No one should get a free pass for bad behaviour.
Galatians 6:1 Do all in humility, gentleness and love. We need to keep the goal in view that we may restore the offender without becoming a wolf ourselves.
Conclusion #2 – Not all bad behaviour makes a person deserving of confrontation or removal from the church.
Don’t confront someone just because they get on your nerves, or disagree with you, etc.
Conclusion #3 – Biblical discipline is a process, not an act.
Titus 3:10-11 There must be a first warning, then time allowed to pass for them to correct the situation; then a second warning. When adequate time has passed after the second warning, they should be put out.
Conclusion #4 – Biblical discipline should be carried out with patience, but not to an extreme.
Warn once, twice – no more. More warnings, more time would tend to undermine authority.
Conclusion #5 – The removal of a person from the church's fellowship should be a last resort.
Conclusion #6 – There should be no guilty feelings on the part of the church leaders who exercise church discipline…and no animosity directed toward them by members of the congregation. They are following the process of scripture.
Conclusion:
Our goal is not to move them out, but to see them transformed into sheep through repentance.
Titus 3:10-11
Introduction:
There are three truths we must realize if we are to protect ourselves against these wolves.
A story was told about a lone gunman entering a church and shooting up the place, killing several people, at last turning the gun on himself. Churches immediately started taking measures to protect their people physically. But what about those who are on the prowl to attack and destroy us spiritually?
Truth #1 – We’ve Been Warned
II Corinthians 11:14; I Peter 5:8
If we are going to be prepared, we must know who our enemy is.
• Fact #1 – Spiritual wolves are masters of deception; they disguise themselves as sheep and make themselves look like super Christians
• Fact #2 – Spiritual wolves are dangerous.
• Fact #3 – Spiritual wolves are evil – “Satan’s servants”
• Fact #4 – Spiritual wolves always reveal themselves. Don’t label a person a wolf on one incident; a wolf will have a consistent pattern.
• Fact #5 – Good people can morph into wolves. Some will distort the truth to gain a following
• Fact #6 – Spiritual wolves love power. They are “upwardly mobile” – false prophets, teachers and apostles.
Truth #2 – We’ve Been Hesitant
• We foolishly believe people will change without discipline.
• The intertwining of personal relationships.
• We’re afraid of collateral damage.
• We don’t know what to do.
Truth #3 – We’ve Been Instructed
Conclusion #1 – No one should get a free pass for bad behaviour.
Galatians 6:1 Do all in humility, gentleness and love. We need to keep the goal in view that we may restore the offender without becoming a wolf ourselves.
Conclusion #2 – Not all bad behaviour makes a person deserving of confrontation or removal from the church.
Don’t confront someone just because they get on your nerves, or disagree with you, etc.
Conclusion #3 – Biblical discipline is a process, not an act.
Titus 3:10-11 There must be a first warning, then time allowed to pass for them to correct the situation; then a second warning. When adequate time has passed after the second warning, they should be put out.
Conclusion #4 – Biblical discipline should be carried out with patience, but not to an extreme.
Warn once, twice – no more. More warnings, more time would tend to undermine authority.
Conclusion #5 – The removal of a person from the church's fellowship should be a last resort.
Conclusion #6 – There should be no guilty feelings on the part of the church leaders who exercise church discipline…and no animosity directed toward them by members of the congregation. They are following the process of scripture.
Conclusion:
Our goal is not to move them out, but to see them transformed into sheep through repentance.
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