You should never have gloated over your brother
in the day of his distress;
You should never have rejoiced over the people of Judah
in the day of their destruction;
You should never have boastfully mocked
in the day of calamity.
You should never have entered the gate of My people
in the day of their disaster.
Yes, you - talking to you!
Do not gloat over their misery
in the day of their disaster
and do not appropriate their possessions
in the day of their disaster.
Do not stand at the crossroads
to cut off their fugitives,
and do not hand over their survivors
in the day of distress. Obadiah 1:12-14
No doubt the children of Edom thought that they had chosen the winning side when they stood at the crossrosads (verse 14) and identified Jewish refugees to their enemies.
No doubt the sons of Esau trusted in some notion that they would be exempt from judgment since they were able to consider themselves more righteous than the children of Israel - it wasn't their judgment that mattered (verse 10).
No doubt the Edomites believed the distress of their brother, Jacob, was permanent and justified their "kick him while he is reprobate" stupidity.
calvinists - beware. Calvin was precisely that stupid.
Reprobates will be made known by Jesus (Jesus is God) on the last day. They were not pre-packaged to be so - they, as humans, are welcome at the cross so long as there is time and they come into the presence of the God who loves so much that He will even turn His back on harm that He had planned.
That is Bible - not vain jangling imagination.
Come to Jesus.
Come to the Cross.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
Revealing Jesus
Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7 (NAS)
When the calvinist imagination about how salvation is accomplished in the remote distance of “eternity past” and projected into time on lucky individuals is explained by Calvin, the result is laughable. Literally. Calvin mentions that no one can explain how the lucky recipient really knows whether he/she is saved. Salvation, to Calvin, comes by God’s secret counsel and not response to the gospel…BUT…response to the gospel proves that God’s secret counsel has been accomplished. Since responding to the gospel proves nothing and everything at the same time, one hopes that Calvin will explain what he means. He rebukes anyone who wants a reasonable explanation by accusing him/her of wanting to turn into a bird. Biiirrds!! Birds that stare at the sun and cannot tell if they are flying too high or diving too deeply into the abyss. Sounds suspiciously like he has smuggled in the story of Daedalus and Icarus to flesh out his silly imagination. Where’s Jesus in all of this complicated nightmare? (calvinists! Jesus is God…stop saying things about God that you cannot prove through Jesus!)
Amos tells the truth about the secret counsel of God. It is revealed to the prophets. Not just any idiot of a prophet who, like a clock that has stopped, can be correct twice a day. God reveals His secrets to prophetic servants. (Since “servant” = “elect,” then one can call these “elect prophets” aka those that are trustworthy.) God has assembled the works of the prophets into the books of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Explanation of these works is appropriate and discussion is important. No one can rework the teachings of the prophets into his own esoteric system in order to capture the souls of humans with impunity. Calvin’s nonsensical picture of the secret counsel of God as to which sinful humans were “elect” and those who had always been damned has no biblical basis at all.
Of course, the most important prophet of all is the Lord Jesus Christ. This same Jesus said outrageous things that even a child could understand. “…whosoever believes in Him (Jesus) will not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus did not construct complicated systems that only the elite and initiated could understand and provide admission for those whom they approved. Jesus did not expect that someone would “make Jesus Lord over their life” and prove the effects of the gospel and good works before salvation was granted – if so, then what proof is there that the dying thief persevered? Jesus favored women and children and Roman soldiers over his kinsmen who had established legalistic rituals (Matthew 23:13-36. He calls them snakes = devils) or were getting fat rich off of His Father’s house (Matthew 21:12-13). Jesus Christ (Jesus is God) was completely in tune with the secret counsels of His Father and did not make it difficult for humans to understand Him or prevent any from coming to Him. He did not chase them down in order to benefit them but called out to them and invited them to accept Him. Jesus died on a cross to say, “I love you ______________________, with all that I am.”
Come to Jesus.
Come to the Cross.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
He doesn't do random...
"When Israel was a child,
then I loved him,
and I called my Son out of Egypt." Hosea 11:1 (Matthew 2:15)
Matthew, in his New Testament gospel, claims the latter part of this verse as being fulfilled when the child Jesus returns from Egypt with Joseph and Mary, His earthly parents. Since that claim is true, then the prophet is pointing out the way that God works in the realm of humanity.
Those who are enamored with the unbiblical system of Calvin try to teach that God does things on the basis of random choice (randomness philosophy = evolutionism). They cannot explain why He does the things He does (Amos 3:7) and resort to pompous word usage such as "Sovereignty of God" as a trump card over honest questions asked about the inconsistencies of their system. "Sovereignty of God", in their way of declaring it, usually means, "We don't have an answer to why we believe God chose to make humans that He always intended to destroy as reprobates and we don't care since we are saved... God does things because He wants to and who are YOUU that you dare to question Him or us who speak for Him??!!"
I personally reject, in the name of Jesus, that calvinists speak for God (Jesus is God) since they don't recognize the clear picture in the Bible that God acts on the basis of love. God loves Israel and He calls His own Son out of the relative safety of Egypt to go home to the land of Israel in order to suffer and die at the hands of people He loves. That they hate Him and reject the offer of eternal life that He has made to them does not change His love for them. He still makes it available to them...salvation was not pre-packaged before creation and delivered to them and certainly was not handed out to Gentiles. Jesus is salvation and He makes himself available in time.
Jesus has perfect timing. He fulfilled all the prophecies about Him on time and in time. The Bible does not spell out any deal that was made by God before creation that guaranteed the salvation of any individual human (who did not exist at that moment) or the damnation of any, either. The Bible teaches that salvation is based on the outrageous love of God that offers, in time, the Cross of Jesus. No other provision has been made. All other deals have been nullified (Hebrews 8:9-10).
Come to Jesus.
Come to the Cross.
then I loved him,
and I called my Son out of Egypt." Hosea 11:1 (Matthew 2:15)
Matthew, in his New Testament gospel, claims the latter part of this verse as being fulfilled when the child Jesus returns from Egypt with Joseph and Mary, His earthly parents. Since that claim is true, then the prophet is pointing out the way that God works in the realm of humanity.
Those who are enamored with the unbiblical system of Calvin try to teach that God does things on the basis of random choice (randomness philosophy = evolutionism). They cannot explain why He does the things He does (Amos 3:7) and resort to pompous word usage such as "Sovereignty of God" as a trump card over honest questions asked about the inconsistencies of their system. "Sovereignty of God", in their way of declaring it, usually means, "We don't have an answer to why we believe God chose to make humans that He always intended to destroy as reprobates and we don't care since we are saved... God does things because He wants to and who are YOUU that you dare to question Him or us who speak for Him??!!"
I personally reject, in the name of Jesus, that calvinists speak for God (Jesus is God) since they don't recognize the clear picture in the Bible that God acts on the basis of love. God loves Israel and He calls His own Son out of the relative safety of Egypt to go home to the land of Israel in order to suffer and die at the hands of people He loves. That they hate Him and reject the offer of eternal life that He has made to them does not change His love for them. He still makes it available to them...salvation was not pre-packaged before creation and delivered to them and certainly was not handed out to Gentiles. Jesus is salvation and He makes himself available in time.
Jesus has perfect timing. He fulfilled all the prophecies about Him on time and in time. The Bible does not spell out any deal that was made by God before creation that guaranteed the salvation of any individual human (who did not exist at that moment) or the damnation of any, either. The Bible teaches that salvation is based on the outrageous love of God that offers, in time, the Cross of Jesus. No other provision has been made. All other deals have been nullified (Hebrews 8:9-10).
Come to Jesus.
Come to the Cross.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Open book exam...
"And so I sat and watched until all the thrones on earth had been overthrown and the one who is known as "The Ancient of Days" took his seat upon his own throne. He was dressed in robes so pure that they were as white as snow and the hair of his head matched that purity like perfectly white wool. He sat, enthroned upon a burning flame and the wheels of his chariot were circles of fire. A stream of fire that burned to purity was constantly streaming out from his presence on the throne and incorporated the ranks of his servants: thousands of thousands were closest to him and ten thousands of groups of ten thousand surrounded all of them. The time of judgment had arrived and the books were arrayed on stands round about the throne--and the books were opened!" Daniel 7:9-10
Judgment is always serious business and, when properly done, takes preparation and wisdom, carefully studying the conditions to be judged. In most cases, judgment is best accomplished when it uses recorded evidence as opposed to hearsay. Good parents are quick to suspect the testimony of the tattle-tale since they have not examined the evidence and have only the word of one witness. When parents champion the cause of what is right, they study the facts and take the side of what is proper and good.
Those, such as Calvin, who like to come up with fanciful ideas of how God did things in the eternal realm try to give the picture that He worked out something called "reprobation" against most of humanity. Reprobation, they claim, is how God decided in advance that evil humans that He had made would be automatically swept away as trash at the judgment. Of course, this picture presents a serious problem when compared to the biblical picture of judgment.
In the picture given by Daniel, above, God arranges everything so that books can be set in place and other trustworthy witnesses beside the knowledge of the Judge Himself can be heard to corroborate the case of each person. If there is a special class of persons who were made as evil trash from the very beginning, then why bring them to trial at all? Why not just sweep them away and have a trial for the lottery winners who were automatically saved before the foundation of the world? The reason that Daniel and other prophets and apostles give the authoritative, biblical picture of judgment that is connected with books (Revelation 20:12) is to remind all of mankind that God values His creation and is committed to the gift that He has given unto us; the gift of Jesus' blood shed on the Cross of Calvary.
Humans are worth so much to Jesus that He became one with us in the awful condition of sin. His provision for sin at the cross establishes the standard by which all of mankind will be judged. To appropriate that ultimate act of Providence as a part of our personal life, we must visit Jesus and do business with Him at the place of His perfect sacrifice.
Come to Jesus.
Come to the Cross.
Judgment is always serious business and, when properly done, takes preparation and wisdom, carefully studying the conditions to be judged. In most cases, judgment is best accomplished when it uses recorded evidence as opposed to hearsay. Good parents are quick to suspect the testimony of the tattle-tale since they have not examined the evidence and have only the word of one witness. When parents champion the cause of what is right, they study the facts and take the side of what is proper and good.
Those, such as Calvin, who like to come up with fanciful ideas of how God did things in the eternal realm try to give the picture that He worked out something called "reprobation" against most of humanity. Reprobation, they claim, is how God decided in advance that evil humans that He had made would be automatically swept away as trash at the judgment. Of course, this picture presents a serious problem when compared to the biblical picture of judgment.
In the picture given by Daniel, above, God arranges everything so that books can be set in place and other trustworthy witnesses beside the knowledge of the Judge Himself can be heard to corroborate the case of each person. If there is a special class of persons who were made as evil trash from the very beginning, then why bring them to trial at all? Why not just sweep them away and have a trial for the lottery winners who were automatically saved before the foundation of the world? The reason that Daniel and other prophets and apostles give the authoritative, biblical picture of judgment that is connected with books (Revelation 20:12) is to remind all of mankind that God values His creation and is committed to the gift that He has given unto us; the gift of Jesus' blood shed on the Cross of Calvary.
Humans are worth so much to Jesus that He became one with us in the awful condition of sin. His provision for sin at the cross establishes the standard by which all of mankind will be judged. To appropriate that ultimate act of Providence as a part of our personal life, we must visit Jesus and do business with Him at the place of His perfect sacrifice.
Come to Jesus.
Come to the Cross.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Have some grape juice with those figs.
The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, "What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying:
<The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge?>
As I live, says the Lord GOD, you shall no longer have any reason to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine:
The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:1-4
The augustinian formula for "Original Sin" needs to be examined and shown to be inadequate for expressing the truth that the Bible teaches about sin. Adam and Eve sinned and inflicted death upon all of mankind. I am not personally responsible for Adam's sin and he is not at all responsible for mine. My dad's sour grapes were his own and I am not a sinner because he enjoyed them at different times in his life. The only reason my dad can be mentioned as a component part of my sin is because I did not exist untlil he and mom participated in the procreative process. If I didn't exist, I would not be a sinner. When my parents were biologically disabled from bringing children into the world, they deprived unactualized brothers and sisters of mine from becoming sinners. The rest of us went down like 10 pins (even though there were only 7 of us).
The problem with the augustinian/calvinist system is that it never factors in the truth of God's creative ability to make contingent beings come on the scene without them having existed eternally. Using a low grade of logic that refuses to work through contradictions, the augustinian/calvinist starts with the notion that God knows everything and winds up with a deterministic universe that somehow is still free for something to happen. Meanwhile, they ignore the painful reality that points to the fact that, once upon a time, they did not exist. They have no answer for this objection...
Meanwhile, we all choose sour grapes. Not because we are pre-destined to do so, but because we are deceived into thinking that they really are sweet. (Interesting that the calvinists don't factor the devil and evil into the cosmic equation since they have the magic formula of chosen saved versus chosen reprobates.) Once we find ourselves without protection in the realm of the original sinner (that would be Satan...1 John 3:10), then we immediately understand our need for a Savior. This knowledge comes to us because the GIFT of the figs eaten by our original parents is the knowledge of good and evil. Knowing evil, we know that we need Jesus. Knowing the same thing, the devil offers substitutes.
Accept no substitute!
Come to Jesus!
Come to the Cross.
<The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge?>
As I live, says the Lord GOD, you shall no longer have any reason to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine:
The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:1-4
The augustinian formula for "Original Sin" needs to be examined and shown to be inadequate for expressing the truth that the Bible teaches about sin. Adam and Eve sinned and inflicted death upon all of mankind. I am not personally responsible for Adam's sin and he is not at all responsible for mine. My dad's sour grapes were his own and I am not a sinner because he enjoyed them at different times in his life. The only reason my dad can be mentioned as a component part of my sin is because I did not exist untlil he and mom participated in the procreative process. If I didn't exist, I would not be a sinner. When my parents were biologically disabled from bringing children into the world, they deprived unactualized brothers and sisters of mine from becoming sinners. The rest of us went down like 10 pins (even though there were only 7 of us).
The problem with the augustinian/calvinist system is that it never factors in the truth of God's creative ability to make contingent beings come on the scene without them having existed eternally. Using a low grade of logic that refuses to work through contradictions, the augustinian/calvinist starts with the notion that God knows everything and winds up with a deterministic universe that somehow is still free for something to happen. Meanwhile, they ignore the painful reality that points to the fact that, once upon a time, they did not exist. They have no answer for this objection...
Meanwhile, we all choose sour grapes. Not because we are pre-destined to do so, but because we are deceived into thinking that they really are sweet. (Interesting that the calvinists don't factor the devil and evil into the cosmic equation since they have the magic formula of chosen saved versus chosen reprobates.) Once we find ourselves without protection in the realm of the original sinner (that would be Satan...1 John 3:10), then we immediately understand our need for a Savior. This knowledge comes to us because the GIFT of the figs eaten by our original parents is the knowledge of good and evil. Knowing evil, we know that we need Jesus. Knowing the same thing, the devil offers substitutes.
Accept no substitute!
Come to Jesus!
Come to the Cross.
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