Favorite Bible Passage

The following is a responce to Brian McLaren's favorite Bible passage, the Sermon on the Mount (namely the pieces that agree with him).
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I am always weary of the chapter/verse break-ups in Scripture, as they are not God-ordained and in several occurences quite poorly placed. For example, see the breakups between Hebrews 4,5,6 and especially the breakup between Genesis 1,2. Certain verses seem like they can stand on their own, like John 3:16, but we have seen a cult grow out of that beautiful verse because it has been taken without context.

So it is difficult for me to choose a few verses or even a passage to call my favorite. When I think of one, such as the passage of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16), I realize that it needs the context of the rest Bible in order for me to exposit on it.

While Ephesians 2:8-9 are a succint summation of soteriology, without the accompanying chapter 2 and the entire letter to the Ephesians, it is hard to know if you can understand the intended meaning.

Paul beautifully gives a brief summation of the Gospel in the beginning of Galatians, but as Paul is wont to do, he backs up the beginning with the rest of the letter.

I could go on and on, Acts 12, Luke 18, Genesis 3, Genesis 1, Genesis 6, Job 40...insert also the other 1183 chapters of the Bible.

There is one passage that I feel is a beautiful command, it does not contain the full Gospel or strong basis for theology, but it is written to the saints and is one of the most powerful verses in scripture. It is found at the end of Chapter 2 in the 2nd letter to a Pastor named Timothy, Paul's last Epistle.

"And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."

This passage could consume the mind for days if not weeks if not months. The theological themes written into it are as deep or as shallow as you look. I will do my best to summarize it in a pithy article without losing too much.

The beginning is not particularly important to unbelievers, but lays out a lifetime of growth for the child of God. The most important phrase in this verse for unbelievers is "oppose themselves".

This is similar to when Christ asked Saul of Tarsus why he kicked against the prods, symbolizing Saul as a beast of burden prodded forward but being stubborn. Saul's Rabbinical teaching and his knowledge of God's Law should have driven him towards repentance and the Messiah, but his pride kept him opposing himself and his knowledge.

These Law's are still in place today, they were written in stone and are unchanging. Ask yourself if you kick against the prods,
-Have you ever told a lie? If so, then God sees you as a Liar.
-Have you ever taken something that didn't belong to you? If so, then God sees you as a thief.
-Have you ever taken God's name in vain? If so, then you are a blasphemer and God will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.
-Have you ever committed adultery? Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Whosoever looks with lust has committed adultery already in their heart."
-Have you ever looked with lust? God sees this as adultery of the heart. He is concerned with the intentions of the heart, not just the actions.
-Have you ever killed anyone? Similarly Jesus said that if you are angry at someone, you are in danger of just as much judgment as if you had murdered them.

These are just five of the 10 Immutable Commandments. If you have broken them then the Bible says that your punishment is Hell. To quote one verse, Revelation 21:8 relegates lawbreakers to the fire, ending in "all liars will have their place in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone."

It is the God's servants' duty to attempt to show you the truth of this impending judgment; that there is none good but God, that whoever says they have no sin is a liar, and does not have the Truth abiding in them.

The Bible is adamant that if you have not been purchased into the family of God, then you are a child of the devil, a child of wrath. A popular colloquialism is "I would sell my soul to the devil for..." But this verse in 2nd Timothy informs us that our soul is not ours to sell, that it has been freely given to the devil through transgression. Not only so, but in our unbelief and acquiescing from the truth, we do the will of the devil, which is to keep souls from being redeemed to God.

The beauty of this passage lays in the middle. "That God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth." There is a way to life, even after all of the damage we have done to God's creation and kingdom with our transgressions and pride.

Paul tells us that there is a repentance that leads to life. If you'll approach God with sorrow for transgressing His laws, confess every sin you can remember, and cry out to Him for mercy, He will forgive you, because He can, because He will lead you to a knowledge of the Truth.

The Truth being that God became manifest in the flesh, as the man Jesus Christ, He was born of a virgin and lived a perfect, sinless life. He was tempted but He didn't succumb, He was beaten but He didn't break. He offered Himself up on a false charge to be the propitiation for our sins. He hadn't earned a single lash of the whip, but took your punishment upon Himself. He was hung on a cross outside of Jerusalem, a punishment so heinous that it was soon outlawed. Upon that cross He suffered not only earthly pain, but the pain of being abandoned by His Father in Heaven. His death paid the debt that our sins had amassed.

Pray to God that He grant you repentance leading to the knowledge that in Christ's death you are absolved, you are redeemed, you are forgiven.

And it will be so.

Save the Babies

I really got mad at a pro-death article tonight, so I'm venting and hoping that somehow this blog serves to save at least one life. This is the greatest apologetic I've ever heard against abortion...and I don't know who to attribute it to, whoever wrote it probably won't mind if you and I use it:

Women have rights. You will rarely find someone to disagree with you, and people that support abortion often flee to the rights of women. These are the very same rights as men. As Mr. Jefferson put it so well, the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of property and happiness.

But the question is, when do those rights come to fruition? I believe it is when a woman becomes a woman.

I believe a woman becomes a woman and earns all of the same rights as a man at the age of 18.

No, I'm kidding. Actually it's younger, 13.

You probably still don't agree; I am still being coy.

She has the same rights as a man the moment she becomes a woman.

When is that? Conception; two X chromosomes get together and she earns the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of property and happiness.

If you want to deprive this precious little girl of any of her rights, well then thats between you and God.


When I heard that the first time, I was amazed at how clear and persuasive this argument is. People that really hate God will still be able to find a way around it, but it is aimed at the tenderhearted.

But I can't leave it at that. If you have had an abortion, God will forgive you, Jesus has washed our entire past, and God the Comforter will grant you peace. In almost all occasions, sanctification is the greatest news, but not necessarily so in this case, if you'll read 2 Samuel 12:16-24, we have hope that this wonderful baby will be awaiting your arrival in Heaven. As David put it, "I shall go to him," and you will be reunited, but even more beautiful, Jesus called the little ones, "angels that always see the face of my Father in Heaven." (Matt 18:10)

Thank you for reading.

The Purpose of this Blog

When my friend and brother in Christ, David Wheaton, suggested I start a blog, my first reaction was...what would I write in it? At the time I was (still am) internet preaching at the Washington Post, leeching off of their readership of unregenerate wrong(left)-wingers in hopes that one or all of them come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

It was during one of these preaching events that I realized I needed an archive to fall back on for common questions that came up. Such as the sinfulness of sin, the religion of evolution, the Garden of Eden, works righteousness, total depravity, and lately I've been using this blog to record various open-air and rough-drafts of church sermons.

I am not very interesting, and I have no agenda seperate than saving souls. I wish this blog could be more loving, but it is not geared towards my brethren (brothers and sisters) in Christianity, but rather towards the unregenerate. As some of my church-family have begun to read this blog, as well as believing friends and those from Adventures in Christianity (adventuresinchristianity.com), I've been debating turning this blog more towards believers...but I have scrapped this idea because while edification of the saints is important, this is an outreach blog and not for edification. This is my personality, while I love to fellowship as well as comforting believers, my calling is seeking and saving the lost, the Lazarus' of the world (See Luke 16).

Even still, I don't want to abandon my Sanctified readers, so in the upcoming weeks I am going to write a few entries on sharing your faith. Sharing your faith is not a gift, there is no such thing as the gift of evangelism, and if there were, I wouldn't have it. Rather there is a COMMAND for evangelism, and God has given us the secret weapon, called the conscience, and most Christians don't know how to use it.

It is my hope that I can share the operating parameters of this weapon and still maintain an evangelon blog.

Thanks for reading, I never expected to have a recurring readership, I expected heathens either seeking living water or trampling pearls.

Pop Quiz, Hotshot

1. I have kept the Lord 1st in my heart.

True/False

2. I have not worshipped money, nature, or idols.

True/False

3. I have never used the Lord's name in vain.

True/False

4. I have always honored the Sabbath Day.

True/False

5. I listen to my parents without fail.

True/False

6. I have never felt hatred in my heart.

True/False

7. I have only pure thoughts about beautiful people.

True/False

8. I have never stolen anything, even music.

True/False

9. I am truthful in every statement I make.

True/False

10. I have never craved the possessions of others.

True/False

Count the "True" statements, each "True" gets 1 point;
Print your points below:

Score __/10

Now convert your score to a percentage:
_____%

100% is a Pass
90% or less is a Fail

If you failed, it won't keep you from graduating to the next grade, or from earning your degree; this is the acceptance exam for Heaven, a failing grade is your condemnation to Hell. These questions are based on the 10 Commandments, the foundation of God’s judgment of righteousness.

Your fate is written in the Bible when it says, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

Extra Credit Question

11. God sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for my sins, so that I might be forgiven. What is asked of me to receive this forgiveness is to Repent of (turn from) my sins, and Trust in Jesus Christ to wash my sins away and deliver me into Heaven.

True

Repent and Trust, and the following verse will be true for you:
"but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
-1 Corinthians 6:11

Answers in Genesis is Winning

In the beginning was the Word, then pseudoscientists told us it couldn't be trusted and introduced an unscientific hypothesis which is nothing more than religion, and full of holes (holy?).

In 1859 Charles Darwin introduced his hypothesis through the work, "The Origin of Species", as a christianist minister, Darwin knew the ramifications of kicking Genesis in the leg...the rest would topple. Christianity is surrounded by trinitarian assemblies, we have a Triune God, we have a body, mind(soul), and spirit, and we have three distinct ages in History; preflood, postflood/pre-Christ, and post-Christ. Christianity stands on Creation, Conscience, and Grace. This is an extremely stable foundation, but if one is removed, the others cannot support the load. Humanists are sawing through the conscience leg now, but at current our big problem is that Creation has been compromised.

In 1960, a century after the Origin of Species, Creationists struck back with the first of many books on Creation. Evolution had a 101 year head start, but we have the Truth on our side.

Ken Ham, originally an Australian, began his ministry in 1970. This ministry today is called Answers in Genesis and they recently opened their Creation Museum just outside of Cincinnati. The grand opening was protested by extremely hateful and angry agnostics claiming to be atheists, but despite that, their museum has proved to be a hit.

They recently posted a press release announcing they had crossed the 100,000 visitor mark in seven weeks. Between 1800-2200 people visit daily, and are treated to a gorgeous display of dinosaurs, the Garden of Eden, and hundreds of scientific facts supporting the Creation Theory and destroying the evolution hypothesis.

Of my limited readership, all three or four of you, if you are active duty military then entrance into the museum is free, but it is reasonably priced otherwise.

Please pray for Ken and his wife Mally, and the entire team at Answers in Genesis. God has blessed their ministry abundantly, but as such they are faced with some of the harshest persecution in the free world. When the religion of evolution is only a memory, AiG will be credited as being a decisive force in fixing the Creation leg that Darwin broke; not just fixing it, but making it infinitely stronger.

In the words of AiG, Prepare to Believe.

The Offense of the Cross

There is a great deal of unbiblical preaching for Christians to share the Gospel in love, peace, and humility, and to not be offensive. ‘We don’t need to offend someone or tell them they’re going to Hell, just tell them 'God loves YOU, Jesus died for YOU.'’ Oh!!! It makes me so mad! I don’t read my Bible as often as a I should, but I don’t fault people for not reading theirs as often as I read mine, as long as they're reading it. But I would think that if my spouse wrote me 66 letters bearing soul, mind, body, and intentions, I would at least glance at them to see what they say. My favorite Bible Verse(not because it’s all lovey-dovey, but because it contains the whole counsel of God) at the top of this page instructs us to share the Gospel in love, peace, and humility, but it says exactly the opposite of not being offensive.

When you preach the truth to the unregenerate, you are preaching directly in opposition to their nature, a nature which they’ve grown to love and one which defines them; telling them they’re wrong is going to be offensive. If that wasn’t bad enough, verse 26 tells us we’re arguing with agents of satan himself.

Paul never intended for us to be inoffensive, another of my favorite verses says "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles." (1 Cor 1:22-23)

Earlier in his ministry he called preaching, "The offense of the cross." (Gal 5:11)

The Cross is offensive, it attacks your self-righteousness, sets your conscience ablaze, and demands that you repent or perish.

In order to rescue your soul from the doom of Hell, your God had to subject Himself to the broken and diseased world of earth, where He lived a perfect example of faith, obedience, righteousness, and love; but His pointing out of faults was so offensive to the Pharisees that they KILLED Him for it.

God takes sin very seriously, He counts lust as adultery (Matt 5:28), hatred as murder (1 John 3:15), lying lips are an abomination (Prov 12:22), and all of these will be thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev 21:8)

Our sin was upon Christ at the Cross, He bore our burden in love, He had no burden of His own to carry and carried ours solely so we could be rectified and God could be glorified. By me preaching to you that Christ carried your sin to the Cross, then that implies that you have sin, and not only so, but a great deal of it. Christ paid for your sin in His own life's blood, so that where sin increases, grace abounds all the more.

Repent of your sins, cease your transgressions, apologize to God for wrongdoing, and turn towards righteousness, and then place your full trust in the atoning work of Christ on the Cross. If you do these things, God will forgive you, your sinful heart will be replaced with a new heart, and you will be reborn into the family of God. Not because you are a good person, but because you are a bad person whose sins have already been to the Cross, and you have been forgiven by a good God.

The Gospel According to Mohammed

Islam means “Submission to God”, as God has told us, “The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

So the submissive will indeed go to Heaven, as long as they submit to God’s will.

One verse that jumps instantly to mind is, “This is the will of God: Your sanctification,” God’s will includes demonstrating His righteousness, having upright followers, and that justice be done; but the most important from our earthly standpoint is that wrongdoers are rectified to Him, “he commands all men everywhere to repent."

Islam is in majority alignment with the Biblical understanding of Heaven and Hell; I think this is illustrated nicely in Surah 43 (Adornments), verses 70-77. Heaven is nice, and Hell is hot and eternal.

Where Christianity and Islam divide is how to get to Heaven; but how to get to Hell is the same in both religions.

Surah 43:74 tells us that “Sinners will be in the punishment of Hell, to dwell there forever.”

Surah 83 speaks of our conscience, the Sijjin, a register fully inscribed that will be open on the Day of Judgment; woe to the sinner, his conscience records his wrongdoings.

God knows the secret thought life, and has appointed a Judgment Day for all mankind. The Koran accepts Moses as a prophet and the Law of the 10 Commandments which were given to him. “God gave Moses the Scripture and the Criteria between right and wrong.” – Al-Baqara 2:53

If all sinners will have their punishment in Hell, it’s in our best interest to find out if we’re sinners.

Answer these questions truthfully and you’ll know:

Have you ever told a lie? What does that make you?
If I rape one girl, I’m a rapist, if I murder one person, I’m a murderer. A single lie makes me a liar. The Koran says to, “Invoke the curse of God on those who lie!” – Al-Imran 3:61
The Bible promises that all liars will have their place in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.

Have you ever stolen anything? What does that make you?
Both the Koran and Bible have very strict punishments for thieves. Maida 5:38 tells us, “As to the thief, cut off his or her hand(s).”

Have you always kept the Sabbath?
The Koran demands that you remember God on Friday, leaving off business and travel. – Assembly 62:9
Whosoever does any work on the Sabbath, he will surely be put to death. This is in order to make sure you worship the Creator above creation.

Have you ever worshipped money, power, science, or possessions above God?
“Let not your riches or your children divert you from the remembrance of God. If any act thus, the loss is their own.” – Hypocrites 63:9
This you know, no idolater will see the kingdom of God.

Have you committed adultery?
The prophet Jesus said, “Whosoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her in his heart.”
The Koran is clear, “Do not come near to adultery: for it is a shameful deed and an evil, opening the road to other evils.” – Israelites 17:32
Clearly “coming near to adultery” is the same as Jesus taught, that a lust-filled glance is seen by God as shameful. Take note that the word for adultery in Arabic is sometimes translated as “Fornication”, sex outside of marriage.

Have you ever used the name of God in Vain?
“Those before them also devised many a blasphemy, but God took their structures from their foundations, and the wrath befell them without them perceiving from whence it came.” – Bee 16:26
God will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

If you’re like me, you’ve broken every one of these, and these are only six of the 10 Commandments. The Bible says that we have stored up wrath for ourselves on the Day of Judgment. The Koran is nearly identical, “On the day when heat will be produced out of the fire of Hell, and it will brand your forehead, your flanks, and your back, 'This is the treasure which you stored for yourselves: you then taste the treasure you amassed!'" – Immunity 9:35

There is a minor difference in the Hell of the Bible and the Hell of the Koran. In the Bible it says that we will beg for a drop of water, but none will come. The Koran says that we will have an overabundance of water, albeit it will be superheated past boiling and we will be forced to drink it, and it will wreak havoc on our insides. Either way, Hell is not somewhere I want to go, nor do I want you to go there.

There is a way to be saved from this punishment we have earned, it is the Injeel which according to the Koran was given to the prophet Jesus. Injeel means, “Good News”, and avoiding such a terrible place as Hell is definitely good news.

Some think that the good news is that we can work our way out of Hell. Both the Koran and the Bible refer to God as a just judge, so lets see how an earthly judge might relate. Imagine you stand before a judge, there are six clear evidences of your guilt, and the judge puts on you a fine that you cannot possibly pay. You offer the judge your good works, you’ve given to charity, you pray unceasingly, you are nice to people, you ask for forgiveness daily, you help little old ladies across the street, and to top it all off, you washed the judges car on the way in to court. The judge tells you, you should do good things, but you've broken the law; he cannot let you go, because despite all of the good you’ve done, justice is due. You cry out in repentance and sorrow, and the judge tells you it’s good that you’re sorry, but there is a fine to be paid, and if you cannot pay it, you will be thrown into prison.

This is the earthly judge, how much more Holy and Just is the Judge of the Universe? Payment is due for your transgression, and the Bible and the Koran clearly state that the fine is the eternal fire of Hell.

But here is the good news, God gave us the gift of a holy son (Maryam 19:19), born of the virgin Maryam, this son’s name was Jesus, and because he was holy, He lived a perfect unblemished life, he was tempted but didn’t sin; in the writing of Moses about the Passover Lamb, the lamb must be without blemish, a male, taken from amongst its brethren (Exodus 12:5). Another name for Jesus is the Lamb of God (Revelation 5:12). Jesus was offered as the sinless sacrifice to take away the sins of the world (Johannes 1:29). Jesus was hung on the cross outside of Jerusalem on Calvary hill, a hill not two miles from where Ibrahim offered his son as a sacrifice 1700 years prior. Jesus died in our stead, he paid our fine in his own life’s blood. The wrath of God was poured out upon him and it pleased God to crush him. Jesus faced the wrath of God so we wouldn’t have to; in an infinite showing of love God sacrificed Jesus so that we can be forgiven, he was the propitiation for our sins.

Jesus said that, "Blessed are the pure at heart, for they shall see God (Mathias 5:8)." The Koran says that our sins are a stain on the heart, (Al-Mutaffifin 83:14); Maryam 19:60 says that if you’ll repent and believe, then you will see Heaven. Mohammed was quoting the prophet Jesus who said, "Repent and believe the Gospel, for the Kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15), in other words, repent and believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the atonement for your sins. Once you have done this, your sins will be forgiven, your stained heart will be replaced with a new heart (Ezekiel 11:19), and you will be born again into the family of God.

If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Awakening those Dead in their Transgression

Turn to Acts Chapter 12, It’s the year 44 AD, just before Passover, lets go to Herod’s prison, Herod the king has stretched out his hands against the church and sees that the unrepentant Jews were pleased with the persecution of the Christians. Herod’s men apprehend Peter and throw him into prison, heavily guarded with two guards chained to him.

Now Peter has a pretty good memory, especially since 11 years prior in his final conversation with Christ, Peter was promised that he would be a martyr, but not until old age; and as he sat in Herod’s prison, Peter was confident he would see another day.

This is faith; because while it’s been a while since the great persecution by Saul of Tarsus, who had Stephen stoned to death, just days prior James the Lesser was killed by the sword by the same men that now held Peter.

I especially like the book of Acts because before I became a Christian, I was a great lover of world history; I abhor soap-opera’s, and I try to avoid unnecessary drama in my own life, but when it comes to gossip in history, for some reason I can’t get enough. James dying by the sword reminds me of another person who died by the sword which is pertinent to this sermon.

In the early 1500’s a young English woman by the name of Anne Boleyn was living one of histories greatest soap-opera’s, her first marriage arrangement fell through as she, at the age of 15, cheated on her fiancé; this affair was quickly stopped, not by her fiancé, but by the King of England, Henry VIII, who saw not only a pretty young woman, but a political opportunity in wedding a person with ties to French nobility. But Henry was married already; so whilst he sought an annulment with Catherine, Anne had another affair, this time with a married poet. During this time we are fairly certain that Anne avoided Henry’s sexual advances, perhaps maybe because she saw the merits in Reformed Christianity, but based on her actions over the next eight years, it is hard to say she was a Christian. In a great battle with the Pope, Henry finally was able to divorce Catherine on a few technicalities, quite convenient because Anne became pregnant shortly before the divorce, and Henry married Anne, the two marriages overlapped by three months. Following the marriage of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, Anne gave birth to Elizabeth I, the future Queen of England. As the years passed, desperate for a male heir, Henry ceased to ignore Anne’s incessant infidelity; and six men were brought to trial, including Anne’s own brother, on charges of adultery and incest. One man was released, while the other five where given merciful executions via beheading under the axe.

Anne was found guilty as well, and with one of her last rights as Queen, requested an expert swordsman from France conduct the beheading. Kneeling over the execution block Anne was heard to say, “Oh Lord have mercy on my soul, to God I commend my soul, to Christ I commend my soul, Lord Jesus receive my soul.” And the swordsman unsheathed his sword, Anne had commented days earlier that the executioner would have it easy, saying, “I have a little neck.” The executioner, in order to prevent Anne anticipating the blow, asked “Now where is my sword?” as the execution commenced; Anne was correct in her little neck statement, it only took one stroke and it was over.

I tell this story in order to lead into Peter in captivity; ever faithful in Christ that he would see old age, verse six tells us on the very night Peter was taken, he was sound asleep, not fearing Herod or his men. Since the moment Peter was arrested, prayer began, and went unceasing, and God sent an angel who visited Peter in prison. The angel shined light on Peter but we see that Peter was so fast asleep that it didn’t awaken him, and the angel had to hit Peter to wake him up. As Peter became awake and saw the light and the angel, his chains fell off, the doors of the prison were opened, and following the angel, Peter was made free.

The stories of Peter and Anne are related in being unaware of captivity to the law; but I’m going to use each to shine some light on the Gospel. Peter was fast asleep in his captivity, just as Paul tells us in Ephesians that we were once dead in our transgressions, but are now made alive in Christ. Before the light could be seen by Peter, the angel had to smite him to wake him up; this is symbolic of telling the sinner about the Law so that they can see the light.

I find it very unlikely that anyone ever opened up the 10 Commandments to Anne Boleyn and preached to her about #7, Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery; nor showed her the exceeding sinfulness of infidelity. Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount that “Whosoever looks upon someone to lust after them has committed adultery already with them in their heart.” Or showed her in Revelation where it says that the sexually immoral will have their place in the lake of fire, or in First Corinthians where fornicators are cut off from the inheritance of Christ and of God. No one related to her how wrathful and jealous God became when Israel played the Harlot. It’s a good thing Anne didn’t have access to the internet, lest she multiply her whoredom even farther. In Anne’s final speech she told her subjects that under the [English] law she was guilty and condemned to die, that if any should meddle in her affairs afterwards they should always think the best of her. This speech proved that no-one had ever told her that Godly sorrow leads to repentance, nor that God resists the proud, and especially that there is none good but God.

Despite all of these transgressions against a single commandment, Anne knew that where sin increased, grace abounds all the more, and that Jesus Christ became the propitiation for her sins on the Cross at Calvary, she called out to the Father and the Son to receive her spirit, but her unrepentant heart stood between her and forgiveness; she knew she had transgressed the worldly law, and her horizontal sorrow can be an example to us when Paul said there is a godly repentance the leads to life and a worldly grief which leads to death. Having studied Anne Boleyn’s departing prayers, I hope and pray that she was convicted of her sin against God while kneeling on the execution block, that she awoke to recognize the light that is the Gospel and was set free from her sin; but I’ll have to wait until I get to Heaven before I know her final fate.

Today we are at the hands of an executioner, the universal statistic is that 10 out of 10 die, James reminds us that life is but a vapor which exists for a moment then vanishes, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, we could hear, “Now where is my sword?” at any moment. God could grow weary of our harlotry and unfaithfulness at any moment; make sure you’re in good standing with Him, don’t step out of this world without Christ, flee to God in godly sorrow, and repent of your sins against Him; our Lord Jesus Christ has paid your fine on the Cross, put your trust in Him to receive your soul.

God will hear you and you will be forgiven; you will be set free just as Peter was from Herod's prison.

The Doctrine of Slavery

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. – 1 John 2:18

A favorite scapegoat of the unbeliever is, “Why does the Bible condone slavery?!” followed by, “It says to give your slave a day off!”

I have prayed long and hard on this doctrine, knowing that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, inspired, timeless word of God. The best I got from apologetics was that the slavery the Bible spoke of wasn’t the slavery of the 18th and 19th centuries. I don’t like squishy theology, and that was a squishy answer. The slavery of the 18th and 19th centuries may be argued to be crueler than Biblical slavery, but it undeniably fulfills the definition of slavery. Slavery is defined as a person being the property of another; contained within the term is hard undesirable work for no pay, garnishing the minimum necessities for life. I’m reminded of a quote describing slave-ownership by a particularly raunchy television show, “Him? He’s just a young foreigner who works for us in exchange for room and board.”

A favorite brainwashing technique of the Devil is that of this-then-that; in other words, if this is true, that is true. We have been massaged and manipulated by the despicable slavery accurately portrayed in the movie/book “Roots”, in which one ethnic group is oppressed and treated horrendously. The fallacy leads us to believe that if what happened to Kunta Kinte is bad(and it was), then all slavery is bad.

I assure you this is none more than a fallacy, and I will give you the example to prove it. The Bible says that we don’t need to sell our soul to the Devil, but rather we have lost our eternal security through transgression, freely given our soul away, that we are bound in the captivity of the Devil (2 Tim 2:26). We have become the property of the Devil through transgression of God’s laws. There are those Christians, including me, who claim to be Born Again, Blood Bought, Children of God.

If we were the captives of the Devil, and a price was due for our salvation, that price being an atoning death, then the following Bible verses show us how Christians have been purchased:

“…the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” – Acts 20:28
“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” – 1 Corinthians 7:23

In the theology realm, we are either under the ownership of the Devil, or the ownership of Christ, there is no middle-ground, and hence in philosophy, we should see the same thing.

Gone is the day when there was an actual deed of ownership written for our person. We live in the false security that we are our own keeper, that we are free to roam, careless of the watchful eye of our owners, and welcome to make any choice we feel compelled to make.

The slave-owner has been replaced by the Bank, by the Employer, and by the Bill-Collector. We have sold ourselves into slavery through debt and the pursuit of property. One difference today is that we are separated from our masters; the plantation owner is content now to let us make him money from afar; I am in the employ of Wachovia, having promised for a sum of money for room, to pay them 200% the original loan value over the next 30-years. What has changed is the transferability of my ownership; I could easily tomorrow arrange to be sold to Chase Manhattan or to Bank of America or to Wells Fargo; but my station would not change; I would still be indebted and working for a money-hungry indifferent master.

Our employment is another master, demanding the majority of our time for its purposes; and just as the Bible tells to give slaves time off, so must our employer give time off in order to maintain output efficiency and be compliant with labor laws.

We like to think we are free, but in the infamous words of a beautiful song, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” To be free of our debtors, free from our employers is to own nothing and have nothing.

Just as in the age of the Apostles, slavery is condoned in the Bible because slavery guarantees employment, productivity, room, and board. Once we realize that while we are not slaves to the tobacco plantations of South Carolina, we are owned by Capitalism; the laws and recommendations made in the Bible for slave treatment are as timeless and relevant today as they have ever been; no jot or tittle shall fall away from the law till this Heaven and Earth have passed.

This is a tremendous blow to the apologetics whom credit the great Christian William Wilberforce with abolishing slavery in England, and who give credit to Abraham Lincoln for the Emancipation Proclamation. These men should be credited for their attempts to show that all men are created equal, not that they abolished one form of slavery in order to usher in a new type.

Therefore avoid these false gospels of freedom for all men, recognize the antichristian doctrines of antislavery, and hold fast to your owner, God Almighty, and seek that His payment on Calvary might purchase a few more souls before the end.

In the Garden of Eden

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and the fish and the foul and all the animals and man, and placed man in the Garden. And it was good. When God says something is good, He means it is perfect.

Then along came Eve, who was not the first to sin (Lucifer was the first), but she was the first to sin on Earth. She committed many sins that day along with Adam.

First, she doubted God's word, she did not believe, "I will surely die", she broke the most important Commandment which says to Love God with all your heart mind and soul. Then she sought to be a god by eating the fruit, which meant she coveted power. Then she ate of the forbidden tree, which broke the commandment, "Don't eat from that tree".

Then Adam and Eve hid their shame through their own handiwork, they sewed itchy fig leaves together and covered themselves and hid from God. This created a god to suit themselves, they knew God was sovereign and omniscient, but they thought they could hide from Him, it was a great insult. Then God asked (with great sarcasm in His voice), Where are you? And they said they were afraid because they were naked. This was a lie, they were afraid because they had transgressed God's command. Finally, God asked Adam if he had eaten of the tree, and Adam blamed Eve. In attempting to justify himself, Adam insulted (blasphemed) God's sovereignty.

So in the Garden, which heresofar had been "good" (aka perfect), Adam and Eve broke the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 9th, and 10th commandment.

God KILLED an animal (probably a lamb or sheep) and covered Adam and Eve's shame. This death marked the fall from perfection, and death has run rampant on earth ever since. We live in a fallen creation, all because of sin.

So if you have any sin, any at all, then you will not be allowed into Heaven, because the wages of sin is death. Heaven will be Paradise, but if sin is allowed to enter, then Heaven will be as fallen as Earth, and it won’t be Heaven or Paradise.

There are three words that describe our fate.

Justice – When we get what we deserve. Sin should result in instant death, but God is long-suffering and merciful. I deserve Hell, you deserve Hell, we all deserve Hell. God will be glorified in this as perfectly just judgment.
Mercy – When we don’t get what we deserve. Currently we are living on Earth still wearing our itchy fig leaf covering. God is glorified in His longsuffering.
Grace – When we get what we don’t deserve. Jesus lived a perfect life and faced a sinners judgment so that we can live a sinners life and face a righteous judgment. All because He loves us and He will get all the glory for being a kind and benevolent God.

So I beg of you, shed your façade of fig leaf and put on the Lamb, lest justice befall you.