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| It has been dawning on me that a lot of people, even Christians, don't have a clear picture of what the Gospel is and how it fits into the Bible. (It became painfully obvious when one of my Sunday school kids I was talking to explained that he didn't even know what the Gospel was or what the basis of Christianity was). It has been my recent conviction in light of reading a lot more evangelical related material to help share and explain, so people not only have a clear grasp of what Christianity really is, but that they can also see and understand how to accept Christ as their savior if they desire to do so.
Some details/goals:
-It's an explanation of Christianity. I'm not defending anything (yet), but merely explaining/clarifying. Defending and arguing the truth of Christianity can come afterwords.
-My goal is to make it as short and concise as possible, but still cover the points necessary to share the Gospel.
-Keep it simple (hopefully).
-Allow anyone that reads it to be able to clearly understand the Gospel of Christ
-Answer any questions if they come up. Also hopefully answer common questions that many people would ask if presented the information
So we'll see where God goes with this. Stay tuned for part 1, coming up soon!
(To the few readers I have: I'll try to answer any questions as well, but they might be put off until a relevant point in the story.)
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| There. I said it. It's one of the most used claims by people of other beliefs. People accuse Christians of being intolerant, arrogant, and ignorant of the world around them. Why is that?
Tell me where in the Bible it says that Christians are supposed to be accepting of everyone. Where is it? No where. In fact, the Christian calling IS intolerant. Christ says, "I am the way, the truth and the light. NO ONE comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). There is only one way to get to heaven. There is only one way to have salvation and enter into a living relationship with Jesus Christ. ONE WAY. talk about intolerant. Here's one more: "For there is ONE God and ONE mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time." (1 Tim 2:5-6) There are many other verses that I could use to show that Christianity is intolerant of other beliefs, but I'll leave it at those two for now. The point is, Christianity proclaims that Christ and faith in Christ alone is the only way for man to receive salvation. Nothing else will do. No good deeds, no amount of money donated, not even baptism itself is enough for us to be accepted by God. There is nothing that we can do to earn our own salvation. Why not? What's wrong with being good people?
Regardless of how good we are, we are still sinners. You, me, everyone. "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23). Sin is the things that we do that go against God and are not pleasing to God (we can talk more about this later). Because we have sinned, we are guilty and need to pay the price for our sin. "For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23a). That's it folks. We sinned, we die. That's how its gonna be. God is a righteous and holy God (more about that later too, i guess) that cannot stand sin. But what did he do about it? Did he just let just drown in our sins and die? No! Looking at the end of that same verse: "but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23b). Gift is emphasized because there is nothing we can do to earn this gift. As said before, the only way is Christ. And I'll say it again - the ONLY way is Christ. Why so intolerant? Why can't anything else work? Because only Christ was a worthy sacrifice for our sins (more on this too!).
But what about the other verses that tell Christians to be accepting of others? Like the 2nd commandment "Love your neighbor as yourself"? What is love? Telling other people how they can enjoy eternal life is love. Telling other people that Christ is the only way to have this eternal life is love. Telling other people that if they refuse to accept Christ as their savior they will have to suffer eternal damnation in hell is love. Telling other people that you don't want them to have to suffer like that is love. You know what accepting other people's belief's are? You know what being "tolerant" of other people's belief's are? It's hate. It means that we don't care if you have a relationship with Jesus Christ or not. It means we don't care if you're going to go to enjoy eternal life in heaven. It means we don't care if you're going to suffer and rot in hell for all eternity. All that to just sit back and accept whatever beliefs you have. And that's why we refuse to sit back and let you do whatever you want. That's why we act like a broken speaker, sharing the same thing with you over and over again. That's why we sound and act intolerant to your beliefs and ideas.
Christ didn't tolerate everyone's beliefs. He condemned the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, drove the sellers from the temple, and left the people that sought him only for food. He preached that he was the way, and the only way, to reach God. So why are Christians intolerant? Because they care and they love, knowing what the consequences of living a tolerant life are.
Written in response to the numerous entries regarding Christian faith and the numerous objections that the world gives to them. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." (1 John 3:1) | | |
| My family and I went to the cemetery today. I always have mixed feelings about going to that place. Half of me is sad that my relatives are gone, but the other half rejoices knowing that they have gone to a better place.
I only partially remember when my grandfather passed away. He had Parkinson's disease and it got pretty bad near the end. I never really got to know him that well or see him often. It's now been almost 8 years (i think). Unfortunately, I was a stupid young kid at the time, not caring about other people or the things around me. Still, he's the first relative that I remember passing away. I remember going to the funeral home and the cemetery for the first time, understanding that he was gone but not really knowing how to feel about it. I mean I was sort of sad, but not sad like everyone around me was. Like I said, I was young and stupid.
Then we visited my aunt's grave. It's scary that a year and a half has already passed between now and that tragic accident. My aunt died in January 2008, when a truck crashed through an Arby's restaurant and pinned her to the wall. Suddenly, I was back in that same funeral home, traveling to the same cemetery, only now it was for a different person. And this time, my heart broke. It was so sad yet so amazing to hear how she had affected so many people at her church (my sister church) and how she had such a great heart to care not only for the people, but the building itself. I remember one testimony about how she was entrusted with the church keys not because she was asked, but because she just spent so much time at church, whether it was setting or cleaning up, or attending the fellowships and bible studies that were there during the week. I didn't even know she was so involved with the church. Yet, the saddest thing of all was to see my grandmother through that whole time. She was so sad and upset that she couldn't even sit in the seating area without breaking down. I know she cared and loved her family so much, just based on how much she cares for our family and even me.
It's amazing how time passes and life goes on. Still, I will miss both my grandfather and my aunt. But I have joy in Christ knowing that I will see them again. God has been good and he will continue to be.
"For I am pursuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us rom the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:38-39
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| Overall passage: 2 Timothy 2:14-26
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker whodoes not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. - 2 Tim 2:15
Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. - 2 Tim 2:22
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. -2 Tim 2:24-25
What does it mean to be a servant of the Lord?
1) not quarrel - in v23 it says "But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife." These arguments come up because we are prideful and refuse to clearly listen to what the other person has to say. If we are able to discern what is right in God's eyes, we would know what the right answer is and not be ashamed to say it (v15). We would not have foolish and ignorant disputes because what we are saying is not from us, but from the wisdom that God has revealed to us.
2) Gentle to all - it doesn't mean don't disagree with them, but to be careful in doing so. if we are rude in our response, not only could we harden the other person's heart, but we can also puff up ourselves in pride, telling ourselves we're better than the other person. This means not using condescending language or belittling the other person.
3) Able to teach - able to get God's Word across clearly? not completely sure if this has more meanings and the purpose of teaching: passing of Godly wisdom? rebuking? encouraging/building others up? could be one or all of these, since it's what a servant of God should do.
4) Patient - at least 2 aspects: 1) patience in waiting for God - to understand that God knows all things better than us and that His timing is perfect. complete trust in God, his timing, and his power. 2) patience in mankind - man is sinful. our hard hearts and sinful nature make us desire the things of this world, not seeking after what is best in life, the blessings that God has to offer.
5) Humbly correcting -the attitude behind this must be completely right. If it is anything other than humble, we find ourselves with a plank in our eye while reaching out for our neighbor's speck. And only humble correcting can lead to true repentance, because God must be the source behind humble correction. When we desire to correct the wrongs in our brother and sister's lives to turn their focus back to God and not to lift ourselves, God is being glorified instead of us.
lots more stuff in these few verses, but its late and there's church tomorrow.
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| Note: one or more or all of these facts might be false.
Once upon a time, CBS was known as Chinese "Boys" Study. The male population was plentiful, and there were few problems. They all loved each other and enjoyed fellowship together. Bible studies and praise times were plentiful. Girls were rare, but it wasn't something that concerned them.
As time went on, the female population grew and grew until it became almost equal with the male population. Regardless of the change, there weren't many problems. Guys and girls were able to fellowship together and enjoy each others company. They hung out with each other and desired to serve each other. Things seemed to going just fine.
However, a change began to occur with the girls. No one knows why or how it happened. While the guys were busy loving each other (too busy in some cases), the girls became more competitive and more violent. Suddenly everything was not so peaceful anymore. Guys began to get attacked by these violent girls. They were taught to be kind to girls and had no way to fight back. Seeing this to their advantage, the violent girls began training younger girls to follow in their path. Guys began to live in fear, afraid of getting punched and abused. Interaction between guys and girls decreased, with the girls associating only with the girls and the guys only hanging out with the guys. There have been rumors that because of the lack of interaction between the guys and girls, that girls have been attacking each other and having food fights with each other. Guys maintained peace among themselves and continued to love each other (sometimes too much).
Now, the males are in danger of extinction at CBS. Due to the number of necessary gatherings, the guys cannot avoid the girls any longer. The winter break has made them restless and they are bloodthirsty. How will they survive? Stay tuned this semester to find out... | | |
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