Word of the Day April 4, 2013

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Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28


Hell is a very real place, though many people never really want to discuss it.  It is interesting that a much higher percentage of people believe in the existence of heaven than believe in the existence of hell. According to the Bible, though, hell is just as real as heaven. The Bible clearly and explicitly teaches that hell is a real place to which the wicked and unbelieving are sent after death.


Hell is really no laughing matter although most people don’t believe they are going to hell. For every person in America that believes they are going to hell, there are 120 who believe they are going to heaven, whether they are living as a Christian or not. I have heard so many people say “they are in a better place” when a loved one dies.  If their loved one didn’t know Jesus, they are not in a better place, they are in hell.

 
Jesus taught us in His Word that hell was a very real place and to not be deceived: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13–14).


The punishment of the wicked in hell is as never ending as the bliss of the righteous in heaven. Jesus Himself indicates that punishment in hell is just as everlasting as life in heaven (Matthew 25:46). The wicked are forever subject to the fury and the wrath of God. Those in hell will acknowledge the perfect justice of God (Psalm 76:10).


The Bible says that rebellion against the Lord, rejecting Him and His Word is like witchcraft.  Rebellion against the Lord is so severe that even Saul, the King of Israel who was annointed by God, was rejected because he turned away from God. “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.  Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,  He has also rejected you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15:23)


 Of all the parables that Jesus told, more than half of them relate to God’s eternal judgment of sinners. So we cannot go to the Bible and pick and choose things that personally appeal to us and throw the others aside. So if you want an endless heaven, then you have to also accept an endless hell.  Whether or not you want it however, it is very real.  Which place do you want to end up in?


God didn’t leave us without hope.  If you want a new life in Christ Jesus, ask Him into your heart today.  Simply pray this:  Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you took the pain of the cross to give me new life. I ask you to come into my heart and to give me your peace and joy. I confess that I am a sinner that I have gone my own way and have done wrong. Please forgive me for my sins. I receive you now as my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Help me to follow you and to serve you all my life. Thank you, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.  If you prayed that prayer you are a new creature in Christ Jesus!  You are Born Again!  Have a Simply Heavenly Day….

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Asker Portrait
Anonymous asked:I 'm atheist. I have friends who are believers, but I never understand how. They believe in something they've no reason to believe in. You see, if you hadn't had outside influence, be it friends/family, media, or discovering a Bible on your own, you wouldn't believe the way you do. You'd be unaware of Christianity altogether, and by default agnostic. God to me, is like Santa Claus. A fictional character created for people to behave morally. It works, perhaps- but it's something we outgrow.

In my own life I have felt the Lord since I was very young.  Every time I look at the sky and marvel at the sun, moon and stars I have known that the Creator of all of this is AWESOME!!! To believe that I came from nothing is even harder to believe.  This universe didn’t come from nothing.  Just like you see a beautiful gold watch lying on the sand at the beach. You know it has a creator who made it.  Anyone who can look at this world and believe that it came from a bang or a blob…  Well I see my Creator in His creation everyday.  Every time I look in a mirror or see a child being born or someone die. When I look at the sun, moon or stars.  The mountains and the oceans.  They didn’t come from a blob or a bang.

You atheist love to ask “where is the proof of your God?  Now I ask you where is your proof there isn’t one?

The atheist, believing they have triumphed, usually concludes their demand with a folding of the arms, as if no good evidence for the Christian worldview has ever been put forward. This, of course, is a position that is either unknowingly or willingly ignorant of the weighty philosophical, empirical, and historical evidence that has been provided from the first century all the way up to the present by Christian apologists in defense of the faith. 

Such demands by atheists are naturally designed to put the Christian on the defensive, but let me ask: do atheists not bear any burden for the exact same type of proof they demand from Christians for their own worldview and faith? Indeed they do. 

The implied idea that just because a person holds a worldview that is devoid of God means that no evidence needs to be brought forth in defense of that held belief is absurd. The atheists have much to prove, and the fact is, when their own set of criteria they apply to Christianity is aimed back at their own belief system, it is shown to be in need of immediate CPR. 

Let’s look at three particular areas where the atheist needs proof to back up their claims. 

Where is the philosophical evidence for atheism? 

Some atheists scoff at the idea that philosophical evidence is needed to justify atheism. For example, Stephen Hawking has said that “philosophy is dead”.[1] One can only roll one’s eyes at such a statement, especially since Hawking goes on to philosophically argue much in his book to support his anti-supernatural position. 

From the start, the atheist puts him/herself in a difficult philosophical position because they make a negatively existential proposition (i.e. “no god”); a type of proposition that can never be proven. Intellectually honest skeptics will admit this and retreat to an agnostic position instead, which is more defensible. 

It’s important to note that with its primary assertion (no god), atheism has much prove and explain. First, it must answer the primary philosophical question put forward by Leibniz, Heidegger, and others: why do we have something rather than nothing at all? Recent attempts by atheists have failed miserably at providing proof for an answer to this query. For example, Dr. Lawrence Krauss’ latest book embarrassingly shows how far some committed atheists will go. Krauss is only able to give an answer by redefining ‘nothing’ to be the quantum vacuum or empty space, neither of which are ‘nothing’. 

Unless they believe in an infinite regress of causes, the atheist must philosophically defend his or her concept of the existence of an eternal/self-existent being that caused everything else. To date, no hard proof has been offered for the atheist’s eternal first cause. 

No matter how you section reality, the fact is, you will always end up with something that owes its existence to something other than itself. In other words, everything that is known is a contingent being in one form or another. This being true, the atheist must produce sound proofs for what necessary being exists that provides existence to everything else. 

Further, this necessary being must match the effects we observe all around us. The atheist has to explain how an impersonal, amoral, meaningless, purposeless universe accidentally created personal, moral beings who are obsessed with meaning and purpose. As a cause cannot produce an effect that possesses something it doesn’t (i.e. you can’t give what you don’t have), the atheist struggles greatly for a satisfying philosophical solution to their dilemma. 

This issue is multiplied greatly when the question of unity and diversity is added to the mix. Unity and diversity in effect necessitates unity and diversity in the first cause, and while the Biblical concept of the Trinity comes to the aid of the Christian, the atheist has no such answer to fall back upon. 

The atheist must also explain the notion of absolute moral values and how the concepts of good and evil are defined and managed. Some atheists such as Sam Harris have attempted to explain these things in recent works through pure natural means, but have been soundly refuted by both religious and non-religious ethicists. 

The logic the atheist must deal with where morality is concerned is the following: If there’s such a thing as evil, you must assume there’s such a thing as good. If you assume there’s such a thing as good, you assume there’s such a thing as an absolute and unchanging moral law on the basis of which to differentiate between good and evil. If you assume there’s such a thing as an absolute moral law, you must posit an absolute moral lawgiver, but that would be God – the one whom the atheist is trying to disprove. So now rewind: if there’s not a moral lawgiver, there’s no moral law. If there’s no moral law, there’s no good. If there’s no good, there’s no evil. Some atheists, such as Richard Dawkins admit there really is no good or evil, but most atheists aren’t willing to make such a confession. 

Again, some atheists will try and dismiss these and other similar philosophical issues that confront their worldview and will attempt to assert that the only evidence worthy enough to be considered is that which is scientific/empirical in nature. However, this presents them with another philosophical problem. 

When the atheist says, “We should only believe that which can be scientifically proven”, they aren’t aware that the truth claim that has just left their lips is one that cannot be scientifically proven (it is a philosophical proposition). This means their position is a non-starter right out of the blocks. 

For atheists that either already understand this fact or are forced to awaken to this truth, they then are brought to a couple of other unpleasant realities. If science cannot be the end all/be all where truth claims are concerned, then why demand that evidence for God must be found only in the empirical-only dimension? If questions of morality (e.g. “were the Nazi’s evil?”) and concepts like justice cannot be empirically tested and validated, perhaps neither can God. 

Further, the legal/historical method of ascertaining truth is widely accepted and can also be used to investigate things that cannot be handled by pure, repeatable empirical methods. If the atheist denies this, then they must explain how courtrooms worldwide arrive at their findings. 

In the end, the atheist cannot escape the need to provide philosophical evidence for their position that God does not exist. Their attempt to rely only on empirical methods to support the atheistic worldview cannot be maintained, and, as we’ll now see, science isn’t much help to their cause either.

I can tell you that God is very real He changed my life for eternity and He can change yours too.

God created us in His own image so we can know Him personally and have a joy-filled life. He did not make us as robots to automatically love and obey Him, but gave us a will and a freedom of choice. Since the beginning of time, we have chosen to disobey God and go our own willful way. We still make this choice today. This results in separation from God and ends in misery. The Bible says that disobeying God results in being separated from Him.  Our attempts can never unite us with God. Through the ages, people have tried many ways to bridge this gap and reach God – without success.  I believe that each one of us has a little puzzle piece in each of our bodies that only the love of God can fill.  We try to fill it with all kinds of things like sex, boyfriends, children, drugs, alcohol, education, clubbing, partying and everything else that you can think of.  The thing is nothing fits right in there.  Only God can quench the longing of your soul.

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. John 3:3-6

If you want a new life in Christ Jesus, ask Him into your heart today.  Simply pray this:  Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you took the pain of the cross to give me new life. I ask you to come into my heart and to give me your peace and joy. I confess that I am a sinner that I have gone my own way and have done wrong. Please forgive me for my sins. I receive you now as my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Help me to follow you and to serve you all my life. Thank you, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.  If you prayed that prayer you are a new creature in Christ Jesus!  You are Born Again!

Next, you really need to read the Bible if you are serious about your walk with the Lord Jesus.  The Bible is your spiritual food.  You need to read and meditate on the Word of God daily to be fed as a

Christian.  When you don’t spend time daily in the Word of God your spirit withers and dies.  Just like all “living things” your spirit needs food to thrive and grow.  God communicates to us through prayer and His word.  I would like you to set aside time every single day just for Jesus. I want it to be at least 15 minutes and I want you to read the Bible every day during this time and pray.  If you need a little more direction go to cbn.com (and no I don’t work for them) they have a sight that I use every single day.  I signed up for their read the Bible in a year.  They will e-mail you 2 scriptures every single day.  One from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.  There is also an app that you can have loaded on your phone for free.  It is called Bible.is.  I love listening to the Word when I am out and about.  I promise that if you do this you will see a marked difference in your walk with Jesus Christ.  Next find a really good Bible based church to attend for teaching and fellowship.  If you need help finding one I will be happy to help you.

 God bless you!!! :):):)

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Asker Portrait
Anonymous asked:If a Christian is so low in their life that they decide to kill themselves, where do you think their soul goes?

That is a really hard one because when you take your life you are committing murder. Suicide is still a serious sin against God. According to the Bible, suicide is murder; it is always wrong. Serious doubts could be raised about the genuineness of faith of anyone who claimed to be a Christian yet committed suicide. There is no circumstance that can justify someone, especially a Christian, taking his/her own life. Christians are called to live their lives for God, and the decision on when to die is God’s and God’s alone. Although it is not describing suicide, 1 Corinthians 3:15 is probably a good description of what happens to a Christian who commits suicide: “He himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”  If it were me, I wouldn’t do it.  I would get into the Word of God and immerse myself in it and would step out in faith and live my life for Jesus Christ no matter how I felt.  No one promised us that life would be great.  That is only things you see on TV.  The real truth is life is hard, but as Christians we have something the world doesn’t His name is Jesus and we need to put all of our trust in HIM. Let us all pray for you that the Lord will touch you right now with His peace that passes all understanding.  That you will hold tightly to His hand and trust in Him to guide you through this maze of depression and darkness and back into the light of HIS love and peace. That you will believe the four words that He told us to give us hope.  I am with you…Consider these four words your safety net, protecting you from falling into despair.  To know that because you are human you are always going to have ups and downs in your life but the promise of HIS Presence how far you can go.  Sometime you may feel like you are in a free fall, when people and things you have counted on have let you down.  Yet as soon as you remember that Jesus is with you, your perspective will change radically.  Look to Him for help.  Never forget that He is right there with you, holding your right hand and guiding you with His counsel, and after that He will take you into glory.  This is the perspective I pray you get through the Holy Spirit inside of you.  In Jesus name I pray, amen and Amen.  God bless you !!! <3<3

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A Look at Rob Bell and Love Wins ….. Robin Schumacher

A Look at Rob Bell and Love Wins   by Robin Schumacher

Unless Rob Bell is a great actor (and I don’t think he is), he genuinely cares about people and – like many in the others in the Emergent Church crowd – passionately desires that Christians live authentic lives in the world around them. Unless I’m off the mark (and I don’t think I am), Bell genuinely wants people to follow Christ and live the abundant life Jesus promises in John 10:10.

In case you don’t know who Rob Bell is, he’s the pastor of Mars Hill church in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is associated with what is sometimes called the Emergent Church movement. And in case you’ve not seen all the firestorm that’s recently developed around Bell’s new book, Love Wins, you need to only Google “Rob Bell Love Wins” and you’ll immediately be presented with videos of his recent interviews with ABC, MSNBC, and many other media outlets. You’ll also find the very first link points to his promotional video that caused Justin Taylor of the Gospel Coalition to first speculate that Bell is a Universalist.

You’ll also likely find the recent Time Magazine cover story sparked by Bell’s new book entitled “What if there’s No Hell?” The massive debate that has raged since the release of Love Wins no doubt also contributed to Time naming Bell as one of its 100 most influential people for 2011.

I downloaded and read the 198 page Kindle edition of Love Wins in less than two days; it’s a very easy read. Bell is a very talented writer and good storyteller. Further, he makes a lot of outstanding points in the book. In particular, I found the next to the last chapter – “The Good News is Better Than That” – which has as its theme the Luke 15 parable of the Prodigal Son, quite interesting (Bell leans a bit on Tim Keller’s Prodigal God work). I can completely understand why many are embracing the book and, as one person who objected to one of my earlier critiques of the work said, say it is a “much more hope-filled way to present the gospel”.

Again, I don’t doubt Bell’s intentions for a second, nor do I have reservations about his concern for people. What I do respectfully take exception to is his theology, specifically in Love Wins, where the doctrine of eternal punishment is concerned.

Last weekend, I decided to develop a short mini-series to teach at my church that covered Bell’s teachings in Love Wins and look hard at how it stacks up Biblically to the orthodox teaching on the eternal punishment of those who reject Christ in this life. The first presentation is below and covers Bell’s book in general, the history behind the teaching of Universalism, how Bell and other Universalists view Hell, and ends with a discussion on what Bell claims in his interviews vs. what his book says.

Bell has explicitly stated in interviews that he is not a Universalist and believes in Hell. However, one must define terms with Bell. Does he believe in Hell as it’s portrayed in Scripture? In my presentations I argue, no, he does not. In the same way many cults and sects will tell you they believe in Jesus, but that Jesus is a very different one that is found in the Bible, the same thing applies with Bell’s belief in Hell.

Beating a familiar theme found in other Emerging Church books and teachings, Bell also is quick to say he can’t say with any certainty what the next life holds:

“Will everybody be saved, or will some perish apart from God forever because of their choices? Those are questions, or more accurately, those are tensions we are free to leave fully intact. We don’t need to resolve them or answer them because we can’t, and so we simply respect them, creating space for the freedom that love requires.”(pg. 115)

But, in my opinion, Love Wins does indeed commit to a position on the subject, and as this three part series on the book shows, it doesn’t match up with what the Old and New Testaments explicitly teach.

Is the Bible clear on the topic of Hell? Does Scripture plainly state what Hell is, what its purpose is, and how (or if) people spend eternity there vs. eternity with God?

In his MSNBC interview with Martin Bashir, Rob Bell replied in the following way when asked if responding to Jesus in this life was relevant and if it determines a person’s eternal destiny: “It is terribly relevant and terribly important. Now, how exactly that works out now and how exactly it works out in the future when you die, we are firmly in the realm of speculation.”

Are we in the “realm of speculation” when it comes to knowing what happens to a person when they die? Or, has God clearly spelled out in His Word what becomes of each and every person who leaves this life and enters the next? And has God left us guessing as to what determines each person’s ultimate and final destination?

Again, Bell seems to throw up his hands at such questions and say we can’t know for certain. He puts it like this: “Will everybody be saved, or will some perish apart from God forever because of their choices? Those are questions, or more accurately, those are tensions we are free to leave fully intact. We don‘t need to resolve them or answer them because we can‘t, and so we simply respect them, creating space for the freedom that love requires” (pg. 115).

Emergent Church leaders like Bell firmly believe that such a stance is the best position to hold. They call it one of ‘humility’ because to take any other viewpoint would be to say that something is ‘certain’ or absolutely true, and to make an absolute truth claim in matters of faith is akin to being arrogant (so they believe). If you haven’t been dealt this hand of cards yet, welcome to one of the main tenets of Postmodernism.

I admire Bell’s desire to respect the opinion of others and I applaud his plea for having discussions about controversial subjects. But when it comes to the teaching of Scripture, although there are certainly places where we say with Paul that we “now see in a mirror dimly” (1 Cor. 13:12), there are on the other hand many explicit statements made in the Bible that aren’t difficult to discern at all. This is what is referred to as the “perspicuity” of Scripture, which means the core teachings contained in God’s Word are clear and simple to understand.

The presentation below is part 2 of my series on Rob Bell’s book Love Wins, and dives into various passages of Scripture that refute Bell’s teaching that Scripture is not clear where Heaven and Hell are concerned. It examines the Old Testament, the teachings of Jesus, Paul, Peter, and John, and then concludes with a look at what salvation really means – a deliverance from God’s wrath and judgment over sin.

A recent poll taken by Barna of supposed born-again Christians showed that a full 25% believe in Universalism, the teaching that everyone will ultimately be saved and spend eternity with God. Even more people (40%) believe that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.
It’s surprising how many web sites and forums are devoted to the teaching of Universalism. From a theological standpoint, Universalism can be a supported doctrine unless one limits the atonement of Christ. If Christ died for everyone, and all the sins of the world were placed on Him, then what stops everyone from being saved?
In addition, Universalists believe that the sovereignty of God also lends support to their position. In Rob Bell’s book Love Wins, he asks: “How great is God? Great enough to achieve what God sets out to do, or kind of great, great most of the time, but in this, the fate of billions of people, not totally great. Sort of great. A little great” (pgs. 97–99).
At the heart of such statements and thinking are verses like, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3–4) and “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). If God is totally sovereign, and no purpose of His is ever thwarted, and He wants everyone to be saved, then according to Bell, God will get what He wants (pp. 102-3).
The presentation below looks at the various verses in Scripture that are used by Universalists to support their position and highlights statements made by Bell to show what he believes on the subject. You’ll see that it takes a careful study of God’s Word to refute the positions of Universalists like Bell and others.
We should remember that the first doctrine to be denied in Scripture is judgment. The Bible records Satan saying to Eve, “You surely will not die!” (Gen. 3:4). Unfortunately, many Universalists feel the same way and deny that an eternal separation from God is a reality for anyone who refuses Christ as their savior.
But simply put, once a thorough study of Scripture is made, it becomes apparent that those who reject Jesus Christ in this life will have their request honored also in the next.
That is why I urge all of you to test EVERYTHING to the Scripture.  It is our handbook for the last days and it will never let us down.  Do not be deceived.  God bless you!!! :):)
Asker Portrait
Anonymous asked:Do you think Peter went to Heaven even though he denied Jesus? Do you think Judas Iscariot went to Heaven even though he betrayed Jesus?

Yes I do. Peter was a mighty man of God.  Jesus asked Peter the threefold question “Do you love me?” as recorded in John 21:15-17. This occurred when Jesus was having breakfast with His disciples soon after His resurrection. Jesus used this opportunity to encourage and exhort Peter about his upcoming responsibilities and even prophesies the manner in which Peter will die. By asking Peter “do you love me?” three times, Jesus was emphasizing the importance of Peter’s love and unswerving obedience to his Lord as necessary for his future ministry. 

Jesus begins by questioning Peter about His love for Him, and each time Peter answers in the affirmative, Jesus follows up with the command for Peter to feed His sheep. His meaning is that if Peter truly loves his Master, he is to shepherd and care for those who belong to Christ. His words reveal Peter’s role as the leader of the new Church, the Body of Christ there in Jerusalem that will be responsible for spreading the Gospel after Jesus’ ascension into heaven. 

It is possible that by His repeated question Jesus is subtly reminding Peter of his three denials that took place as Jesus was being led away to appear before the Sanhedrin, Pilate and Herod, and later crucified. There’s no doubt those denials made by Peter, the subsequent crowing of the rooster just as Jesus prophesied would happen (Luke 22:34), and how he felt when Jesus turned to look at him at that moment became an event seared deeply into his mind (Luke 22:54-62). It wasn’t lost on Peter that Jesus repeated His question to him three times, just as Peter previously denied Him three times.

There is also an interesting contrast when you look at the Greek words for “love” used in John 21:15-17. When Jesus asked Peter “do you love me?” in John 21:15-16, He used the Greek word agape which refers to unconditional love. Both times, Peter responded with “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you,” using the Greek word phileo which refers more to a brotherly/friendship type of love. It seems that Jesus is trying to get Peter to understand that he must love Jesus unconditionally in order to be the leader God is calling him to be. The third time Jesus asks “do you love me?” in John 21:17, He uses the word phileo, and Peter again responds with “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you,” again using phileo. The point in the different Greek words for love seems to be that Jesus was stretching Peter to move him from phileo love to agape love.

Whatever the reason for the three-fold “do you love me?” question, Jesus was impressing on Peter how important his new role of tending the flock of Christ’s followers would be. When someone repeats instructions to us over and over, we quickly understand that it’s extremely important for us to heed them. Jesus wanted to make sure Peter understood this vital charge He was tasking him with and the ultimate reason for it, to follow Him and glorify God (John 21:19).  

Judas went to hell.The Bible clearly indicates that Judas was not saved. Jesus Himself said of Judas, “The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born” (Matthew 26:24). Here is a clear picture of the sovereignty of God and the will of man working together. God had, from ages past, determined that Christ would be betrayed by Judas, die on the cross for our sins, and be resurrected. This is what Jesus meant when He said He would “go just as it is written about him.” Nothing would stop the plan of God to provide salvation for mankind.

However, the fact that it was all foreordained does not excuse Judas or absolve him from the punishment he would suffer for his part in the drama. Judas made his own choices, and they were the source of his own damnation. Yet the choices fit perfectly into the sovereign plan of God. God controls not only the good, but also the evil of man to accomplish His own ends. Here we see Jesus condemning Judas, but considering that Judas travelled with Jesus for nearly three years, we know He also gave Judas ample opportunity for salvation and repentance. Even after his dreadful deed, Judas could have fallen on his knees to beg God’s forgiveness. But he did not. He may have felt some remorse born of fear, which caused him to return the money to the Pharisees, but he never repented, preferring instead to commit suicide, the ultimate act of selfishness (Matthew 27:5-8).

In John 17:12, Jesus prays concerning His disciples, “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” At one time, though, Judas believed that Jesus was a prophet, or possibly even believed He was the Messiah. Jesus sent the disciples out to proclaim the gospel and perform miracles (Luke 9:1-6). Judas was included in this group. Judas had faith, but it was not a true saving faith. Judas was never “saved,” but for a time he was a follower of Christ.  God bless you!!! :):)

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Prophecy Before Our Eyes… Is Annihilationism Biblical?

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Ron RhodesBy Dr. Ron Rhodes
Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries

The doctrine of annihilationism teaches that man was created immortal. But those who continue in sin and reject Christ are by a positive act of God deprived of the gift of immortality and are ultimately destroyed.

Another view, called “conditional immortality,” argues that immortality is not a natural endowment of man, but is rather a gift of God in Christ only to those who believe. The person that does not accept Christ is ultimately annihilated and loses all consciousness. Some of the advocates of these doctrines teach a limited duration of conscious suffering for the wicked after death, after which time they are annihilated.

heaven hell

Refuting Annihilationism

There are many passages that refute annihilationism. For illustration purposes, we will select only one primary passage—Matthew 25:46: “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

By no stretch of the imagination can the punishment spoken of in Matthew 25:46 be defined as a nonsuffering extinction of consciousness. Indeed, if actual suffering is lacking, then so is punishment. Let us be clear on this: punishment entails suffering. And suffering necessarily entails consciousness.

Bible scholar John Gerstner tells us that “one can exist and not be punished; but no one can be punished and not exist. Annihilation means the obliteration of existence and anything that pertains to existence, such as punishment. Annihilation avoids punishment, rather than encountering it.”

How do we know that the punishment referred to in Matthew 25:46 does not entail an extinction of consciousness and annihilation? There are many evidences. For example, consider the fact that there are no degrees of annihilation. One is either annihilated or one is not. The Scriptures, by contrast, teach that there will be degrees of punishment on the day of judgment (Matthew 10:15; 11:21-24; 16:27; Luke 12:47-48; John 15:22; Hebrews 10:29; Revelation 20:11-15; 22:12).

The very fact that people will suffer varying degrees of punishment in hell shows that annihilation or the extinction of consciousness is not taught in Matthew 25:46 or anywhere else in Scripture. These are incompatible concepts.

Moreover, one cannot deny that for one who is suffering excruciating pain, the extinction of his or her consciousness would actually be a blessing—not a punishment (cf. Luke 23:30-31; Revelation 9:6). Any honest seeker after truth must admit that one cannot define “eternal punishment” as an extinction of consciousness.

We must emphasize that torment cannot, by definition, be anything but conscious torment. One cannot torment a tree, a rock, or a house. By its very nature, being tormented requires consciousness. Bible scholar Alan Gomes correctly points out that “a punishment [such as torment] that is not felt is not a punishment. It is an odd use of language to speak of an insensate (i.e., unfeeling), inanimate object receiving punishment. To say, ‘I punished my car for not starting by slowly plucking out its sparkplug wires, one by one,’ would evoke laughter, not serious consideration.” We repeat, then, that punishment entails consciousness!

A critical point to make in regard to Matthew 25:46 is that this punishment is said to be eternal. There is no way that annihilationism or an extinction of consciousness can be forced into this passage. Indeed, the adjective aionion in this verse literally means “everlasting, without end.” As noted earlier, this same adjective is predicated of God (the “eternal” God) in 1 Timothy 1:7, Romans 16:26, Hebrews 9:14, 13:8, and Revelation 4:9. The punishment of the wicked is just as eternal as our eternal God.

Gods Judgment, Hell And John 15 by Paul Washer

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Anonymous asked:I've been having so much guilt; I'm scared for what is to come. I want Jesus to help me overcome these sins and temptations, but I always end up falling back. What if Jesus comes, and I haven't moved past the same sins I've been trying to get rid of? I don't really hear God or feel Him in my heart like I used to.

I believe that this is happening in your life because you are not spending quality time with Jesus every day.  How can you feel close to someone you don’t spend time with.  Jesus is the Word made flesh so it makes sense that if you want to get close to Him you need to be in the Word every day.

Nelson’s Bible Dictionary defines temptation as “an enticement or invitation to sin, with the implied promise of greater good to be derived from following the way of disobedience.” Resisting tempation begins with knowing that Satan is the supreme “tempter” (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5) who has been tempting mankind since our Creator placed His first two children in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3; 1 John 3:8). Ultimately, however, we know that Satan’s power over Christians has been effectively destroyed as the war has already been won through our Savior’s death and resurrection which conquered the power of sin and death forever. Nonetheless, Satan still prowls the earth looking to drive a wedge between God and His children, and his temptations are unfortunately a daily part of our lives (1 Peter 5:8). Yet with the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of God’s Word to help us, we will find ourselves effectively resisting temptations.

The apostle Paul encourages us with these words: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Indeed, every one of us faces temptations of some kind; even Jesus was not immune as He was “tempted in every way, just as we are” (Hebrews 4:15). Although Satan may be the dark force ultimately behind the tempting, it is our fallen and corrupted human nature that allows these temptations to take root and cause us to act on them, thereby “giving birth to sin” (James 1:15). But it is the power of the Holy Spirit that enables us to free ourselves from the sin and temptations we struggle with in our daily lives. Thus, if we have the Spirit of Christ residing in our hearts, we already have what it takes to resist the flaming arrows the devil sends our way. As Paul told the Galatians, “live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Galatians 5:16). 

The Word of God has always been our best defense against Satan’s temptations, and the better we know His Word, the easier it will be to claim victory over our daily struggles. The Psalmist tells us “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). When Christ was tempted by Satan in the desert, the first thing He did was to quote Scripture (Matthew 4:4-10), which eventually caused the devil to leave Him. Indeed, Christians need to be diligent in studying God’s Word. “Oh how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies” (Psalm 119:97-98).

In addition to God’s Word, prayer can help us to resist temptation. The night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and He told Peter to pray “so that you will not fall into temptation” (Mark 14:38). Also, in the “Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus taught us to pray that we would not be lead into temptation (Matthew 6:13; Luke 11:4). Yet, when we do fall into temptation, we know that “God is faithful; He will not let us be tempted beyond what [we] can bear,” and that He will provide us with a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). This is a promise from God, and like Abraham, Christians should be “fully persuaded” that God has the power to do what He has promised (Romans 4:21).

Another way to help us resist temptation is to remember what Jesus Christ did for us. Even though He never committed a sin, He willingly endured the torture of the Cross for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Every sin we’ve ever committed, or will commit, played a part in nailing our Savior to the Cross. How we respond to Satan’s worldly allurements is a great indicator as to just how much the love of Jesus Christ occupies our hearts.

Now, even though Christians already have the tools necessary for victory, we need to use our common sense and not place ourselves in situations that prey upon, or stimulate, our weaknesses. We are already bombarded every day with images and messages that tantalize our sinful lusts. We don’t need to make it more difficult than it already is. Even though Christ’s Spirit resides in our hearts, it is cloaked with our flesh which can be very weak at times (Matthew 26:41). When we know something is or can be sinful, Paul warns us to “flee from it.” Remember, the “tempter” is also the master of rationalization, and there is no limit to the arguments the devil can offer us to justify our sinful behavior. 

Armed with His Spirit and the truth of His Word, we are well equipped to overcome Satan’s assaults (Ephesians 6). No matter what trials and temptations come our way, God’s Word and Spirit are infinitely more powerful than any of Satan’s schemes. When we walk with the Spirit we can look at temptations as opportunities for us to show God that He is indeed the Master of our lives.

God bless you!!! :):)

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Anonymous asked:Can Satan use people around you (family & friends) to try to bring you down? I was just wondering because it seems like all my friends and a lot of close family is being pulled drastically away from the Lord and into the world. Some have said they are no longer Christian. I was just wondering if Satan is just trying to pull me down by doing this or if I'm giving it to much thought. I do know the Lord will bring them back to Him.

If they are not Christians they are going to try to pull you down with them.  That is human nature.  I remember the lesson my husband gave our children when they were in their early teens.  We were steaming crab and they were alive.  When you put crabs into a pot of boiling water they try to climb out of the pot.  The ones that were on the top who almost made it out were pulled down by the crabs closer to the bottom.  Rather then helping one of their own get freedom, the other crabs pulled him down into the boiling water.  My husband told the our kids that is how people are.  They will pull you down to their level if you allow them to.  You need to be strong in your values and what you have been taught and never let anyone pull you down into the boiling water.  That is why the Bible teaches to not have close relationships with unbelievers.  We have nothing in common with them other then the fact that we are humans.  Jesus put it very well when he said “what fellowship does light have with dark?”  That doesn’t mean that we are top mean.  We just shouldn’t have them as close friends.  God bless you!!!:):)

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Anonymous asked:Is it wrong to look at a guy, but think nothing much of it and just find them attractive

No it isn’t wrong to look at a guy and find him attractive. It would be if you were lusting after him.  God bless you!!! :):)

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Anonymous asked:I've struggled with lust on and off for about 9 years, and recently I've gotten a good hold over it with God's help of course. However, the last few night's I've had a lot more sexual dreams. Is this satan trying to trip we up? This has been a really hard sin for me to conquer. I'm worried the dreams are gunna trip me up :/

Yes Satan is doing everything he can to drag all of us to hell.  Just look at what is on TV today.  That is one of the reasons that I have started limiting what is watched on TV.  Ultimately, we cannot control what we dream about or what happens with our bodies while we are asleep. However, if we are filling our minds with lustful / sinful things during the day, it will likely show up in our dreams. A nocturnal emission is a natural bodily function that is made more frequent by sexual over-stimulation. A nocturnal emission is not sinful in and of itself, but it can be the result of sinful thoughts, desires, and input. If you have a wet dream / nocturnal emission, examine your thought life. Examine what sort of images you are exposing yourself to. If you find that you have allowed yourself to be “inflamed” by lust, confess that to the Lord and asking for His help in overcoming it. In such a case, the wet dream / nocturnal emission is the result of sin, not a sin in and of itself. Follow the words of Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.”  God bless you!!! :):)

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