Category: Salvation

Your Faith Has Saved You

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Jesus at table

“And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this man who even forgives sins?’  And He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.'”  Luke 7:49-50

This is the story of the immoral woman who washed Jesus’ feet and anointed Him with oil.  Jesus told the people who were in the house of the Pharisee at the time that her sins were forgiven her, and it was her faith that accomplished it. 

I wanted to write about this to specifically address the notion that we have no choice about our salvation; that God chooses some and those He chooses have no choice but to be saved.  The rest have no choice but to be condemned.  In other words, there is no free will when it comes to salvation.  I’ve had more than one conversation about this lately.

Jesus told the woman that her faith had saved her.  Paul says in Ephesians 2:8 that we are saved by grace, through faith.  So which is it?  Are we saved by faith or grace?

Both.  Without grace we cannot be saved, and without faith we cannot be saved.

There is a two-way dynamic that takes place when a person is saved.  First, God must draw the person to Him (John 12:32) and reveal Himself (Luke 10:22).  Grace is given to an individual to understand the saving message of the Gospel of Salvation (Heb. 6:4-5).  The person at that time has a choice to believe or reject that message. 

Of course, salvation can be a much more complicated and nuanced experience than the description above.  It can take months or years for an individual to come to the realization or understanding of the truth, as well as the humility to accept it. 

But at some point, that individual will come to a critical moment where the decision is now or never and God only knows that moment.  I believe that is what Hebrews chap.6 explains. 

Hebrews 6 is saying that there is a point where a person is enlightened to the extent that they actually taste the heavenly gift of salvation and partake of the Holy Spirit.  They have been brought to a place where they completely understand the truth and ‘see the light’, and they can either reject or accept it. 

If they accept it, they are saved by their faith.  Their faith justifies their salvation (Rom. 5:1) and it is the power of God’s grace that seals them in the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13).

If they reject it, then they can not be brought back to that point again.  It is impossible to renew them again to repentance, says the writer of Hebrews. 

It is implicit in these verses that if your faith saves you, and if it is something that you can reject, then it is something you have a free-will choice about.

Jesus is clear when declaring to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you’.  It was the woman’s choice to believe in Jesus as her Savior.  He did not say, ‘I have saved you’.  He could have, and it would have been accurate.  But the fact that He told her that her faith saved her tells us that we have something to say about whether we live forever or we whether we are judged and destroyed. 

Speaking of being judged, how can anyone be judged for their unbelief if they had no choice in not believing?  How can anyone be guilty, if they had no other option but to not believe?  Reformed Theology, or Calvinism, teaches that everyone is born into condemnation, which is true.  But, they believe, God then chooses some out of that condition – without their consent – and the others will remain there and be judged.

But you cannot be rendered guilty for something you have no choice about.

Referring back to John 12, Jesus said that when He is ‘lifted up’, He would ‘draw all men to Himself’.  Why would He say that He will draw all men to Himself if He is only going to choose certain ones for salvation?  He would not.  He “desires that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1Tim. 2:4). 

Whom does Jesus choose?  Everyone who chooses to believe in Him!

Outside

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“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.  Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers, and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”  Revelation 22:14-15

On the way home from visiting family over the Independence Day holiday I was listening to a Christian program on the radio.  It was one of those ‘Bible answer man’ type shows where people would call or write with questions.  The guy who was answering them was from Moody Bible Institute.  I’m pretty sure he had a doctorate of theology (ThD).

The subject of the verse is the city ‘New Jerusalem’ that will come down out of heaven and be the dwelling place for everyone on the new earth.  The subject of the question was basically, “what’s going on here?”.  The questioner said it sounded like there are unsaved people on the new earth living outside the gates of the new Jerusalem. 

I was really surprised at the answer that the scholar gave.

He said that it appeared from the passage that the Lake of Fire would be within eyesight of the new Jerusalem and that those who are living in the city would be able to see the suffering unsaved burning in the lake. 

I’ll pause here while you look at the passage and contemplate the response he gave.

I was kind of shocked at the level of understanding he showed.   It was evidence that a ThD does not make you Biblically literate. 

Before I get into the problems with the doctor’s answer, and the correct understanding of the passage, you should read my post “Eternal Torment or Eternal Destruction“.  If you haven’t read it or ever considered that the unsaved will be destroyed instead of suffering in unimaginable burning pain for eternity, it will give you the background and support of my response.

I can understand why the scholar responded the way he did.  He believes that people will suffer for eternity while burning in the Lake of Fire.  His bias and his ‘programming’ was what informed him of the passage’s meaning.  In other words, his incorrect belief led him to conclude that the saved will be able to see the unsaved roasting in the Lake of Fire. 

There are 2 problems.  One is his incorrect understanding of hell and judgment in the Bible.  The other problem is his lack of discernment as to the context of the passage. 

In a nutshell, the context is about spiritual position or condition, not geographic location.

Take a look at Rev. 22:12.  It says that Jesus is coming to render to every man according to what he has done.  It’s a future event.  For the saved it’s rewards.  For the unsaved it’s destruction.   (“And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord.” 1 Thess. 1:9)  Those who do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess 1:8) will be destroyed away from the presence of the Lord. 

Rev. 22:14 also gives an obvious clue that vs. 15 is metaphorical and is talking about spiritual condition rather than geographic location.  It says ‘blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the RIGHT to the tree of life and MAY enter into the city’.  The others in vs. 15 do not have that right and they are characterized as outside.  They do NOT have the right to enter into the city and they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire and destroyed. 

I would venture to say that the scholar conflated Rev. 22:15 with Matt. 8:12 – “the sons of the kingdom shall be cast into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”   My guess is that he believes these verses are saying the same thing.  They are not.

Matt. 8 is talking about hell, not the Lake of Fire.  There IS weeping and gnashing of teeth in the darkness and heat of hell as these souls await their judgment at the Great White Throne in Revelation 20.  They will be judged and then destroyed in the Lake of Fire. 

Think about it.  If it’s outer darkness, then how would anyone from the New Jerusalem be able to see into it?  And what would be the purpose of having the Lake of Fire right by the New Jerusalem and everyone in the city constantly having to view the horrible suffering going on (that is if anyone was actually suffering in it besides Satan, the antichrist and false prophet – Rev. 20:10).   It’s absurd on it’s face.

The Greek definition of the word ‘outside’ in Rev. 22:15 is ‘exo’ which does mean outside.  Metaphorically, they are outside of the city.  They are not in the position or have the right to enter into the city that is coming.  They are separated from the glory and blessing of salvation.  The opposite of inside is outside.  In other words, a person can be both destroyed and also outside of the city.  The point is they are not IN the city.

We are not going to be subjected to some senseless and cruel eternal spectacle of tormented and suffering souls.  Neither will anyone suffer like that for eternity other than Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet. 

Did Jesus Go to Hell and Preach the Gospel?

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jesus preaching in hell

I came across an article about the growing belief in Universalism in the U.S.  This is a false gospel which essentially says that every person will eventually be saved, even if they are in hell or somewhere other than heaven.  I say somewhere other than heaven because evidently some who embrace this lie don’t believe there even is a hell.

This doctrine is fortified by the belief that God is a loving parent and will not allow any of His ‘children’ to be lost.  (Not all people are children of God.  See my post The Spark of Divinity)  The ‘loving parent’ concept, however, stands by itself in this false religion.  It stands by itself without the balancing truth that God is righteous and just.  It’s thankfully true that God is a loving and merciful God, but it’s also thankfully true that He is absolutely righteous and just.

One of the key passages, if not THE key passage of Universalism, is 1Peter 3:18-20.

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.”

To summarize, according to the Universalist belief, Jesus went down into hell and preached the gospel to souls in prison there to give them a second chance.  It also implies in the verse, in Universalist thinking, that the souls are no longer disobedient.  They have heard the gospel in hell and have believed in Christ, thereby achieving redemption.  This is what they take out of the passage.  This interpretation is a bastardization of the text.

In my experience, the American Christian church, in general, has avoided passages like this.  “It’s just too difficult, so just ignore it” – is kind of how I’ve gauged the church’s accommodation of the text and passages like them.

This Scripture is actually a window to the magnificent and terrible spiritual world that really exists.  First, let’s look at what this passage does say:

1. Jesus went to a prison.

2. Jesus made proclamation to some spirits.

3. The spirits were disobedient during the time Noah was constructing the ark.

Now, try to draw a logical line of thought from this passage to “Jesus went to hell and preached the gospel to dead people who didn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah and Lord”.  It doesn’t say Jesus preached the gospel.  It doesn’t say who the spirits were but it does say that these particular spirits were disobedient during the days when Noah was constructing the ark.

The context of this passage comes straight out of the Book of Enoch.  The Book of  Enoch is a historical account of the antediluvian spiritual world.  While it may not be canon, it is referenced a few different times in the Bible giving it historical validity by God.  The ancient Hebrews acknowledged it as valid spiritual history noted by Peter’s reference to it in the aforementioned passage as well as 2Peter 2:4 and also Jude in verse 6.

All of these passages have this in common – they are talking about Genesis 6 and the abomination that was the fallen angelic beings who abandoned their spiritual domain and took women and had sex with them, spawning the demonic creatures known as Nephilim. 

Genesis 6:1-4 says, “Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God (elohim) saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.  Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred.’  The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.  Those (the children of fallen angels and women) were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.”

First, let’s look at 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6.  They are a summary of the extra-biblical tradition found in 1 Enoch.

“For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into Tartaros  and committed them to chains of deepest darkness to be kept until the judgment;”  2Pet. 2:4 New Revised Standard

If your Bible says hell instead of Tartaros it is a bad translation.  Most Bibles do say hell.  The Greek word is actually Tartaros (not Hell or Hades) which is regarded as the deepest nether regions of earth.  This is the prison Peter is referring to in 1 Peter.  The word for prison in 1 Peter 3:19 is ‘phulake’ which is the Greek word for a guarded prison.  That’s where these spirits were sent and where they are today.  They are in the deepest part of the earth under guard.  Amazing isn’t it?

Here is what Jude 6 says about this situation: “And the angels who did not keep their own position, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deepest darkness for the judgment of the great day”   New Revised Standard

It’s saying the same as Peter did.  They are kept in the deepest darkest regions in prison, under guard and in chains.  Now lets see what the Book of Enoch says. 

“Enoch, righteous scribe, go and say to the watchers of heaven—who forsook the highest heaven, the sanctuary of their eternal station, and defiled themselves with women. As the sons of earth do, so they did and took wives for themselves. And they worked great desolation on the earth— ‘You will have no peace or forgiveness.’ Then I went and spoke to all of them together.  And they were all afraid, and trembling and fear seized them.”

It is clear that 1 Peter 3 is not talking about Jesus going to preach the gospel to dead people.  But there is more to consider.  A case can be made that there is another mistranslation in 3:19. 

The awkward wording of verse 19, “in which also he went…”, is just one letter away from containing the name “Enoch” in Greek.  (Adding a xi to ΕΝΩΚΑΙ, “in which also”, produces ΕΝΩΧΚΑΙ, “and Enoch”.)  It has been suggested that the original text had Enoch visiting the spirits in prison, creating a string of segues linking Christ’s spiritual resurrection to Enoch’s spiritual underworld voyage, Noah’s flood, and finally baptism. Later, either accidentally or on purpose, the reference to Enoch was eliminated by a minor scribal edit. Although this possibility is rarely acknowledged by scholars today and considered unlikely, it has been adopted by at least two New Testament translations in the past — the AAT (An American Translation)  and the MNT (Moffatt New Testament).  This reading is also mentioned in the marginal notes of the Jerusalem Bible.

“In it Enoch went and preached even to those spirits that were in prison, who had once been disobedient, when in Noah’s time God in his patience waited for the ark to be made ready, in which a few people, eight in all, were brought safely through the water.”  1 Peter 3:19–20 — AAT, 1939

This squares much better with the Book of Enoch where Enoch is told to go and tell the spirits that there will be no forgiveness for them. 

If you argue that 1 Peter 3:19 is describing anything other than divine spirits (not dead humans) in prison that Jesus, or more likely Enoch, went and made proclamation to, then you are arguing against the context that a Jew would have understood.   Remember, Peter’s letter was written to Jews (1Peter 1:1; 2Peter 3:1) who had been scattered from Jerusalem.  They would have been informed by Enoch. 

Another very plausible way to read this is that Peter is saying that Jesus, as the pre-incarnate Christ, made the proclamation through Enoch.  In other words, the Spirit of Christ spoke through Enoch.  I can accept this because it would be true that Enoch, a prophet, was speaking for God.  The problem I have with it is the wording ‘in which He went’.  That seems a strong statement that Jesus was the one that ‘went’ as opposed to Enoch. 

I personally believe that the text should read that Enoch went and made proclamation.  To me it holds up the best under scrutiny.  The argument against this, and for Jesus speaking through Enoch, is that Jesus ended up in the verse as God willed.  But either way, Enoch was physically at the prison speaking.

Lastly, the other verse that Universalism connects with 1Peter 3 is 1Peter 4:6 – “For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.” 

This is an easy one.  All this passage is saying is that the gospel was preached to people who are now dead.  It’s not saying the gospel is preached to people while they are dead.  The gospel has been preached since the fall in Eden (Gen. 3:15)

Dan Baker

 

The Spark of Divinity

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divine spark 2

Last week the Democrats, led by the incoherent leader of the House Minority, Nancy Pelosi, denounced President Trump’s assessment of the MS-13 gang members as ‘animals’.   Pelosi said that it was wrong for Trump to characterize these vicious thugs as animals because they had the “spark of divinity”.   You can see her statements here.  I want to respond to this idiotic and demagogic theological doodly squat.

First, I have no qualms with the President’s use of the word ‘animals’ to describe MS-13 gang members.  Obviously he was not being literal.  But these people are the most vicious criminals you can imagine.  They are responsible for hacking and bludgeoning young boys and girls to death with machetes and bats.  Here in the U.S. the most celebrated case is that of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas in 2016.  The girls were bludgeoned and hacked to the point of being unrecognizable.  They were only 15 and 16 respectively.  Police said that the killings showed a level of brutality that was “close to unmatched”.

Again, I have no problem with Trump’s strong language to describe them.  But my purpose here is to challenge Pelosi’s assertion that the gang thugs should be treated with a certain level of decency and respect because they have the ‘spark of divinity’.  I am assuming that she is trying to infer that we are all brothers and sisters and children of God because I heard other Democrats framing it this way.  As a Christian, I reject that assertion.  It is not Biblical.  They are not my brothers.  They are not children of God.

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”  Ephesians 2:1-3

I am always a little amused and largely insulted when liberal Democrats try to use the Bible to make political points.  Their hypocrisy knows no bounds.  This is the party (what the Democrat platform supports) of sodomites and unborn baby killers, of God haters and family destruction.  In the passage above, Paul makes clear that if you are not a Christian, you are a child of the flesh and of Satan, and destined for the wrath of God.  You are not a child of God and have no divinity whatsoever.  Not even a spark. 

No one is a child of God unless they come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”  John 1:12

John says that unless and until you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are but a child of man, not a child of God.  You have no divinity in you until you receive the Holy Spirit, which is given when you repent and believe in Jesus.

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”  2Peter 1:2-4

Until you receive Jesus Christ you are not in the family of God.  You are lost.  When you accept Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit, THEN you are able to partake of the DIVINE NATURE.  This is what Peter explains.

MS-13 gang members clearly demonstrate that they are not in the family of God and they have no spark of divinity. 

Dan Baker

We Will Judge Angels

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fallen-angels-names-102013zz

“Do you not know that we shall judge angels?”  1Corinthians 6:3

Have you ever thought about why God has given us (Christians) the right to judge angels?

God is personally going to judge the unsaved while He sits on the ‘Great White Throne’ (Rev. 20:11).  We do not have the right or authority to judge the unbeliever.  But we do/will have the right and authority to judge the fallen and rebellious angels.  Why?

There can only be one reason.  The rebellious angels were in the presence of God Himself.  They had personal and physical experience with The Almighty, The Ancient of Days.  But they rejected Him and followed Lucifer. They rejected their relationship with God, despite having seen Him and experienced Him in person. 

On the other hand, we who were born into darkness have believed in the Father and His Son by faith alone, not by sight.  “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” John 20:29   That is what gives us the right.  But we don’t pat ourselves on the back.  It was Christ who called us and drew us to Him.  And yet we can exult knowing that we have responded to God’s calling and chosen the free gift that was offered – absolute and total forgiveness and acceptance into God’s family through Jesus.  

God drew you, but it was your choice!  It was your free will decision.  Had it not been a free will choice then we could not have the right to judge the angels and there would be no faith to reckon as righteous – Romans 4:3.

God thinks that’s a big deal.  He is blessed by our faith.  This alone is what justifies us – believers – as RIGHTEOUS!  Romans 5:1

What God Has Cleansed

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Peters vision

“And on the next day, as they were on their way, and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.  And he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he beheld the sky opened up, and a certain object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air.  And a voice came to him, ‘Arise, Peter, kill and eat!’. But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean’. And again a voice came to him a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy’.”  Acts 10:9-15

Here is another example of a viewpoint or interpretation I have always accepted as true without really studying it out.  I believe many other Christians are in the same boat.

I was listening to an interview with a Christian couple who are very involved in Biblical dieting.  They were remarking about this passage and said that it has nothing to do with God saying everything is ok to eat now.  They pointed out that Peter realized that the vision was telling him that he should not call any man unclean or unholy.  The couple said that it was never in the Law for a Jew to view people this way.

I have always accepted the contention that in this passage God says that all animals are now ok to eat and that God’s law that forbade certain animals was now nullified.  It was then somehow equated symbolically to the notion that Jews could also now associate with non-Jews. 

So, I decided to study all this for myself.  I found that the aforementioned couple was correct.  However, they did not complete the picture.  There was something much deeper and more profound that God was communicating to Peter.

Peter goes into a trance and sees a vision.  A great sheet comes down from heaven and all kinds of unclean and unholy (dirty and impure) animals are in the sheet.  A voice tells Peter to arise kill and eat.  Peter is appalled and says to the Lord that he never has and would never eat anything unholy and unclean.  The voice says ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy”.

Peter is greatly perplexed about the vision.  This is a devout Jew who understands that there is purpose in the law.  God did not create the law arbitrarily.  The law describes and displays God’s righteousness.  How could something God has designated unclean become clean?

Peter continued to ponder the vision and while he was reflecting on it, men showed up at the door asking for Peter to go with them to see the centurion Cornelius.  When Peter is told that God sent an angel to Cornelius, a Gentile, the light went on for him.

Verse 28 is very important.  Peter tells Cornelius and his household that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him.  Yet, Peter says, God showed him that he should not call ANY man unholy or unclean.

The point is this, what Peter realized is that no man should be considered unclean or unholy.   When God said to Peter, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy’, He was telling Peter that He had made atonement for all men.  He had not changed the law about what animals were edible!

Atonement is Cleansing

This short statement from God to Peter, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy”, sums up what Christ’s death on the cross means to the whole world.  His death was the atonement for all mankind.  It satisfied the debt or the penalty for original sin. 

It’s also important to mention here that the law that Peter was talking about in Acts 10:28 in terms of associating with a foreigner is not found in the Torah anywhere.  But we will discuss that later in this article.

Look at Leviticus 16:29-30.  This chapter is all about the Law of Atonement.  It is the definitive statute regarding the annual ritual for Israel to make atonement for the nation.  It symbolically reconciled the nation to God.  It also foreshadowed the perfect atonement that would be made by Christ for all of mankind (see Heb. 10:10-12).

“And this shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls, and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you shall be clean from all your sins before the Lord.”

In other words, atonement is a cleansing! 

This is what God was telling Peter.  Christ’s death had atoned for the sin of all mankind.  Peter realized that nothing had changed regarding what is good or bad to eat.  God had not cleansed those things, or made them suitable for eating!  Jesus Christ atoned or cleansed all of man.

This does not mean that all people are saved.  Christ’s death paid for the sin of the world, but individually we are justified by faith.  Faith alone is what determines whether we become righteous in God’s eyes.  Christ’s death, or atonement, is a free gift for all men.  It allows for justification for all men individually by faith (Rom. 5:11-18).

The point I’m trying to make about Acts 10 is that nothing changed from God’s perspective about what is good to eat.  He used that vision to help Peter understand what God had cleansed or atoned for.  God forced Peter’s mind into a quandary so that when the men from Cornelius showed up Peter would automatically understand.

Now, I am not saying that we are still under the law.  I am saying that what God laid out in the law as unclean to eat was still unclean or bad to eat.  In other words, there was purpose behind God declaring certain things bad to eat.  Nothing changed with that.

In Leviticus chapter 11, God details which creatures can be eaten.  At the end of the chapter it says, “This is the law regarding the animal, and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters, and everything that swarms on the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.”  Lev. 11:46-47

This is why Peter was so perplexed.  He could not understand how something that was bad to eat could suddenly become ok to eat.  Then he figured it out when the representatives of Cornelius showed up.

While we have technology to protect from the hazards of certain unclean animals, there are still good reasons to avoid them.  You can find the exhaustive list in Lev. 11.  Pork, shellfish, rabbits, and fish without scales like catfish are the usual suspects on American tables, but you can do your own research on what’s healthy and not.

Going back to the law that Peter cited about association with foreigners – it was a man-made law or tradition.  It was not a law of God.  In fact, if you go back through the books of Moses, or the Torah, there are numerous passages that talk about welcoming the foreigners or aliens, and being hospitable to them.

Here are just a few:

“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.”  Lev. 19:24

‘There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the LORD your God.'”  Lev. 24:22

‘If an alien sojourns among you and observes the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its ordinance, so he shall do; you shall have one statute, both for the alien and for the native of the land.'”  Num. 9:14

“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns.”  Deut. 24:14

And don’t forget the one above that I quoted regarding the Day of Atonement, Lev. 16:29-30

There are many, many more.  God has always intended that Israel be a light to the nations.  The Jews were never supposed to treat people with disdain.  They were told not to inter-mingle in marriage or to follow other nations gods, but if a non-Jew was seeking friendship there was no law against it. This tradition of the Jews to not associate with Gentiles was something concocted by corrupt religious leaders.

Guess what? It’s the same with the Church.  We are to be in the world, but not of it.  We are to be just as hospitable to non-believers as Israel was to be to non-Jews.  But we are not to marry unbelievers.  God is the same yesterday and today!

Acts 10 is really about Christ’s atonement!

 

Never Means Never

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The Correct Use of Jamais in French

One of the most repugnant positions that some churches embrace or even tolerate is the notion that a Christian can lose their salvation. 

It is the idea that if a professed Christian engages in grossly sinful behavior (which all sin is with God anyway), or stops living a public Christian life, then they either were not really saved in the first place (which certainly could be true) or they have walked away from God and forfeited their salvation. 

The question is, is it even possible to lose one’s salvation?  To think or believe that you can lose it or have it taken away is not only un-Scriptural, it’s insulting to God.  You are saying that God breaks His promises.

There are many, many passages that I could cite to show that when you get saved it’s permanent no matter what you do.   But I only want to look at 2 here.

The first is John 10:27-30.  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”

Jesus is making a very clear and definitive statement.  He says He knows who His sheep are and He gives them eternal life.  Right there is all you need. 

When you are given eternal life, that means you are going to live for eternity…period.

And that’s exactly what Jesus says: “and they shall NEVER perish;”!  Never is Never!  No matter what, not no how, not no way! 

Anyone who believes and receives Christ as Savior will not be judged and thrown into the Lake of Fire and destroyed.  That is the definition of perish (see my blog on Eternal Torment or Eternal Destruction).  Eternal life means you will live forever with the Lord. 

It’s not necessary, but the other verse that I want to include with the previous passage is Romans 11:29, “for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.”

Now, I realize that the context for this passage is the promise to Israel that it will be saved after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  It doesn’t matter, it is still applicable.  In fact, it demonstrates that the promise of eternal life is an unconditional guarantee. 

God promised that He would send a Deliverer from Zion and that He would remove Israel’s sins.  This was not dependent on Israel’s performance or behavior.  This is an unconditional promise to Israel just as the gift of eternal life is an unconditional promise to any person who receives it.  Eternal life is a gift from God and God says it is IRREVOCABLE!

This is a critically important fundamental Bible doctrine.  A believer, especially a new believer, needs to know that there is nothing that can change their relationship with God.  There is no sin that can put them in jeopardy with the Lord.  They can now obey God out of love and thankfulness rather than fear.  Not only should this be the position a church stands on, it should be taught.

The Covert Mission of Jesus

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“…but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;”  1Corinthians 2:7-8

The Man Who Never Was

The annals of war are replete with stories of subterfuge.  In WWII there were a number of elaborate schemes designed to fool Hitler about the invasion of Europe.  The most exotic ruse of the war took place before the invasion of Italy, the success of which would have enormous impact on the coming invasion of France.

Before the Allies could invade France they had to get a foothold in southern Europe.  Germany had been shoved out of North Africa and conventional wisdom said the next step for the Allies would be to land an army in Sicily.  Germany knew this as well. 

Winston Churchill famously remarked that ‘everyone but a bloody fool would know’ that the objective was Sicily.  If the Allies could make the Germans believe that they were going to invade Greece instead of Sicily, significant forces might get diverted thereby insuring success in Sicily. 

So, a ruse was concocted.  The audacious plan became the basis for a film entitled, ‘The Man Who Never Was’, in 1956.

The idea, thought up by 25 yr. old RAF Flight Lieutenant Charles Cholmondeley and developed by British Intelligence, was to drop a dead body off the coast of Nazi occupied Spain complete with identification papers, photos of a girlfriend, love letters, a London bus ticket and most importantly, a personal letter from Lt. General Archibald Nye. 

The chosen courier was a deceased 34-year-old alleged homeless man named Glyndwr Michael who had supposedly been found in an abandoned warehouse (there is controversy about whether he was a homeless person).  For this mission, designated Operation Mincemeat, he was given the name Capt. William H.N. Martin. 

The letter from General Nye outlined several sensitive topics.  One of the topics was Allied plans in the Mediterranean, specifically the invasion of Greece.  It described plans to embark troops from Egypt and Libya under the command of General ‘Jumbo’ Wilson for the landing in Greece.  It also mentioned a simultaneous landing on Sardinia by forces under the command of General Harold Alexander currently in Tunisia.  

The letter was personally written and signed by General Nye.  Nye added the finishing touch in the letter saying ‘we stand a very good chance of making the enemy think we are landing in Sicily’.

Next, the British had to make the dead man look as if he had drowned.  The plan was to make the Germans think the body had washed up from a plane crash at sea.  To make the death look as authentic as possible, the British stored the body in dry ice in a sealed container.  As the ice evaporated the lungs filled with liquid. 

The body, dressed in Royal Marine battle dress, was found on the shore of Spain near a town called Huelva with the briefcase of papers attached.  He had been dropped in the ocean a mile from shore by the submarine HMS Seraph. 

Within days, the contents of the briefcase were in German intelligence hands. 

Of course, the Germans would want the British to think that the documents had remained secure so as not to tip the British that the Germans were now in on the Allied plans.  So, the Germans had the Spanish return the contents just as they had found them.  But British intelligence examined the documents and they could tell they had been tampered with. 

The plan was working. 

A few days later, German reinforcements were moving to Greece, Corsica, and Sardinia over the objection of Italian dictator Mussolini, who still believed the invasion would be in Sicily.  Panzer divisions were sent from France and Russia and Germany’s greatest field general Erwin Rommel was sent to Greece to command. 

The great deception worked magnificently, so much so that two days after the invasion of Sicily, Hitler refused to budge from Greece, believing the main invasion was still to come. 

How did this ruse affect D-Day? 

After the invasion of Sicily, Hitler eventually realized he had been duped.  Two days after the D-Day invasion of France, Germans confiscated documents from a landing craft on the shore of Normandy. The documents were real, and they detailed inland targets of the Allies. 

Hitler refused to believe they were real, convinced it was another ruse and that the main invasion was still to come at Pas de Calais.  When the Germans needed the Panzer divisions the most at Normandy, Hitler kept them frozen inland off the northern coast of France. 

The invasion of France may well have been saved by the lasting effects of ‘The Man Who Never Was’.

In a way, Jesus played a ‘man who never was’. 

Yahweh the Greatest Con Artist

God tricked Satan, plain and simple. 

The Jews were looking for a political and military leader which was precisely what God took advantage of.  Jesus intentionally allowed and even fostered their belief that He had come to restore the kingdom of God on earth. 

Jesus executed his mission flawlessly, gathering and training believing followers while conning Satan and the unbelieving Jews.  Turning the entire nation of Israel’s attention on Himself, He was able to keep His true mission cloaked – to be killed.

Jesus drew crowds of thousands in empty areas near tiny towns and villages.  There He preached messages of hope laced with fiery, revolutionary rhetoric.  “The kingdom of God was coming”, He said repeatedly.  He rebuked, chastised and humiliated the reigning authorities, the oppressive religious overlords who bowed to the pagan conquerors from Rome. 

And God spoke from heaven and all who were present heard it – “This is My Beloved Son!”  This was the One sent to restore the kingdom of God back on earth to where it belongs – in the hands of the Messiah King reigning from Jerusalem!  This was the One that would throw off the oppressors!

What was Satan hearing? “The kingdom of God is near”; “The gates of hell will not prevail”; “I saw Satan falling like lightening”; “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword!”. 

John the Baptist called them out, “Who warned you of the wrath to come?”.

Satan heard what the Pharisees and scribes were hearing – declarations of war and vengeance!  

The Pharisees were the imagers, the mirrors, of Satan.  Jesus called them sons of Satan.  How they reacted is how Satan was reacting.  Their authority and power were threatened as was Satan’s power and authority as ruler of this domain earth. 

The hook was set.  Jesus had to die.

He spoke in parables for the ears that could hear.  He knew that only a very few were understanding any of what he said.  He knew the crowds would turn on him.  But he also knew that in the end He would find the few followers that would commit their lives to Him.

The mission was to die.  But it was also to lay the foundation for the Church. 

He made sure that His disciples knew He was God in the flesh.  He trained them how to become fishers of men.  He taught them the message of salvation and how to spread it; to love one another and to live for eternity. 

He did this all the while provoking Satan with impending overthrow of his reign on earth. 

And Yahweh chose the perfect time to insert His Son into the world. 

Knowing He would be rejected, He rightfully claimed the throne of David.  But it was never His intent to take it at that time.  His intent was to be killed. 

It was a brilliant plan, laid out in Eden and flawlessly managed all the way to the cross.  From the beginning of creation it was determined – Yahweh would restore man and earth back to Himself by sending His Son to die. 

And He rose from the dead to seal the victory.

Satan would not have laid a finger on Him had he understood Jesus’ real mission.

Dan Baker

copyright 2017