The Myth of Easter and Yeshua rising 36 hours after the Crucifixion~
Posted : 7 Apr, 2015 09:43 AM
"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 12:40
Jonah wasn't dead in the whale's belly, so why are we translating "heart of the earth" to mean that Jesus was in a tomb for three days? Just curious. I was under the impression that the 3 days in the heart of the earth started when Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, and Jesus allowed himself to be taken into captivity for the first time.
Matthew 26
"45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."
Luke 22
53When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
Betrayed into the hands of sinners, into the power of darkness, into the heart of the earth, into the clutches of the prince of the world, the prince of darkness, etc.
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
As Christians, most of all we need to remember that wisdom. I've heard conservatives spout some utterly hateful nonsense, and strip mercy from their viewpoints. I've heard liberals spout some utterly hateful nonsense, and strip reason from their viewpoints. The point is, we're not called to a political party. If we wanted to vote for purely Christian values, we would not be able to vote at all. We only get two choices after all, and to presume that one only votes for christian things and one does not is not realistic. On top of that, we have to remember that our government is not "christian", it was most definitely founded on christian principles, but those christian principles include letting people be free to make their choices, we don't get to impose specific religious beliefs on them.
Now, it's a complicated thing....living in the world, but not being of the world. If you live in a country, and you take the high road and say you won't vote at all, in my opinion, that's taking the pacifist route, abandoning the defense, and letting the ones you consider to be in the wrong to take control, therefore becoming partially responsible for letting them take control. So we must participate, or we're enabling wrong-doing by our inaction.
There are three basic principles to being a christian, humility, mercy, and justice. Those are all applicable to a secular lifestyle, they are not inherently religious. I wish we had a political party that stood for those principles, but I'm afraid that party died out a long time ago.
So I can see how a "christian" could be on the left, if they're thinking that we need to let people make their own choices, but personally, I can only vote conservative. I try to approach our government with wisdom, logic, and informed science, NOT abandoning religious principles, but having other additional good reasons for the things I support or oppose.
For instance, if someone tells me that a baby who feels pain that the mother doesn't feel is NOT a separate human life that deserves basic human rights, even when it can survive without the mother, I consider them terribly scientifically and philosophically ignorant, bordering on inhumane. I don't care what side of the aisle you're on, any "convenience" abortions after 4-5 months should be premeditated murder, I honestly don't even understand why it's an issue. I hope that most normal people would at least take the view that a baby who can survive outside the mother is a real human, and that all the noise in Washington is simply crazy special interest groups. That's my naive hope anyway. So for the sake of our secular government, free from religious oppression(that goes both ways btw), I would vote for a measure that allowed abortions up to 2, maybe 3 months max. My point is, it's possible to take a middle ground approach without becoming religious dictators, God doesn't want religious dictators. Our founding fathers didn't want religious dictators. If God was a religious dictator, we would all be dead. God wants ambassadors to live in a foreign world, our job has never been to demand that people follow our beliefs under threat of punishment.
Jesus took the middle ground. He opposed the religious wing of the government in his day, he showed mercy to people who were under the law, but encouraged them to stop breaking the law and showed them a better life.
"And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him."
4Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Romans 6
1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
James 2
11For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 12So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. 13For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
John 14
15If ye love me, keep my commandments.
1 John 2
1My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 3And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. 7Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
If we're to walk as Jesus walked, which commandments was Jesus allowed to ignore? If sin is the transgression of the law, yet Jesus was sinless, then Jesus kept all of God's commands. So if Jesus kept all the commands and did not sin, then what should we try to do? Of course, not to earn salvation, but because we're new creatures. How shall we that are supposed to be dead to sin continue to willingly transgress the laws of God?
Sabbath 12/20/14 Alfred Station SDB Pastor Ken sermon Taking the Light Into the World
Posted : 24 Dec, 2014 09:26 AM
"If you're saying that salvation requires continuing to follow, obey, and have fellowship with Jesus, then I agree completely. The Bible teaches all that."
Gracenotworks, the operative word there is "continuing". When we are saved by grace, if we do not follow Christ, there is no more sacrifice for sin.
Hebrews 10:26
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.
Probably just a misunderstanding, I don't think Homeschooler meant what you thought he did.
Unfortunately, we don't always have every detail. I believe that for every law in the OT, there was a sacrificial system that allowed for the forgiveness and repentance of sin. Since that is the case, I presume that this man not only was determined to ignore God's commands, but also not to seek forgiveness. If allowed to continue in rebellion, he would become a infectious carrier of a disease that would destroy the purity/protection that God was trying to build. I'm fully convinced that this man's death could have been avoided if he would have recognized his error and turned from it, but I don't think he did. It wasn't just about "picking up sticks". Sometimes a very small thing, like taking a bite of fruit, can have massive consequences. It was really about open rebellion against God, which is a very big thing that brings death to everything.
What do you think of Israel in the light of the Word
Posted : 19 Nov, 2014 06:36 AM
I think the bible says that Israel has transcended a specific people or nation, and now anyone who believes in Jesus is part of the vine of Israel. I do think the Jewish people have a special place in the heart of God though, perhaps not a "better" place, but historically speaking, the Israelites have spent quite a bit more time with God than anyone else.
Romans 11
I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.
I think Jesus was trying to teach Peter a lesson. Peter seemed to be pretty obsessed with trying to do things for Jesus to prove that he loved Him, he was jealous because He thought Jesus loved other disciples more, he coveted the highest place. Jesus didn't say "if you love me, walk on water" or "if you love me, slay my enemies" or "if you love me, be the greatest disciple". He said "if you love me, this is my commandment, that you love one another", I think Jesus was just trying to get that into Peter's think skull, and He was still trying to do that when Peter had the dream about the sheet filled with unclean animals. The end result was that Peter, that stubborn, arrogant, and hot-headed disciple, became a vital and stable part of the foundation for the church. He learned his lesson!
Awakened, I don't think that the Jews fit very well when compared to the description of the Anti-Christ in the bible. I also didn't see any biblical evidence comparing Jews to the Anti-christ on that site. Now, a way that the Jewish system could be included is if the Catholic Church gets her way. I don't know if anyone has noticed, but there is a strong push for unity among the world's religions by many people. Not unity in beliefs per se, but definitely unity in purpose. Now, that does not sound bad. We badly need real unity in the christian churches, our broken and discordant beliefs are the object of a lot of ridicule from the secular world and other religions. However, we're should never sacrifice the truth for "unity". Jesus came with a two-edged sword, for the explicit purpose to cause division. I'm pretty sure the name on that sword is "Truth".
