In This Way All Israel Will Be Saved

"Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, 'The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.'" Romans 11:25-27

The question is, how will all Israel be saved and to what extent does "all" mean (see 2 Peter 3:9 for a dealing with the word "all")? I think there is something to note here. Verse 26 begins with "And in this way..." In what way? In the inclusion of the Gentiles all Israel will be saved. That does not mean that no Jews will ever again be saved, but in comparing Joel 2:32 to Romans 11:26 the indication is that Paul was referring to the remnant of Jews that call upon the name of the Lord; as opposed to the false view that teaches every person of Jewish blood and/or who converts to Judaism will be saved (i.e., Jewish Universalism). I do believe this verse is referring to spiritual Israel, true Israel, all those who are truly the sons and daughters of Abraham (Gal. 3:8, 16, 26). After all, there is only one body of Christ, one bride of Christ, which is the church. To say God has two distinct groups of people is unbiblical. How anybody can believe this when the entire New Testament repeatedly declares "one body" (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 10:17; 12:12-14, 18-20; Eph. 2:16; 4:4; Col. 3:15), which is the bride—the church, is beyond me. Especially when passages such as Ephesians 2:11-22 make a point of this by declaring that the dividing wall was broken down and there remains but one.

No matter how sincerely one believes in two distinct groups, it is still contrary to Scripture and therefore a false teaching. A person can be a genuine brother or sister in the faith and yet, if they teach this, they are still a false teacher. If they make any prophetic statements about the future end times, especially things the Bible says nothing about (e.g., Hal Lindsay), they are also false prophets. The fact of the matter is that such teachings make God out to be a liar and His Word to be false and unreliable. While I can and do love my brothers and sisters in the faith who hold to these false teachings, nevertheless I cannot, in good conscience, allow them to malign the Word of God, no matter how faithful and sincere they may be.

Dispensationalism is a lie that distorts and maligns Scripture and makes God out to be schizophrenic and a liar. For example, God declared that Israel would be slaves to Egypt for 400 years. How long were they slaves? 400 years. God declared that Israel would wander the desert for 40 years. How long did they wander the desert? 40 years. God declared Israel would be captives to Babylon for 70 years. How long were they captive? 70 years. God declared that 490 years would be declared upon Israel. According to Dispensationalists, there have currently been over 2,000 years declared upon Israel where some imaginary "parenthesis" pretends that these 2,000 years do not exist and that time magically stands still for Israel. In other words, God declared 490 years but lied and has put them through over 2,000 years. (For a biblical answer to this issue, please read this blog entry: What Comes After 69?)

Another example of Dispensationalism making God out to be a liar: Jesus told us that His second coming would be like the days of Lot and the days of Noah. The flood was God's judgment, which took the wicked away. Jesus' second coming is judgment. When Jesus spoke of two being in one place, one taken and the other left, an examination of the Greek reveals that the word "taken" means to be taken in judgment. This same word is used of Jesus being taken to be scourged and taken to be crucified. Furthermore, an examination of Luke's parallel adds some information missing from Matthew. The question "Where?" is asked of those taken, to which Jesus responds, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather." The ones taken are taken in judgment. You want to be among those left behind. The word used for "left" means to be pardoned.

One last example should suffice:

"And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. And the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known." Deuteronomy 28:63-64

The entire passage of Deuteronomy 28 from verse 15 through verse 68 declares what God will do if national Israel fails to obey the covenant, which they did. While four times in Scripture it confirms adamantly that the land promise was fulfilled (Josh. 11:23; 21:41-43; 1 Kings 4:20-21; Neh. 9:21-25), nevertheless this passage lets us know that if national Israel fails to obey the covenant, the land will be taken away from them. Israel back as a nation in 1948 has nothing to do with Scripture or prophecy. National Israel today is as apostate as ever, and just as bad as (if not worse than) Islam. National Israel today adheres to the Talmud, an expansion of the Mishna that existed during Jesus' time. In the Talmud it says that Jesus is currently in Hell boiling in hot semen while Christians will boil in hot excrement. Yet, Dispensationalists still attempt to glorify heathen Israel by raising them to a status of worship. To them, the entire Bible is about Israel. However, on the road to Emaus Jesus went through the entire Old Testament and showed them how it was about HIM. Observe, in regard to the above passage:

"and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it; in a violent manner, by their enemies, and against their wills, they being loath to leave it. The Emperor Adrian, to prevent their insurrections and rebellions, which had given him a great deal of trouble, ordered by an edict that no Jew should come into Jerusalem, nor into the land of Judea, or be seen in it, which is observed by several writers; by which means the country was cleared of them. In later times some of them did get thither again, but they were but few. Benjamin of Tudela, a Jew of the twelfth century, travelled into several parts of the world in quest of his countrymen, and particularly into Judea, and his view was to magnify his people; and yet owns he found at Jerusalem only two hundred persons, whose employment was dyeing wool, and dwelt in a corner of the town under the tower of David; and but twelve at Bethlehem, three at Maresha, at Shunem indeed three hundred, none at Gilead, two at Nob, who were dyers, three at Ramah, one at Joppa, none at Jafne, where had been a famous academy, none at Ashdod, and at Tiberias about fifty. And our countryman Sandys, who travelled into Judea in the seventeenth century, says, 'here be some Jews, yet inherit they no part of the land, but in their own country do live as aliens.'" John Gill's Expositor

"63. ye shall be plucked from off the land—Hadrian issued a proclamation, forbidding any Jews to reside in Judea, or even to approach its confines." Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

"That is a terrible word (63), As the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, so he will rejoice over you to destroy you. Behold here the goodness and severity of God: mercy here shines brightly in the pleasure God takes in doing good--he rejoices in it; yet justice here appears no less illustrious in the pleasure he takes in destroying the impenitent; not as it is the making of his creatures miserable, but as it is the asserting of his own honour and the securing of the ends of his government. See what a malignant mischievous thing sin is, which (as I may say) makes it necessary for the God of infinite goodness to rejoice in the destruction of his own creatures, even those that had been favourites."Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible

Verse 64. The Lord shall scatter thee among all people] How literally has this been fulfilled! The people of the Jews are scattered over every nation under heaven." Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

"And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even to the other, Which refers to their present dispersion, being now, more or fewer, in all parts of the world, east, west, north, and south:
and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, [even] wood and stone: it may be observed, that the phrase, 'which either thou nor fathers have known', is fitly added here, which is not used of them, De 28:36; and well agrees with the idols of the Papists, their images of the Virgin Mary, and saints departed, made of wood and stone, which were such the fathers of the Jews never knew; just as it is said of the host, the consecrated wafer, the breaden god honoured by antichrist, that it is 'a god who his fathers knew not', Da 11:38; the apostles and ancient fathers of the church. Now in Popish countries the Jews have often been prevailed upon to change, or at least dissemble their religion, and embrace Popery: and have worshipped images of wood and stone. The author of the history of their calamities and sufferings owns this; 'multitudes (he says) in Spain and Portugal forsook the law of Moses, and joined the Papists, pretending at least to be of their religion.' He makes mention of sixteen thousand at one time, and some, he says, 'that were driven out of Spain, came into Italy, where the young men pressed with famine could not bear it, and changed their religion, and began to worship images that they might have to satisfy their hunger; and the Papists used to go about with a crucifix in one hand, and a piece of bread in the other, promising the bread to those that would worship the crucifix; and so many famishing persons forsook the law of Moses, and mixed with them:' and to this day the convents of monks and nuns in Spain are full of them; and most of their canons, inquisitors, and bishops, are Jews. The Targum of Jonathan indeed, to clear them from idolatry itself, gives another sense of these words, paraphrasing them, 'ye shall pay tribute to the worshippers of idols.'" John Gill's Expositor

"64. the Lord shall scatter thee among all people—There is, perhaps, not a country in the world where Jews are not to be found. Who that looks on this condition of the Hebrews is not filled with awe, when he considers the fulfilment of this prophecy?" Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

"That the remnant should be scattered throughout the nations This completes their woe: The Lord shall scatter thee among all people, 64. This is remarkably fulfilled in their present dispersion, for there are Jews to be fond almost in all countries that are possessed either by Christians or Mahometans, and in such numbers that it has been said, If they could unite in one common interest, they would be a very formidable body, and able to deal with the most powerful states and princes; but they abide under the power of this curse, and are so scattered that they are not able to incorporate." Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible

True Israel is spiritual Israel, which consists of all believers in Christ Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile (Rom. 11:17-24; 2:28-29; 9:6-8; Gal. 3:8, 16, 26; Eph. 2:11-22). This inclusion was prophesied many times in the Old Testament (Gen. 10; 12:1-3; Isa. 19:16-25; 42:6; 60:10-14; Hos. 1:10, cf. Rom. 9:26; Zech. 14:16). There is but one body of Christ, which is His bride, and that is the church. True Israel is the true church and the true church is the true Israel. "I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved."

A Love-letter Sent To You From God

by Thomas Watson, "Body of Divinity"

"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly." Colossians 3:16

STUDY the Scripture. It is a copy of God's will. Be Scripture-men, Bible-Christians. Search the Scripture as for a vein of gold. This blessed Book will fill your head with knowledge, and your heart with grace!

There is majesty sparkling in every line of Scripture.

There is a melody in Scripture. This is that blessed harp which drives away sadness of spirit. How sweetly does this harp of Scripture sound, what heavenly music does it make in the ears of a distressed sinner, especially when the finger of God's Spirit touches this instrument!

There is divinity in Scripture. It contains the marrow and quintessence of true religion. It is a rock of diamonds and a manual of piety. The lips of Scripture have grace poured into them. The Scripture speaks of faith, self-denial, and all the graces which, as a chain of pearls, adorns a Christian.

Oh, then, search the Scripture! Had I the tongue of angels, I could not sufficiently set forth the excellency of Scripture. It is a spiritual telescope, in which we behold God's glory! It is the tree of life, the oracle of wisdom, the rule of godliness, the heavenly seed of which the new creature is formed.

'The two Testaments,' says one, 'are the two breasts which every Christian must suck, that he may get spiritual nourishment.' These holy leaves of Scripture are for the healing of our souls.

The Scripture is profitable for all things. If we are downcast, here is spiced wine that cheers the heavy heart. If we are pursued by Satan, here is the sword of the Spirit to resist him. If we are diseased with sin's leprosy, here are the waters of the sanctuary, both to cleanse and cure. Oh, then, search the Scriptures!

Read the Bible with reverence. Think, in every line you read, that God is speaking to you. The ark wherein the Word was put was overlaid with pure gold, and was carried on bars, that the Levites might not touch it. Exodus 25:14. Why was this—but to give reverence to the Word?

Read with seriousness. It is matter of life and death; by this Word you must be tried and judged.

Read the Word with affection. Get your hearts quickened with the Word. Labor that the Word may not only be a lamp to direct but a fire to warm. Read the Scripture, not only as a history but as a love-letter sent to you from God, which may affect your hearts. Pray that the same Spirit who wrote the Word, may assist you in reading it; that God's Spirit would show you the wonderful things of His law, so that the Word will become effectual.

"Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long!" Psalm 119:97

For Our Viewing Pleasure?

by Jerry Sheppard (Soul Reach)

"I will set no worthless thing before my eyes"

(Psalm 101:3, NASB)

For the past while now, I have been thinking a bit on how I use my time, especially in the area of entertainment such as the amount of time I spend watching TV and listening to music. It is to the point that I find the amount of time I spend doing these things has affected my time in getting things that matter done. I waste far too much time on such entertainments as TV and music, when I could be using my time doing more productive things. My old acquaintance, Sakurah had written a very interesting article that deals with TV entertainment. What's even more interesting is the fact that she is not even a Christian and yet she has come to the realization of how TV wastes precious time that could be spent doing better things. She wrote the following:

“Lately I've been associating TV with laziness and just general negativity. I feel like it creates temporary fake happiness and even feelings of accomplishment to viewers because they are living through the characters they are watching. It draws you in and enables you to forget everything in your life and in reality. Finally you 'come to' and realize you just spent hours of your of your life sitting/lying on the couch doing nothing but looking straight ahead. This is not living life, is it? All of the experiences you felt you had by watching that TV screen aren't yours. You watched some one else fall in love, your watched someone else go on an amazing adventure, you watched someone else's facial expression when a bright orange fall leaf brushed past their cheek. Look at all the amazing experiences we could've had in only a couple hours in our lives that would be truly ours. Our own memories to look back on and enjoy. You could've had an enlightening conversation with some interesting person at your local coffee shop. You could've felt a rain drop fall slowly down over your face, while walking down your favorite street in town. Lay in the grass with the sun on your skin, felt a breeze in your hair, and imagined shapes in the clouds. You could feel the scrunch of snow under your feet and become amazed by how beautiful it looks on the trees, notice the little footprints left behind by all the animals we scarcely see. Life is really happening around us all the time. Go out and take notice!”¹

The above comment written by Sakurah is quite revealing. For it was a known truth taught in many evangelical Churches a number of years ago. Many  Christians at one time even refused to have TVs in their homes, because they well understood how distracting entertainment can be, and how much time it wastes in their lives. They also knew the danger it posed to their spiritual lives as well. They knew all too well how the TV and Movie Theatre would fill their minds with the worldly entertainments and filth that would stifle their fellowship with the Lord. However, many Christians today, myself included have top of the line flat screen TV's where we watch our favourite shows and waste precious time that could be better spent doing more productive things as my friend Sakurah articulates  so well in her above article.

Continue reading...

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¹ Sakurah (Alisha) Horwood, "TV", posted on Facebook: Notes, Wednesday, September 29, 2010.

The Qualities of a Godly Husband

Initially it seemed that Proverbs had little to say to the woman who sought to discern the qualities of a godly husband. I have come to see that this is not at all the case. In general, we can say that a woman should seek a man who is wise. Since we have already studied the characteristics of the wise, we will only summarize them here. These seem especially applicable to marriage:

1. A wise husband is kind and compassionate (12:10).
2. A wise husband is honest (29:24).
3. A wise husband is hard-working (12:11; 27:23-27).
4. A wise husband is truthful (12:17,19).
5. A wise husband exercises self-control (12:15; 16:32).
6. A wise husband has a gentle tongue (12:18; 15:1-2,4).
7. A wise husband is generous (14:21; 28:27).
8. A wise husband is willing to be corrected (even by his wife) and listens to counsel (12:15; 15:12,31-32; 28:13; 29:1).
9. A wise husband is a man of integrity (19:1; 20:7).
10. A wise husband is faithful and reliable (17:17; 29:3; contrast 25:19; 31:3).
11. A wise husband is forgiving (19:11).
12. A wise husband is willing to admit he is wrong (28:13).
13. A wise husband is humble (15:25,33; 16:18-19; 18:12; 29:23).
14. A wise husband is not contentious, but a peacemaker (17:1; 18:1,19).
15. A wise husband has control of his temper (14:29; 16:32; 17:27; 29:11).
16. A wise husband is a man who avoids excesses (20:1; 23:20-21, 29-35; 31:3-9).
17. A wise husband has a concern for others, especially the poor and the oppressed (29:7).
18. A wise husband can keep a confidence (17:9; 26:20).
19. A wise husband fears God and is obedient to His Word (13:13; 14:26; 16:20; 28:25; 31:30).
20. A wise husband is not a jealous man (27:4).
21. A The wise husband has a positive outlook on life (15:15; 17:22; 18:14).

As I look at these characteristics of the wise I am reminded of the qualifications laid down by the apostle Paul for elders and deacons in 1 Timothy 3.I find a great similarity between the qualifications for church leaders and the characteristics of the wise in Proverbs. But should this come as a surprise? After all, isn’t Proverbs written to young men who will be leaders, instructing them about wisdom? In this sense 1 Timothy 3 only summarizes what Proverbs has taught in greater detail.

The Character Traits of a Godly Wife

Proverbs is most specific with regard to the qualities of the godly wife. These are highlighted by contrasting the moral flaws of a woman who is far from virtuous.

1. A GODLY WIFE IS GODLY. Godliness begins with a proper relationship to God. A godly wife is, first and foremost, a woman who fears God.
   
   Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised (31:30).
   
   In contrast, the woman to avoid is the one who does not know or fear God. She is sometimes referred to as a “strange woman,” that is a foreigner, one who has no knowledge of the God of Israel (cf. 2:25; 5:3,20; 7:5). She is actively evil and has no grasp of the way of the Lord.
   
   She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it (5:6).
   
   To keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the adulteress (6:24).
   
   While perhaps not synonymous with a fear of God, the godly wife is referred to as virtuous or excellent (12:4; 31:10). This seems to describe the moral excellence of the godly wife, a result of her godliness.
    
2. A GODLY WIFE IS WISE. You will recall that wisdom is personified as a woman in the Book of Proverbs (cf. 1:20-33; 8:1-36; 9:1-6). So also the ideal wife is characterized as a woman of wisdom.
   
   The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands (14:1).
   
   She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue (31:26).
   
   The opposite of the godly woman is the woman of folly.
   
   The woman of folly is boisterous, She is naive, and knows nothing (9:13).
   
   As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion (11:22).
    
3. A GODLY WIFE HONORS HER HUSBAND. A man who has married a godly wife has a wife who will bring honor to him. She is truly a helper to her husband.
   
   An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who shames him is as rottenness in his bones (12:4).
   
   The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack, of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life (31:11-12).
   
   An ungodly wife humiliates and harasses her husband. She is not a helper but a hindrance to her mate. She is “as rottenness in his bones” (12:4). By her haranguing, she makes him miserable:
   
   A foolish son is destruction to his father, And the contentions of a wife are a constant dripping (19:13).
    
4. A GODLY WIFE IS GRACIOUS. One reason honor is given the godly woman is that she is known for her graciousness.
   
   A gracious woman attains honor, And violent men attain riches (11:16).
   
   The ungodly woman is spoken of in very unbecoming terms. She is vexing, due to her contentious nature:
   
   It is better to live in a corner of a roof, Than in a house shared with a contentious woman (21:9; cf. 25:24).
   
   It is better to live in a desert land, Than with a contentious and vexing woman (21:19).
    
5. A GODLY WIFE IS FAITHFUL TO HER HUSBAND. This is most clearly shown by contrast with the woman of folly who is an adulteress.
   
   To deliver you from the strange woman, From the adulteress who flatters with her words; That leaves the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God (2:16-17).
   
   To keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the adulteress (6:24).
   
   "Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with caresses For the man is not at home. . . " (7:18-19).
   
   While it is not stated explicitly, it is implied and assumed that a godly wife is one who maintains sexual purity. She is a woman who is virtuous or excellent (31:10), in whom her husband has complete trust (31:11). She does her husband only good and not evil (31:12). She teaches her son the virtues of sexual purity (31:3). Certainly she is a woman of sexual purity.

Separation of Church and State?

The below can be found on a plaque on the outside wall at Harvard University (verbatim, in the spelling of the day). This reveals that no such thing as "separation of church and state" ever existed. If you are going to have a civil government that has justice and law, it has to be based upon a moral foundation, which comes from the church.

After God had carried vs safe to New England
and wee had bvilded ovr hovses
provided necessaries for ovr liveli hood
reard convenient places for Gods worship
and setled the civill government
one of the next things we longed for
and looked after was to advance learning
and perpetvate it to posterity
dreading to leave an illiterate ministery
to the chvrches when ovr present ministers
shall lie in the dvst

New England First Frvits

In order to have a moral society, morality has to originate from some place. Morality cannot and does not originate from man, as we can see from modern society where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. There is no standard, and if it were left up to man to come up with a standard, they would never agree. Morality originates from God's Word, the Bible, which originates from God Himself Who is the authority on and standard for morality. God determines what is moral and what is not moral. As soon as a society rejects that, as soon as a society rejects God and His Word, morality begins to deteriorate into immorality, where bad is called good and good is called bad. Society has to be governed by a standard of morality, and the early founding fathers of America knew this. Without it, you end up with a corrupt and perverse society such as we see today. The church does not need to govern the state, but it ought to influence it. May God provide us a revival such as we have never seen before.

Typical Debate Tactics of the Unsaved

Debating non-Christians and nominal "Christians" is hilariously funny and sadly pathetic all at the same time. It is always the same. Nothing ever changes. They use the same thoroughly beaten and dead arguments over and over again without ever learning a thing. You can convince them beyond the shadow of a doubt with logical, evidential, and factual information to where they ditch their false arguments and the lies they have been fed for years, but not long after they miraculously forget the logical, evidential, and factual information revealed to them and start spewing their previously beaten false arguments as if nothing had been shown them.

When all their assertions are vetted and found failing, they either ignore counter arguments as if they do not exist; respond in a non seqitur manner; select irrelevant portions or minor points not as germane as the core of the rebuttal, and interact only with those to avoid having to confront the evidence; introduce ad hominems; or disappear from the vetting process to the comforting arms of companions who share their theological miscalculations.

Those who claim they believe the Bible yet espouse various forms of wickedness and refuse to repent thereof truly do not believe the Bible. When specific verses or passages are shared with them, they claim they are misinterpreted (and have been for the past 2000 years). Since they do not have anything in the Bible to support their position, they are constantly and consistently looking for affirmation and approval from the world and what is happening in the world. They use these things in a manner to trump the Bible in an attempt to justify their wickedness. Because the world is doing it or approves of doing it, therefore it must be right and the Bible's representation of it must be wrong.

Any individual who claims to be a Christian and yet tells you we are not supposed to take the Bible literally is not a Christian at all. They do not believe what the Bible has to say, but would interpret the entire thing based on their feelings and opinions at the time. Anyone who claims to be a Christian and tells you to quit quoting the Bible as a source, while trying to quote worldly sources themselves, is not a Christian. Just because these people claim to be "Christians" does not make them genuine Christians. The Bible gave us warnings about this.

Pay close attention in your debates with the non-Christian and nominal "Christian." Memorize the information in paragraph two above and watch how it is true of every single debate/argument they will have with you. It is usually a combination of several of those actions. If you are having a conversation with them about pseudo-science versus real science, they will accuse you of trying to force your "religion" down their throats, even though you have not mentioned a single thing about "religion." They are very crafty in their deceptions and tricks, just like their father, the devil. They will try to end the debate/argument any way they can, trying to make you out to be the bad guy while attempting to claim victory of the debate/argument at the same time.

Their tactics are always the same. Do not let them think they have won. Be wise and vigil. When they attempt a false line of reasoning, respond back to it with the truth. Here is an example from Trevin Wax of how you might respond to their many sneak-attack falsehoods they preach as if it were the truth (and this goes for any subject of debate, not just homosexuality):

"[You say that] because you believe sexual desire reflects the core of one's identity. It would help if you and others who agree with you would understand that in your putting pressure on me to accept homosexual behaviour as normal and virtuous, you are going to the very core of my identity as a follower of Jesus. The label most important to me is "Christian." My identity—in Christ—is central to who I am. So I could say the same thing and call you intolerant, bigoted, and hateful for trying to change a conviction that goes to the core of who I am as a Christian. I don't say that because I don't believe that's your intention. But neither should you think it's my intention to attack a homosexual person or cause them harm merely because I disagree."

The truth will always win out. Keep speaking the truth to the unsaved—in love—and be watchful for their devious tactics, such as labeling your disagreement with them as "hate crimes" or the like. Mindless illogical nonsense is clung to and spewed by most of the population in deliberate ignorance. Laws have been passed based on this mindless illogical nonsense. Seems most people lack the ability to think and reason any more these days. Watch for such nonsense and answer it accordingly with truth. Witness for yourself their use of everything in paragraph two.

The Lie of Free Choice

There are believers out there who still espouse the old lie that says that you have the power and freedom of choice to choose whether you will have faith in Christ Jesus or not.

You have no such choice, my friends.

You are spiritually dead inside and you have a heart of stone. You hate God and will never come to Him because you are not capable of doing so (John 3:19). You cannot regenerate your own heart, nor can you make yourself spiritually alive. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. So, even if you had a "free will," which you do not, how is your will going to regenerate your heart and make you spiritually alive? It cannot! The Bible states that salvation is not by the will of man (John 1:13). Your will is fallen and directed by your heart of stone. Can natural man change his own will from stone to flesh? hatred to love? No, he cannot. The Bible also says it is not by man's desire or effort (Rom. 9:16).

The believers who espouse this old lie will tell you that you cannot be convinced or persuaded of the truth, nor can you be reasoned with to believe the truth; you simply have to choose to have faith in it. That simply is not true.

Before you are able to exercise faith in Christ Jesus, you must be made alive (John 3:3, 5), you must be given a heart of flesh (Acts 16:14). You must be given faith. Once the Holy Spirit has regenerated your heart and made you alive, then you will be convinced of the truth and you can be reasoned with to believe the truth (Is. 1:18). As long as you are unregenerate and hard-hearted, you will never believe (John 10:26). For anyone to tell you that all you have to do is make the choice, they are lying to you. They are preaching a false gospel.

Scripture commands you to believe, yes, but it also declares that you cannot believe. Faith must be granted to you, which comes about the moment your heart is regenerated and you are made spiritually alive. At that moment, you will believe because you cannot not believe. If it were left up to us, every one of us would end up in hell. We cannot change our hearts or our spiritual condition. Only God can do that (Ez. 11:19).

These believers ought to preach the gospel as it is contained in God's Word and leave it at that. Those who hear the gospel will believe if God saves them. Remember, Jesus said that "All that the Father gives to me will come to me" (John 6:37). That phrase "come to me" simply means "to believe in/on me." John 6:44 states clearly, "No one can come to me (believe in/on me) unless the Father who sent me draws him; ..." John 6:65 likewise states clearly, "...no one can come to me (believe in/on me) unless it has been granted him from the Father." If people would pay closer attention to what the words of their Bible actually say—in context—there would be less errors of interpretation. Likewise, 2 Peter 3:9 informs us that God is long-suffering, patiently waiting until every last believer exercises the faith given them in their appointed time.

To claim that all one has to do is exercise faith by his own "free will" by choosing to believe in Christ Jesus is to declare that the Holy Spirit is unnecessary in the preaching of the gospel to the unsaved and to the process of salvation. In other words, we are capable of saving ourselves merely by exercising faith according to our own "free will." This is not biblical. These are opinions/feelings imposed upon the Scriptures. Look at what 1 Corinthians 12:3 says.

1 Corinthians 4:7 asks, "What do you have that you did not receive?" 1 Corinthians 15:10 answers, "But by the grace of God I am what I am." Ephesians 2:4-7 says clearly, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us (believers), even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us (believers) in Christ Jesus." God made us alive. We were saved by grace.

If these believers cannot preach the word of God accurately, they need to close their mouths because they are only creating confusion and spreading lies about what the Word of God actually says and teaches.

What Is Deism?

Deism = belief in a god (NOT the God of the Bible) or a "higher power" + lack of logical reasoning.

Deism denies the Bible as the inspired, inerrant, infallible, and sufficient holy Word of God. They argue that Scripture was written by men. They are wrong. Scripture was written by God through men who were under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is supernatural in origin. It was written over a period of 1,500 years by over 40 authors in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The FACT it is the Word of God can be seen through many different aspects. First, the Bible is the only book to hang its credibility and its ability to write history in advance—without error. Second, despite man's repeated attempts to disprove the Bible and undermine it, it has repeatedly risen above and demonstrated the FACT that it is accurate and reliable to the uttermost. Man keeps trying to disprove it using the same tired arguments that have been destroyed time and time again. Third, history, archaeology, and science repeatedly back up everything contained in the Scriptures. When science was ignorant and taught one thing, the Bible contained the correct information (e.g., science used to believe and teach that the oceans were flat, but the Bible, hundreds of years prior, stated the FACT that they contained mountains and valleys). Fourth, the Bible predicted people (by name), events, circumstances, and details hundreds of years before they were ever fulfilled. 200 years before Medo-Persia sacked Babylon, Cyrus was named by name (Is. 44:24-45:7). At Jesus' first coming alone, He fulfilled over 300 prophecies! Fifth, the Bible is the only book that actually changes lives! Drug addicts have been cured by it, homosexuals set free by it, derelicts and deadbeats transformed by it, hardened criminals reformed by it, sinners rebuked by it, and hate turned to love by it. The Bible possesses a dynamic and transforming power that is only possible because it is truly God’s Word.

Deism claims that the books of the Bible were merely "voted" upon by men, which is not true. All men did was look at the internal and external evidence of the various books to determine which were supernatural in origin. For the Old Testament, they looked at which books were accepted and used by the Jews. The New Testament is merely historical accounts and letters of the events that took place, as they were eye-witness accounts. There are many books out there that individuals claim should be part of the Bible, but anyone who examines the internal and external evidence of these books will find that they fall drastically short of the mark of authenticity, several being in a language other than what the original was in (like The Rest of Esther), many having a recognized name attached to it who never wrote it in the first place (like The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, and the Gospel of Judas), among many other telling traits. Problem is, the people who want to believe these "other books" were left out by the mere "choice" of men and should be included in the Bible do so in ignorance with no desire to research the FACTS. Anyone who reads The Gospel of Thomas can tell right away that it is contradictory to the rest of Scripture, which agrees harmoniously with each other from cover to cover (hence its supernatural origin). Verse 14 of The Gospel of Thomas states that if you pray you condemn yourself. Verse 114 says Jesus will turn Mary into a man so she can get to heaven. Where are either of these contained in the Bible? Where is any such teaching contained in the Bible? Verse 14 contradicts every instance of prayer in the Bible as well as every instruction regarding prayer.

Throughout time, skeptics have regarded the Bible as mythological, but archaeology has confirmed it as historical. Opponents have attacked its teaching as primitive and outdated, but its moral and legal concepts and teachings have had a positive influence on societies and cultures throughout the world. It continues to be attacked by pseudo-science, psychology, and political movements, yet it remains just as true and relevant today as it was when it was first written. It is a book that has transformed countless lives and cultures throughout the last 2000 years. No matter how its opponents try to attack, destroy, or discredit it, the Bible remains; its veracity and impact on lives is unmistakable. The accuracy which has been preserved despite every attempt to corrupt, attack, or destroy it is clear testimony to the fact that the Bible is truly God’s Word and is supernaturally protected by Him. It should not surprise us that, no matter how the Bible is attacked, it always comes out unchanged and unscathed. After all, Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31). After looking at the evidence, one can say without a doubt that, yes, the Bible is truly God’s Word.

Many Deists think they used to be Christians, but the FACT is that they were never Christian to begin with. They might have participated in Christian things, but the FACT they were never saved to begin with illustrates the FACT that they were never Christians. They have no idea what salvation means or entails. They are just blind guides following other blind guides. Deists are ignorant individuals who think they are intelligent and reasoning when the FACT of the matter is that they lack logical reasoning and common sense. They are idolators, having rejected the God of the Bible for a god of their own imagination (typically "a god of love"). They deny a God Who would met out justice and convict people of their sin, thereby sentencing them to hell for eternity. Their god is merely a god of love (sound familiar to a false gospel preached by Evangelicalism?), whereas the God of the Bible is also a God of justice, of wrath, of holiness, of grace, of mercy, etc., etc. All His attributes are holy and are equal to each other. None trumps the others at the expense of the others.

Deism is a bankrupt belief system that has no foundation beneath it. When weighed and measured against truth, it crumbles into dust.

Our DNA

The word racecar can be read forward and backward, much like our DNA. But our DNA is not merely words that read the same forward and backward, it is complete sentences: Was it a rat I saw. In fact, it is much more than sentences.

The combination I like chocolater that evening is an overlapping of two individual sentences: I like chocolate and Later that evening. Our DNA does not merely overlap sentences, it overlaps entire chapters.

We are told that we "evolved" via multitudes of mutations over a long period of time. Problem is, 99.99999...% of all mutations are lethal. If you allowed for a single mutation to occur every second, it would take you trillions of years to go from a single-celled organism and get anywhere close to what we see today. It is not possible. It is also not probable.

If you take the sentence Was it a rat I saw, which reads the same forward and backward, and change a single letter for the better, the reverse reading no longer reads the same: Was it a rad I saw. The same is true of our DNA. You make a single mutation for the better, and it is still for the worse because the backward reading is now changed, as is every instance of overlapped information that reads forward and backward. So one good mutation created a backlash of bad mutations.

Furthermore, new information cannot be added naturally. DNA splicing is man attempting to play God by adding new information; it does not happen on its own. If a child is born with four arms, it is a mutation of existing information. If a child is born with no arms, it is a loss of existing information. A child will never be born with wings, which would be the addition of new information.

We are complex beings. We did not evolve. We were created.

"I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well." Ps 139:14