Christianity in our time is suffering from a virulent attack on our faith, and the tenets of our faith. This section is
designed to address several sources of misconception; Mistaken interpretation of analogies, words which have changed in meaning
over the years, idioms which are interpreted literally instead of given the nuance that they had in ancient culture,
outright errors in interpreteation by King James translators, and any other gaffe or glitch which comes to light.
"Rightly dividing the Word of truth" is, or should be, a top priority for every christian. Not that we, as individuals, are
prepared to deal with errors in the scriptures, but we should seek a man who is prepared as our spiritual authority. God
has provided such men with the spiritual gift, as I covered in the section on the I.C.E. Principle.
There is no such thing as a christian who "wings it" through the spiritual life and arrives in heaven with a crown waiting
them. What reaction would you have to a brain surgeon, poised over you with the scalpel raised, if you glanced at his name
tag and suddenly realized he was the guy you heard the nurses talking about, never a day of formal education? He just
"winged it" by reading text books and chatting with his fellow med students for 6 years. Would you be confident in his
ability to perform an intricate operation, with your life hanging in the balance?
In some respects, a medical degree is even easier to come by than the high attainment of becoming a "Friend of God", a
christian who is well informed with correct information from God's Word. I apologize if I harp on this subject, but
there is a great deal riding on the individual's grasp of scripture, that is, if you consider the matter of your eternal
status in heavenly society important.
At the risk of boring you with repetition, there is no equality in heaven. It is a place in which even the lowest creature is
not only a mile taller than we are in stature, but they possess perfect happiness. However, there are powerful, influential
angels, and those on several lower social strata.
As Royal Family, we got off to a spectacular start, and one day even the biggest loser in our family will outrank Michael,
Uriel and the other Arch Angels, but there will be a marked distinction between believers who lived their spiritual life
successfully, and those who wasted their time in this life. Which do you want to be? Take your pick; rule with Christ, or
languish in the palace as an also-ran.
The exciting thing about our position in all this is that we have a chance, during our time on this earth, to gain all we
have ever dreamed of; Wealth, power, celebrityship, fame, stature...and the system we are provided to gain our dreams is
absolutely fair, monitored by The Righteous Judge, Himself. You've heard the old saying (and how true it is!) that you must
have money to make money? Well, in God's economy, all you need is Bible doctrine, The Mind of Christ. Every word of truth
that you carry into eternity will be parlayed into gain.
The christian life only begins at salvation, from that point we are faced with the prospect of what we do with the rest of
our time here. This is the gist of the parable about the father who gives each of his sons and equal bankroll and sends them
off into the world to make their fortune. One squanders his grubstake and returns broke, the other invests wisely and becomes
wealthy. In a very basic nutshell, this is the decision we all must make.
But, to get back to the point I began to make several paragraphs ago, we can't equip ourselves and be successful on our own.
Knowing this, as He does all things, our Father put a system in place which provides all we need to achieve the goal which He
has destined us for. It's simple in the extreme, involving the gift of teacher and the ministry of The Holy Spirit. As in all
of God's dealings with man, he selects a human agent to act as messenger and communicates through him.
"Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual
working of his power." (Eph 3:7)
"For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the
same Spirit;" (1Cor 12:8)
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers" (Eph 4:11)
On the other end, in our souls, The Holy Spirit is waiting to help us grasp spiritual information and then apply it to our
circumstances. Thus, we come to our current situation; the problem of "rightly dividing the Word of truth", which is the
subject of this section.
"HEART", in almost every ocurrance of the word, refers to the right lobe of the the soul
where doctrine is deposited as "epignosis" (Greek), which is translated "resident knowledge", and could well be defined as
wisdom. The left lobe is called "mind" ("noia" in the Greek), and is the where "gnosis" is processed, as information is
assimilated, and becomes understanding. Study the section on the human Soul for more information
about this subject.
The heart, which is "cardia" in the Greek, and "lev" (pronounced "lave") in the Hebrew, is an obvious reference to the
organ in our chest, but it is so used as an analogy for the stream of consciousness because both circulate the substance
which sustains life through the body, on one hand, and the soul on the other. Other organs are so used to represent aspects
of our soul function. "Reins", translated "kidneys" are used for emotions, and "stoma", from which our word "stomach" is
derived, has a meaning which escapes me at the moment.
It is important to distinguish between these soul defining terms, for there is a great difference between their functions.
In the left lobe of the soul, called the "mind", incoming information is processed and understood. However, understanding
does not imply belief. Take a subject like communism, for example. We can hear the doctrine of this evil system, and
understand it, but it is discarded as a belief and, therefore, does not pass the volition gate into the right lobe, or
"heart", and reside as wisdom.
Thereafter, we can discuss communism, inject our insights, note important aspects of the doctrine, but we do not BELIEVE
in communism, therefore it is not resident in our "heart" as wisdom for application to our lives. I hope you can see the
distinction here between understanding and belief. You will please note that in discussing such a topic we are arguing
in favor of freedom, as opposed to tyranny. Those principles which we offer in defense of our way of life comes from the
"heart". We have learned these things, beleived them, and stored them in the heart as resident knowledge.
Also note that volition is the guardian of the heart. Only those things we believe are permitted into the right lobe,
and only those things which reside in the heart can be applied to life.
Sometimes it's hard to distinguish between "gnosis", or simple undertsanding, and "epignosis" in others. You see, when you
understand something you have the words, but when you beleive it you have the application. Perhaps you know someone who
has a great deal of knowledge but has no wisdom. Such people parrot words and phrases, even complex principles, but do
not really believe them, and cannot apply them, or perhaps they have not achieved understanding, just memorized the words.
I mention this because a large segment of the christian population in this country fall into this category. They have an
inventory of catchy phrases and can cite many passages of scripture verbatim, but they have not achieved understanding and,
therefore, do not have those concepts stored as wisdom. Before we can truely understand something we must have a clear,
concise definition.
That process, the defining of scriptures, falls upon the shoulders of "God's man" on the scene, the teacher. This, my friends,
is where we are in deep trouble, for the hard nosed, no nonsense methods of learning the Word has vanished in ecclesiastical
institutions today. 50 years ago every seminary student in America learned the Greek and Hebrew, which would one day be the
tools they would use to dig the treasures of God's Word from the original manuscripts and teach them to their "sheep".
Maybe one in a thousand ministers today know even basic Greek. The time-proven system of exegesis, as the only way to avoid
poor translations and errors in scriptural criticism, has been replaced by the "PR" approach. Student ministers do community
work, and learn how to pamper their congregation with hospital visits, and stimulate their attention with various forms of
entertainment.
OK, so all this is great, it makes for a nice time on Sunday afternoon. Christians can bank on a visit from their pastor when
they get sick, or suffer financial problems. But this is not the job that God gave them the gift for! A pastor's sole
responsibility is to dig out the truth and teach it! All the nice words and warm handshakes in the world won't put wisdom
on the launch pad of your soul! God the Holy Spirit can't can't transform platitudes and chit-chat into the stuff we need
to generate momentum in the spiritual life!
Abuses of the word "heart" are many. To almost everyone it conveys a sense of fortitude, like "he'a got alot of heart", or
warmth and kindness, such as saying things "from the heart", or experiences which "touch the heart". Sure, it's fine to use
the word for many nuances, but when it comes to deciphering scripture we must know the precise intent of The Spirit in
putting the word into a writer's soul.
One such abuse is an outright heresy, for it attacks the basis of our salvation. I refer to the popular concept of the
"head belief and not a heart belief". I have had this screwball approach used on me. Ofcourse, what is said here is couched
in nice sounding words, but it is a direct insult to Jesus Christ! What do I mean by this? Just that the insinuation is that
emotion is a necessary ingedient in redemption. The person who hit me with it was asking; "I know you say you're interested
in Jesus Christ, but do your really FEEL anything?", as though we must get psyched up and "feel" something to be saved.
The heart, as the right lobe of the soul, does play a key role in salvation, but it has nothing to do with emotion. The
gospel is communicated to us, we hear and understand it, and when we BELEIVE it, we are saved. This, in part, is the
doctrine of Efficacious Grace. I left out the role of the Holy Spirit.
Because the heart is a critical element of our learning and using thruth it is under attack by that dark crusader, the devil.
Much of his time and multi-genius mentailty, is used to devise ways to blind the human heart to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Check out the Angelic Conflict if you aren't well informed about Satan's goals and strategies.
There are 162 ocurrances of this word in the New Testement, and all but a few of them refer to the soul.
""Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." (Matt:5:8)
In this verse the "pure in heart" is the christian with Bible doctrine in their soul, as epignosis. A clearer statement of
the soul function of this word is found in these verses.
"And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?" (Matt:9:4)
"Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven
thee." (Acts 8:22)
"REPENT" (since we're on the subject) is a word which has changed in tone and is thought
of in our day as conveying a sense of regret. This is not the intention of The Holy Spirit. The Greek for this word is
"metanoia" and means to simply "change one's mind". There is no sense of regret here.
Take the verse, above. Repent is a simple term which encourages a change of attitude, not a display of emotion.
Here again, we have a word which is misused by the clergy to dupe christians into performing in a prescribed manner. I'm
sure many ministers think they're doing the right thing, but they ain't! Let's face it, friends, what we have here is a
subtle, but nonetheless tyrannical means of controlling the thoughts and actions of a congregation.
One particular large religion uses repent to suck nice donations from their congregation, and after the individual has
conessed their transgressions, the clergyman prescribes a series of rituals designed to put the person right with God.
In the first place, we are all, every single christian, a Royal Priest in our own right. I said ROYAL Priest!, not just a
run of the mill priest!
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a unique people; that ye should
shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light:" (1Pet 2:9)
"Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." (1Pet 2:5)
There is dangerous use of this word, for it persuades unbelievers that they must add something to faith in Christ in order
to be saved. The old time "hell fire and brimstone" evagelists and preachers were famous for using this concept, to wit;
A person must weep tears of repentence and so forth, and so forth. This is utter nonsense. Salvation comes of faith in
Christ, not caterwauling and sobbing. When the scriptures admonish us to repent for any reason it is a mandate to change
our minds. In regards to salvation, and it is used in gospel passages, it means to reject one's former attitude toward
Christ and believe.
"MURDER", and the subject of killing other human beings, is an emotionally charged
subject. Many stupid acts have been comitted by people who have an erroneous idea about what God thinks of killing.
Let's start with one of the most popular misquotes; "Thou shalt not kill". This phrase has been misused many times,
with many detrimental side effects.
This statement is one of the Ten Commandments, ofcourse, but it doesn't mean killing in the general sense.
Correctly translated in the Hebrew the word is "murder", not "kill", and this is God's warning to mankind not to commit the
crime of murder.
Ofcourse, many men have used this commandment to justify ducking the service in time of war under the name
"consciencious objector". However well intentioned these men might be, their stand does not honor God, but the contrary.
A "sister" passage to this one, words spoken by Christ when Peter attacked a Roman soldier, are sometimes used to reinforce
the non-combatant arguement; "Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword". Please note the context in which this
phrase was uttered. Peter, in his customary "peddle to the metal" way of doing things, misunderstood the messages of Christ
concerning his impending death, and he tried to defend His friend and teacher from the Roman patrol that came to arrest him.
When he severed one of the men's ears, and it fell to the ground, Christ retreived it and miraculously restored it to the
soldier's head. He then chewed the disciple out for attacking a legitimate representive of the established law and order in
Israel. In other words, Peter attacked a cop, and Christ warned him that those who live by violence (crime) will die by
that very means.
By the way, I have to laugh every time I think of this verse, imagining the situation that came about there in Gethsemene.
Peter lops off a Roman's ear, which must have caused one hell of a ruckus, but Christ, cool as you please, picks up the
guy's ear and "presto!", fixes it! Can you see that soldier's face? One minute, clawing at his bloody head, screaming his
lungs out, and all the sudden his ear is back and everything's ducky! Those other soldiers had to be standing there with
their jaws hanging, thinking, "what the hell...?".
Incidentally, they didn't arrest Peter for attempted murder. Can you guess why?
God has many times exhorted men down through history to train for war, and instructed them in how to fight in combat. Moses,
in the 40 years he led the Jews in the desert, formed an army by God's command and trained them in the martial skills. He
was eminently qualified for this task, for as a Prince of Egypt Moses led the Pharoah's armies in many successful campaigns,
even when others failed.
One man, who earned several unique honors from God, King David, and was even called the "apple of mine eye" by God, rose to
prominence in Israel by killing Goliath. King Saul, who preceded David as ruler of Israel, was commanded by God to go to
Ammon and slaughter every man, woman and child, even the animals, and leave no living thing behind. The death of Saul, in
fact, came about because he disobeyed God in this matter and not only spared the king, but the flocks and herds. The reason,
incidentally, for this seemingly blood thirsty divine policy, was the protection of humanity from the degeneracy in Ammon,
which had become so depraved that God was wont to "cut off the head of the snake", so to speak. It bears mentioning that God,
unlike man, is a practitioner of absolute practicality and sane government. There are times when killing is not only
necessary, but highly recommended.
This event also focuses upon a prevalent subject throughout these pages, the charactar of God, and understandably so, for
it is essential that we come to grasp the enormity and dynamism of the subject of The Divine, His Majesty, The Sovereign
Ruler of All Things. When I mentioned the Ammonite episode, did your mind recoil? Was there even a flicker of disgust? I
wouldn't be surprised, for such an act comitted by a man, on the basis of his own conscience, would make him a savage beast.
It is natural that we react to such violence and death.
But I must return to the ever present theme of all we know of God, that He is good, and just and LOVE! We mustn't ever
judge God as we would a man, based upon the moral standards that man has fabricated in order to judge man. God is above
reproach, infinately superior to us, and His decisions flash forth from His absolute being. When God condemns man, or a group
of men, they not only deserve to die, but they have been given thousands of chances to humble themselves before the The Eternal
One.
God does not act in anger, or spite, or necessity as we define it. He is in no danger where He, personally, is involved.
He never reacts to defiance or insult as we would. When He does act it is from the power of His being, and all attributes
of God are active in even the most insignificant of His rulings. God loved the Ammonites, but they used their volitions to
serve idols and invite demon possession in their phallic cult, which practiced sexual perversion and human scarifice.
Their perversions involved pederasty (sex with children), beastiality, homosexuality, necrofelia (sex with a corpse), and
all manner of degenerate acts, as well as killing human beings on the altar of Baal, or Molack.
When the perversion of the Ammonites was about to spill over into Israel and corrupt the Jews, God acted. He loves both
parties, but His love does not prevent Him from judging a man, or men, when their conduct will injure other men. In this
case, people who would one day believe in Christ were in jeopardy, for God knew that if they were exposed to the worship
of idols, and frolicked in the wicked acts of the Ammonites, that some of them would be distracted, and never be saved.
In this circumstance, God was justified in wiping out the Ammonites.
If there is one dominant cultural theme in the Bible it is martial in nature. Even the terms used to describe the believers
who make up each Dispensation is the Greek "toxis", which means "battalion". Many of the terms and
analogies used by Paul allude to military materiel and tradition. "The full armor" is one of his themes to teach the
technique of living the christian life. Our eternal rewards are stated as analogies by Paul, who cited the Roman custom of
awarding "coronae" to their heros, a parallel to the crowns we will be given in heaven.
The "Judgement Seat of Christ", which is the landmark event which signals the end of the Church Age, is a mistranslation. The
actual term used is "bema", pronounced "baymah", and refers to the Roman custom of evaluating an army after a battle and
distributing rewards to the bravest men.
Angelic society is also organized according to a martial template. The angels which appeared to the shepherds on the night
Christ was born were arrayed in formation, marching behind their "officers".
The point in trotting out these martial terms is that God is pro-military! As such, He advocates a strong means of defense,
and exhorts us to fight when we are attacked, or when our freedom is threatened. This, by default, involves killing the
enemy of our country, and the same principle applies to the police officer who is the internal counterpart of the soldier.
On the subject of military and war, it serves us well to remember that God operates from a position of absolute objectivity,
not to mention his omniscience. Man is given to extremes and eventually, after an extended peace, assumes a passive attitude
toward the matter of self defense. We can see this very pattern at work in our society today. It defies reason that man has
the history of mankind as evidence that we cannot allow our vigilance to wane, yet we do that very thing. It is not one
isolated period of history, or just the example of one great people of the past, which teaches us this wisdom, but the
repetition of this grave error many times over.
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The squeamish christian ought to sit up and take notice of this fact, that there are things in this life worth defending
to the death, and that includes killing the enemy as a means of defense. God is merciful and kind, but when mankind uses
his volition so as to wreak havoc on the innocent, or interfere with even one person's chance for salvation, He will act
swiftly and without remorse to eradicate them. But remember, man's will is always involved in his misfortunes which
come from heaven, and most of the time their demise is only wrought to protect the innocent. The continued exsistence of
all creatures is by God's forebearance, and He is justified in yanking the license to live here whenever it pleases Him.
Something in this vein that disturbs me is the impression that so many christians have of Jesus Christ. Artists portray Him as a thin,
ematiated hippy, dressed in rags, with a little kid on His knee and a dove perched on His shoulder. Well, that's fine, to
love kids and be a gentle soul, but Christ is also the greatest warrior, the finest professional soldier of all time. In one
night, at Jesrusalem, He slaughtered 65,000 Assyrians that had amassed there to wipe out the Jews in that city. That event,
by the way, is the subject of my favorite poem, by Lord Byron; The Destruction of Sennacharib.
Jesus Christ, when He returns at the Second Advent, will spend an entire day killing the armies which are amassed against
Israel. The dead will be so great in number that their blood will fill the entire basin of the valley of Megeddio to the
height of a horse's bridle. You figure it out, an area about a hundred miles square with a lake of blood over 4 feet deep.
It may interest you to know that the title of Christ; "Lord of Hosts", is correctly translated "Lord of the Armies". What, for
pete's sake, is so noble about this peacenik, milksop bit anyway? Our Lord is mighty in battle! And while we're on the subject
of misconceptions about Christ, I mentioned I resent the image of Jesus in rags. This man had class sticking out all over
Him, from head to toe! Not that tattered clothing is ignoble or a cause for shame, but it happens to be an incorrect idea
in His case, and of all people, we should construct an image of Chirst is our souls which is accurate.
At the cross, when they stripped away His clothing, the Roman soldiers tossed dice for His garment. What, exactly, are we
to understand from this bit of information? Mind you, not one single word or inflection is in the scriptures without good
reason.
Well, first off, those soldiers were Centurions, men with a rank which is the eqivalent of our captain. They were the
elite of the Roman army, the personal guard of Pilat, and not just rank and file privates. In their day the soldier was an
exaulted personage in society, a man to be respected, and especially the officers. You might say they were snobs.
So what were these men doing there on Golgotha, gambling for the prize of Christ's robe? I can assure you, it was not their
custom to quibble over every prisoner's clothes for they were most certainly natty dressers themselves, off duty when they
were in civilian attire.
You see, the robe of Jesus was of the greatest quality. To me, this tid bit says that Our Lord had impeccable taste, and
dressed accordingly. How could He afford such a pricey garment? He couldn't, not on a carpenter's pay, but there certainly
were merchants in many businesses that were anxious to express their love and respect for Him with such gifts. He accepted them
graciously, with humility, and wore them, as He should. Many of the people in His entourage, like Mary Magdalene, followed
wherever He went and ministered to Him. In Mary's case, she had been a whore, endwelt by seven demons, when Christ liberated
her, and she devoted her life to him.
When I say devoted, I mean her every waking thought was of Him. She cleaned his clothes, saw to the preparation of His food,
even washed His feet. So great was her love for Him, she was overcome by it, swallowed up by the power of His gracious person.
Mary had never met a man like Jesus. She was what we would call "drop dead beautiful", and in her prime years. Virtually every
man she had ever known wanted to capture her beauty and possess her.
In Jesus she met a man who was tender, kind and thoughtful, Whose eyes told her that He loved her. Ofcourse, He was also
her Savior, and He taught this gorgeous woman what love really was, and she was not lost to God for her sinful life. She
beheld Him every day and rejoiced in her opportunity to care for him. Many others were likewise affected by Jesus Christ,
and they expressed their gratitude in giving. Thus, Christ was clothed in the finest clothes, and even had oil of
frankenscence rubbed on His feet. Escariot, who was the treasurer of the group, remarked about that fact, for it bothered
Him that such an expensive potion be used in that way.
In conclusion of this short treatment of killing, we should be mindful of the fact that death on our side of eternity
appears many times grusome and agonizing, but on God's side it is another matter entirely. You may want to read the
section on Death for a better understanding of the subject, particularly the death of christians.
CAPITOL PUNISHMENT is another contentious area. This issue, too, is well documented in
scripture and will require only a few comments. God commands that we execute those guilty of murder.
"He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death." (Ex 21:12)
"And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death."
(Lev 24:21)
"And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely
be put to death." (Nu 24:21)
By the way, there is no justification for sparing a criminal because he is insane or underage, either. If a person uses
their volition to murder another person, or otherwise commit a crime against society, they should be punished accordingly.
It's sickening how many slime balls exploit our legal system with this ploy, which is really a non-issue.
ABORTION is a related subject to death, and probably the most misunderstood category of
Biblical doctrine in the world. It is understandable how the issue of birth, and when life begins, can be so grossly
distorted, but the reasons for it are at the very heart of my statement, in the I.C.E. Principle section,
that a knowledge of the original languages of scripture is imperative for any man in the pulpit. The wrong information, and all
the terrible tragedies that come of some of it, should be adequate evidence of this fact.
Ofcourse, it does little good to argue the truth against the arrogant intransigence of a zealot who crusades against
abortion, for arrogance blinds the soul to truth. So much so that otherwise upright christians can be overwhelmed by it and commit evil
crimes as a result. Some of the most heinous crimes we can imagine have been commited against humanity in the name of God.
My own ancestor, who was of the arostocracy in Ireland, was hanged from his own castle gate by Cromwell when the latter
toured the British Isles in his campaign to convert them to the Church of England. All who refused to denounce their faith
were hanged. Such is the nature of faith gone amok, when men are embued with what they believe to be sublime revelation and
become barbarians as a result. The guiding ministry of The Holy Spirit, which counsels moderation and repect for the rights
of all, is obviously not at work in their souls.
Where in the Bible does it say that christians are justified in victimizing people, no matter what they do, just because
they are engaged in an activity which we may disagree with? Even if abortion DID kill babies, which it does not, we would
not be obliged to take the law into our own hands.
Oh yes, I forget, there are many scriptures in the Old Testement which demand death and punishments for crime and heretical
acts, such as working on the sabbath. Two statements on this matter; The Law, which the people of Israel lived under, was
fulfilled by Christ, and the age of grace was ushed in as a result.
Secondly, when the Bible states, in no uncertain terms, a policy, it is our solemn responsibility to carry it out to the
letter! This, in fact, is my case in point concening abortion. We are obliagted to act upon The Word, according to what
is written there, and not our personal feelings.
No verse prohibits abortion, in fact, several make it clear that abortion is a non-issue!
The minister who murdered the abortion doctor some time ago should be tried for his crime and executed! He is just as
guily of murder as Gacy or Son of Sam. Here is an excellent example of a man who has been misled as to the content of The
Bible, or surmised it on his own, and became an instrument of Satan rather than a servent of God. Such is the nature of
arrogance. It eclipses sanity and truth and sponsors conduct which is evil and violent against the innocent.
As for abortion; we are dealing with a technical subject here that, unless you know the original Greek and Hebrew, you will
just have to take the word of an accomplished exegete, and I refer to my pastor, not myself.
Of the 71 ocurrances of the word "womb" which allude to birth (15 in the NT, 56 in the OT) in the Bible all are preceeded
by the Greek preposition "ek" ("out from" or "apart from") with the word "coilia" (womb), or the Hewbrew word "mibetan", which
is the equivalent. Both "ek coilia" and "mibetan" say "out from the womb", "apart from the womb", and make it unmistakably
clear that the fetus is spearated from the womb before God imputes life, called "ne shemah", "the spark of life".
Ofcourse, there is movement in the womb, but this is biological life, technically no more a human being than a vegetable.
Yes, ofcourse, Mom and Dad are going to gaze at the ultrasonic scan for hours and have butterflies in their stomachs, and be
going over hundreds of names for junior, but let's not get emotion mixed into the equation. We are dealing with The Word of
God, and the ramifications which result from the wrong information.
The movement in the womb is what medical science calls "reflex motility", and is NOT physical activity which is caused by
brain function. Now, so that we are on the same page here, a human being is alive because he has a soul, which is the seat
of life. Once this body is abandonned by the soul it becomes what it was in the womb once again, although somewhat older
and used up, a hunk of minerals and tissue. David said we are "wonderfully and fearfully made", and that is certainly true.
The human body is a marvel of engineering super-genius, and far beyond any achievement which man will ever boast, but it
is only valuble because it holds life.
God is the Sovereign executive of life and death. No creature lives apart from his giving of life. As for the question of WHEN
He gives life to the fetus, is a question answered by the scriptures, themselves.
There is actually a verse that deals indirectly with this subject, but it is proof enough that a fetus has no soul, and
is therefore not a human being. In other words, you cannot "murder" a being that does not have life!
"If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow:
he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges
determine." (Ex 21:22)
I have already cited a few of the many verses which spell out God's attitude toward murder. If any life were taken in the
circumstances which this verse alludes to, the one responsible would be put to death, "a life for a life". Yes, the woman
miscarries, and the fetus is lost, BUT NO DEATH HAS OCURRED! I think the sentence in this case is very interesting; The
husband is allowed to prescribe punishment, and the judges consider his proposal and approve or reject it.
HOPE is another critical word, due to it's usage in scripture, that is poorly translated.
In our society, hope conveys as sense of anticipation, expectation, usually in a positive vein.
The Biblical use of this word is far removed from the way we use it. The correct translation of hope, which is the Greek
word "elpis"; is "absolute confidence".
"Elpis" was developed by the famous philosopher Socrates, and after his death, by his devoted pupil, Plato. Without going
into excutiating detail, we should know that Socrates lived in a time when academics were a popular topic in Greek society.
The Greeks were an unusual race which fancied themselves the most cultured of all ancient peoples, and there was some basis
for their presumption. Above all else, they valued physical prowess and intellectual stimulation.
In Socrates' day there was a raging controversy afoot which argued the contrasting influences of emotion and pure thought as
the foundation for a meaninful and happy existence. Socrates held that thought, not feelings, were superior and resulted
in virtue. Emotions made men vulnerable to anger, jealeosy, revenge, and all manner of misadventures. His name for them
was "thumos", which is tranlated into the English "rage".
Thought, Socrates said, produced many desireable attributes, one of which was "elpis", absolute confidence. A parallel word
would be "conviction". This then is the sense in which the authors of scripture use the word, not some vague wish for something
posative to come about. Consider these verses:
"And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead,
both of the just and unjust..." (Acts 24:15)
"And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:" (Acts 26:6)
"And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us." (Rom 5:4,5)
"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort
of the scriptures might have hope." (Rom 15:4)
"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power
of the Holy Spirit." (Rom 15:13)
"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even
as others which have no hope." (Thes 4:13)
Hope is used 58 times in the NT, and 75 in the OT, so a significant portion of scripture rests upon it's meaning. You can
readily see, from the verses above, that it is an important distinction we are dealing with here, for there is a vast difference
between having unshakable confidence in resurrection, and our security in salvation, and a sense of positive expectation.
The latter leaves a margin of doubt, which is not charactaristic of the christian who loves God and has conviction is the
promises that He has tendered us.
I would particularly like to draw attention to the verse which speaks of the "God of hope", and alludes to the Holy Spirit
as our source of confidence. Such is the nature of the christian life which is supported by a daily study of God's Word.
The inevitable result of our worship is confidence. The endwelling of Christ is also said to be our "hope of glory", that
being the certain knowledge that we will be risen with Him, and share in the bounty of His eternal inheritance from our
Father.
WORK, as a condition of salvation, is a concept which I would like to address. It is
difficult to imagine that anyone could harbor some doubt concerning the mechanics of salvation, for the scripture is
abundantly clear on this vital subject. Yet, there are many practitioners of salvation by works in christianity today.
Most of these practices are vague and subtle in nature, but they must be in order to draw the unbeliever's attention away
from the truth, which is precisely what they are designed to do. That, and to inject a sense of doubt into the christian's
thoughts by inferring that salvation is a tenuous arrangement which demands our constant vigil, doing routine good, and
even "reaffirming our faith" periodically.
Any statement which undermines the work of Christ is heresy and worse, for if we add "leaven" to the dough, the bread will
not rise, which is to say, even a smidgen of work added to the requirement for salvation neutralizes the effectiveness of
the gospel. Thus, many people think they are save in our society, but they have accepted a works solution to sin and
condemnation and are, therefore, not saved.
"Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?" (1Cor:5:6)
"Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the
Pharisees and of the Sadducees." (Matt:16:12)
"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our
passover is sacrificed for us:" (1Cor:5:7)
If were told by a christian one of the following; you should read the section titled Meet Your
Savior, just to be safe. I will state now, before embarking on this subject, that there is only one means of
salvation, and that is faith in Jesus Christ, or believing in Him.
You can accomplish this at this moment, staring at
your monitor, by telling The Father that you accept Christ as your saviour, that you want salvation through His sacrifice,
and that is the moment that eternal life begins for you. It's simple and painless. Yet many people out there make it
difficult in varying degrees:
"Invite Christ into your heart" is one popular lie making the rounds. As in many of these fallacies, the nuance of
work is very subtle, as in this one. We do not have the prerogative of inviting Jesus Christ anywhere! It is Christ that
does the inviting, not vice versa. As unbelievers, we are completely unlovely to God, and this suggestion is that God would
enter into our corruption, compromise His Righteousness and Justice, and save us on the basis of our worthiness.
"You must make Christ Lord" is a second heresy. In the first place, what possible advantage could come of something that
is absolute reality to begin with? Christ is Lord by His own merit, whether we recognize it or not. He needs no "second to
the motion" from us, nor our act of contrition to vindicate His claim to ascendency. As for salvation, which I fail to see
in this statement, it is faith in Him, not "making Him Lord", that saves us.
There are many religious organizations which make works an unconditional aspect of salvation. The church I was raised in,
which I will not name, goes the farthest with this incredible position, for they put many conditions on salvation, as
though THEY, and not God, are the persons who dispense salvation!
You can lose your salvation (another heresy) if you are excommunicated from the church, and when you sin you must confess
to a man, which ignores the Royal Priesthood of the believer in this age. We are ALL priests unto
God, and have full access to Him.
But the worst aspect of Religion X, and other denominations of like persuasion, is the idea that you can lose salvation
by doing some heinous deed. This is a lie straight from the pit of hell! Are we to believe that Christ came here and did
a shoddy job of saving us? Were there sins that The Father forgot to judge on the cross? When Christ screamed "It is finished!",
was he lying to us? And the most prominent question raised in my mind, if we can earn our salvation, why was it necessary
for Christ to come here at all? Is salvation a cooperative effort? Did He do part of it, and we do the rest?
The verses which follow make it chrystal clear that (1) We are not saved by our works, (2) We cannot lose our salvation,
(3) The work of Christ is complete and final regarding sin, (4) The sins of ALL men, even Adolph Hitler, were judged on
the cross, (5) Christ is the sole means, the only way, of salvation, (6) We are all priests in our own right, (7) we confess,
or cite, our sins to God to be restored to fellowship, not a priest, and (8) Restoration to fellowship is as free
and painless as salvation, there is no need of penence, or prayer beads, or holy water, or any other hocus pocus, or any
jumping through anyone's hoop. And, by the way, no generous contribution to the church!
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John:14:6)
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John:10:28)
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans:6:23)
"And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true,
and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." (1John:5:20)
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit;" (Titus:3:5)
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a unique people; that ye should shew
forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1Peter:2:9)
"If we cite our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us of all
wrongdoing" (1 John 1:9)