Posted on 01/27/2008 7:56:14 PM PST by Manfred the Wonder Dawg
January 25, 2008
ESV Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
In recent days I have spent time in Lima and Sullana Peru and Mexico City and I have discovered that people by nature are the same. Man has a heart that is inclined to selfishness and idolatry. Sin abounds in the remotest parts of the land because the heart is desperately wicked. Thousands bow before statues of Mary and pray to her hoping for answers. I have seen these people stare hopelessly at Mary icons, Jesus icons, and a host of dead saints who will do nothing for them. I have talked with people who pray to the pope and say that they love him. I talked with one lady who said that she knew that Jesus was the Savior, but she loved the pope. Thousands bow before Santa Muerte (holy death angel) in hopes that she will do whatever they ask her. I have seen people bring money, burning cigarettes, beer, whiskey, chocolate, plants, and flowers to Santa Muerte in hopes of her answers. I have seen these people bowing on their knees on the concrete in the middle of public places to worship their idol. Millions of people come into the Basilica in Mexico City and pay their money, confess their sins, and stare hopelessly at relics in hope that their sins will be pardoned. In America countless thousands are chained to baseball games, football games, material possessions, and whatever else their heart of idols can produce to worship.
My heart has broken in these last weeks because the God of heaven is not honored as he ought to be honored. People worship the things that are created rather than worshiping the Creator. God has been gracious to all mankind and yet mankind has hardened their hearts against a loving God. God brings the rain on the just and unjust. God brings the beautiful sunrises and sunsets upon the just and unjust. God gives good gifts unto all and above all things he has given his Son that those who would believe in him would be saved. However, man has taken the good things of God and perverted them unto idols and turned their attention away from God. I get a feel for Jesus as he overlooked Jerusalem or Paul as he beseeched for God to save Israel. When you accept the reality of the truth of the glory of God is breaks your heart that people would turn away from the great and awesome God of heaven to serve lesser things. Moses was outraged by the golden calf, the prophets passionately preached against idolatry, Jesus was angered that the temple was changed in an idolatrous business, and Paul preached to the idolaters of Mars Hill by telling them of the unknown God.
I arrived back at home wondering how I should respond to all the idolatry that I have beheld in these last three weeks. I wondered how our church here in the states should respond to all of the idolatry in the world. What are the options? First, I suppose we could sit around and hope that people chose to get their life together and stop being idolaters. However, I do not know how that could ever happen apart from them hearing the truth. Second, I suppose we could spend a lifetime studying cultural issues and customs in hope that we could somehow learn to relate to the people of other countries. However, the bible is quite clear that all men are the same. Men are dead in sin, shaped in iniquity, and by nature are the enemies of God. Thirdly, we could pay other people or other agencies to go and do a work for us while we remain comfortably in the states. However, there is no way to insure that there will be doctrinal accuracy or integrity. If we only pay other people to take the gospel we will miss out on all of the benefits of being obedient to the mission of God. Lastly, we could seek where God would have us to do a lasting work and then invest our lives there for the glory of God. The gospel has the power to raise the dead in any culture and we must be willing to take the gospel wherever God would have us take it. It is for sure that our church cannot go to every country and reach every people group, so we must determine where God would have us work and seek to be obedient wherever that is.
It seems that some doors are opening in the Spanish speaking countries below us and perhaps God is beginning to reveal where we are to work. There are some options for work to be partnered with in Peru and there could be a couple of options in Mexico. The need is greater than I can express upon this paper for a biblical gospel to be proclaimed in Peru and Mexico. Oh, that God would glorify his great name in Peru and Mexico by using a small little church in a town that does not exist to proclaim his great gospel amongst a people who desperately need the truth.
I give thanks to the LORD for allowing me the privilege of going to these countries and broadening my horizons. The things that I have seen will be forever engraved upon my heart. I will long remember the pastors that I spent time with in Peru and I will never forget Adolfo who translated for me in Mexico. I will relish the time that I spent with Paul Washer and the others. When I think of church I will forever remember being on top of that mountain in Sullana at that church which had no electricity and no roof. I am convinced that heaven was looking down on that little church on top of that mountain and very few people on earth even know that it exist. Oh, God I pray that the things of this world will continue to grow dim and that God’s people will be caught up in his glorious presence.
Because of the truth: Pastor: J. Randall Easter II Timothy 2:19 "Our God is in heaven and does whatever He pleases."(Ps. 115:3) "He predestined us according to the good pleasure of His will."(Eph. 1:5) Those who have been saved have been saved for His glory and they are being made holy for this is the will of God. Are you being made holy? Spurgeon says, "If your religion does not make you holy it will damn you to hell."
Are ya gonna buy me a big box of candy for Valentine’s Day? I like russel stovers...
Absolutely NOT. We do it BECAUSE we’re saved, not to achieve it. God wants us to do good works because He planned them for us from the beginning.
But we don't become Christ. The weight and shield of Christ's righteousness saves us, and not our own.
There is no "another Christ." Just like there is no "Co-Redeemer" nor Co-Redemptrix."
Solus Christus!
Do you have a better idea?
Exactly!
Now men can be manipulated and led in the wrong direction. But to deny there is such a thing as a just war is actually to deny that evil exists. We've seen already how the EO questions even the existence of Satan, so we shouldn't be surprised they question the notion of a just war.
Christ does not tell us to do nothing in the face of evil. He tells us to resist it and to defend the Gospel and to rest assured the Holy Spirit will provide what we need...
For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say." -- Luke 12:11-12"And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:
AMEN!
Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him." -- 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." -- Ephesians 2:10"For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Well -- now that you got all of that out of your system, do you feel better now????
Any group that calls itself 'christian' and yet, doesn't teach this truth, that one ought to know one has eternal life, is preaching a false Gospel.
***If a good Christian decides to use his free will to perform good works then he will be saved. However, if a good Christian uses his free will and decides not to do good works, then he is damned. God will examine all the good Christians and judge them based on the merit of their good works, whether in quantity or quality, or by some other measure. Whatever God’s threshold is, those who have done “enough” will see Heaven, and those who haven’t done enough, regardless of faith, will be sent to the down escalator.***
Grace gets us to the point where we are able to walk the Way. Else, we do not even get to be considered. In final answer, though, I will give you Matt 25:
31
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne,
32
and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34
Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
36
naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
37
Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
39
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
40
And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
41
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42
For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43
a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
44
Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’
45
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’
46
And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
And so, in a way, you are sort of right.
But I ask of the Reformed, though, what these verses mean to them. If deeds are not important, then why are they Judged? And why does God tell us that if we don’t then we’ll go off to eternal punishment?
I call ‘em as I see ‘em. :)
This is a disturbing development, reversing decades of more conservative voting records among Catholics.
Many of the Catholics that I know gradually leaned Fred-wards and were very disappointed to see him leave the race.
Run, don't walk to the nearest exit! Find a church that does preach The Gospel.
Mark 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
FWIW, I believe conservatives really shot themselves in the foot by being so uncompromising on the illegal immigration issue and this is part of the blowback. RC's traditionally have been more Democrat than Republican. I believe they began voting with the conservatives because of social issues.
“But the writer of Daniel uses both ben and bar and adam and enash in the first 7 chapters”
“What verses?”
bar: Dan. 3:25, 5:22, 7:13; Ezra 5:1,2; Prov. 31:2
ben: Dan. 5:21, 8:17, 9:1 (Ezekiel, Ezra, Nehemiah use ben exclusively and they were in Chaldea along with Daniel)
enash is the equivalent of Hebrew enowsh not adam. The writer of Daniel uses enash in 2;10, 3;10, 6;7;12, 7;4,8,13, 10;18. He uses both adam, geber and iysh the other times man is mentioned. In chapter 2 he uses iysh. In chapters 3 and 6 he uses geber.
“It seems, however, that all the mumbo-jumbop variants of the supposedly pristine “word of God” seem to have no effect on your desire to comment”
I did mention that I’m a Baptist didn’t I? The desire is part of the baptismal vows. As a scholar you should know that.
Just a mutual admiration society. We are all about LOVE, ya know.
No question it's a huge problem. The conservatives allowed themselves to be painted as "uncaring" "heartless" reactionaries when in addition to building the fence all those here illegally would have to go. Our country is now governed as much by "feelings" as it is by "reason".
The liberals have been very slick with their incrementalism and the way all the new boon doogles they propose are "for the babies", "for the poor", "for those that are left out".
Oh, by the way, great post. Keep it up.
There, doesn’t that make you feel better? :>)
Since the Church has declared them infallible, and the Church councils are never wrong when they make a declaration, then isn't it true that the scriptures are in fact infallible? It seems to me the Catholics take a great deal of pain in trying to convince us Church pronouncements are never wrong, yet they ignore the inspiration of the scriptures.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.