Carry Your Cross

Luke 14:27-28

Can these thoughts help us ESTIMATE and CARRY our cross for Christ?

A.R.E.

A-CCESSIBILITY: Can I reach you?

This means staying open to your troubled brother or seeker of Christ even when you have doubts and feel insecure. It often means being willing to struggle to make sense of your emotions so these emotions are not so overwhelming. You can then step back from disconnection and can tune into your brother’s hesitant cues.

R-ESPONSIVENESS: Can I rely on you to respond to me emotionally?

This means tuning into your troubled brother or seeker of Christ and showing that his or her emotions, especially fellowship needs and fears have an impact on you. It means accepting and placing a priority on the emotional signals your brother in Christ conveys and sending clear signals of comfort and caring when your brother needs them. Sensitive responsiveness always touches us emotionally and calms us.

E-NGAGEMENT: Do I know you will value me and stay near?

The dictionary defines engaged as being absorbed, attracted, pulled, pledged, involved. The bible says we don’t lose heart, and we commend ourselves to everyone (2 Cor 4:3). Engagement here means the very special kind of attention that we give to those we love. We pay attention to them longer, we fellowship with them on a deeper level. This is often spoken of as being emotionally present.

John 15:7 Christ explicitly tells us,

“If you make yourselves at home with Me and My words are at home with you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon.”

Our prospective hearers are watching closely as to whether we are genuinely interested in their life situation. Are we openly Christlike in action and deed? Will we walk more than a mile with them? What they see, hear and feel determines if they can trust us in a relationship that can lead them to salvation.

A.R.E.

13 Objections To Baptism

Baptism in the Christian faith unfortunately is a much debated topic. There are many reasons and man-made doctrines that have all been debated and fought over for hundreds of years by scholars and bible students alike. Yet God's instructions and commands on baptism are clear and forever. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

< click on billiard ball to read biblical clarity >

“JESUS COULD NOT HAVE BEEN BAPTIZED FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS BECAUSE HE WAS SINLESS; THEREFORE, PEOPLE TODAY ARE NOT BAPTIZED IN ORDER TO BE FORGIVEN. THEY MERELY IMITATE JESUS’ EXAMPLE.”

 

“THE THIEF ON THE CROSS WAS NOT BAPTIZED, AND HE WAS SAVED.”

 

 
"THE BIBLE SAYS, 'CHRIST STANDS AT THE DOOR OF YOUR HEART,' AND ALL WE HAVE TO DO TO BE FORGIVEN OF SIN AND BECOME A CHRISTIAN IS TO INVITE HIM INTO OUR HEARTS."

“A PERSON IS SAVED THE MOMENT HE ACCEPTS CHRIST AS HIS PERSONAL SAVIOR—WHICH PRECEDES AND THEREFORE EXCLUDES WATER BAPTISM.”

“WE ARE CLOTHED WITH CHRIST AND BECOME HIS CHILDREN WHEN WE PLACE OUR FAITH IN HIM.”

 "BAPTISM IS LIKE A BADGE ON A UNIFORM THAT MERELY GIVES EVIDENCE THAT THE PERSON IS ALREADY SAVED."

“BAPTISM IS A MERITORIOUS WORK, WHEREAS WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE, NOT WORKS.”

“NOT ONLY IS BAPTISM NONESSENTIAL TO SALVATION, EVEN FAITH IS A GIFT FROM GOD TO A PERSON. MAN IS SO DEPRAVED THAT HE IS INCAPABLE OF BELIEVING.”

“THE PREPOSITION ‘FOR’ IN THE PHRASE ‘FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS’ IN ACTS 2:38 MEANS ‘BECAUSE OF.’ HENCE, THEY WERE BAPTIZED BECAUSE OF SINS FOR WHICH THEY WERE FORGIVEN WHEN THEY BELIEVED.”

“WHEN THE PHILIPPIAN JAILER ASKED WHAT TO DO TO BE SAVED, HE WAS SIMPLY TOLD TO BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.”

“SAUL WAS SAVED BEFORE AND WITHOUT BAPTISM WHILE HE WAS ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS WHEN JESUS APPEARED TO HIM.”

“IF BAPTISM IS NECESSARY TO SALVATION, JESUS WOULD HAVE SAID, ‘BUT HE WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE AND IS NOT BAPTIZED WILL BE CONDEMNED’ IN MARK 16:16. AND BESIDES, THE LAST TWELVE VERSES OF MARK 16 ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE OLDEST AND BEST GREEK MANUSCRIPTS.”

“ROMANS 10:9-10 INDICATES THAT ALL ONE NEEDS TO DO IS BELIEVE AND CONFESS JESUS.”




Dave Miller, Ph.D

Apologetics Press

Why Suffer?

WHY DOES GOD allow us to go through trials and suffering? Here is a poem called, "And God Said If . . ." that helps explain this.





If you never felt pain, Then how would you know that I’m a Healer?

If you never went through difficulty,
How would you know that I’m a Deliverer?

If you never had a trial,
How could you call yourself an over comer?

If you never felt sadness,
How would you know that I’m a Comforter?

If you never made a mistake,
How would you know that I’m Forgiving?

If you never were in trouble,
How would you know that I will come to your Rescue?

If you never were broken,
Then how would you know that I can make you Whole?

If you never had a problem,
How would you know that I can Solve them?

If you never had any suffering,
Then how would you know what I went through?

If you never went through the fire,
Then how would you become Pure?

If I gave you all things,
How would you appreciate them?

If I never corrected you,
How would you know that I Love You?

If you had all power,
Then how would you learn to depend on Me?

If your life was perfect,
Then what would you need Me for?

Anonymous.

Biblical Obedience To Be Saved

The Bible is a love story spanning 1,500 years of God's interaction with His greatest creation - us. It's central theme is the gospel of Jesus Christ (death, burial, resurrection), and its power to save man from Gods judgement to those who believe it (Rom 1:16). But according to the scriptures, just believing the saving message is not enough to become a saint of God in His kingdom. God asks us to obey the gospel with obedient faith in order to make His free gift of grace real in our lives. Below is the unfolding of the great commission spoken in Matthew 28:19-20 on behalf of Ms. Caitlin Jones’ and any who desire to be saved.

HERE WITNESS A BIBLICAL BAPTISM INTO CHRIST. This is the work of God (Col 2:11-12) upon her in a matter of seconds.

 

The sinner has already heard and read the word of God. Romans 10:14-17.

 

The sinner is already on a path of repenting of her sins. Acts 3:19, 2 Peter 3:9.

 

The sinner by faith is obedient confessing Christ as the Son of God before witnesses. Acts 8:36,37, Romans 10:10.

 

The sinner by faith is then buried (into death like Jesus) by immersion in water. Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3, 1Pet 3:21.

 

The sinners past sins are cleansed by The blood of Christ in the burial. Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Colossians 2:11-12, Titus 3:5.

 

The new Saint is raised a new creature white as snow in the eyes of God. Romans 6:4, 2 Cor 5:17.

 

The new Saint receives the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38, Acts 5:32, Ephesians 1:13.

 

The new Saint now begins to walk a new life clothed with Christ rejoicing. Acts 8:39, Galatians 3:27, Philippians 4:4, 3 John 1:3,4.

Caitlin Jones' Baptism! from James Nored on Vimeo.

Christian's Aren't Sinner's

SHOCKING! Now wait a minute.

I believe it's a healthy practice to read and study on religious things penned by writers I don't agree with because they are asking questions I'm not asking. They turn the camera angle in a way I haven't. It's not that I think they are right, I usually don't. But sometimes I don't even know to ask the question. Here is a faith challenging topic I would like to share and I am sure at first, your going to raise some eyebrows by it's title.

A persons identity is changed from a worldly identity when one has obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ transitioning from outside the church to inside the church a new member of the Kingdom. Lets explore.

Throughout the letters of the New Testament, the people of God are called lots of things. They are the “elect” (1 Pet 1:1), “faithful brothers” (Col 1:2), “beloved” (1 John 2:7), “children of God” (1 John 3:2), a “holy nation” (1 Pet 2:9), and most of all they are called “saints.”

Conspicuously absent from this list is the term “sinners.”  There is no place I am aware of where the church, the people of God, are collectively called “sinners.”  Moreover, an argument can be made that there is no instance in the New Testament where a believer is referred to as a “sinner.”  The closest is Paul’s well-known reference to himself as the “foremost” (or “chief”) of sinners in 1 Tim 1:15.  But, the context makes it plain that Paul is using this terminology to refer to his old life as a persecutor of the church.  He says, “formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” (1:13).

Now, of course, this does not mean that Christians do not sin.  Indeed, Christians do sin, and sin in ways that are much deeper and more serious than we often realize.  This is the whole point of Romans 7 where Paul laments the fact that he often does what he does not want to do.   The entire Christian life is a struggle between the new self and the old self, and the latter often wins out.  Paul can even refer to himself as a “wretched man” (Rom 7:24). 

"If we instead view ourselves as “saints,” then we will begin to see our sin in a whole new light."

But, here is what is interesting.  As Paul diagnoses his own law-breaking he concludes that whenever he sins, it is not the real Paul that is doing it.  He declares, “So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (7:17).  And again, “Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (7:20).

Do not misunderstand what Paul is doing here.  He is not trying to conjure up some excuse where he is not guilty of these sins by reason of having a schizophrenic, split personality.   No, Paul knows he is culpable for these sins.  But, in the midst of doing so, Paul is keen to make it plain that it is not the new Paul that is sinning, but the old Paul.  In this sense, he can say that when he sins, he is not his true self.

Put another way, Paul’s identity is bound up in the new man that he has become in Christ.

If so, then this explains (at least partially) why Paul is so keen to refer to believers as “saints” (literally “holy ones”) at the beginning of almost all his letters.  Paul is not naive about the fact that Christians still sin, and sin in major ways (indeed, his letters are often about their sins!).  But, he wants Christians to think of themselves in regard to their new natures, not their old.   They are saints who sometimes sin, not sinners who sometimes do right.

And when our true identities are understood rightly, it actually affects the way we view (and respond to) our sins.  We might think that the best way to appreciate the depth of our sin is to think of ourselves primarily in the category of “sinners.”   But, this can actually have the opposite effect.  If we think of ourselves only as “sinners” then our sins are seen as something rather ordinary and inevitable.  They are just the result of who we are.  Sure, we wish we didn’t sin.  But, that’s just what “sinners” do.

If we instead view ourselves as “saints,” then we will begin to see our sin in a whole new light.  If we really are “holy ones” then whatever sins we commit are a deeper, more profound, and more serious departure from God’s calling than we ever realized.  Our sin, in a sense, is even more heinous because it is being done by those who now have new natures and a new identity.

And it is this “cognitive dissonance” between our identities as saints and our sinful actions that leads us to repentance.  We repent because these sins are not ordinary and expected.  They are fundamentally contrary to who God has made us to be.   It is this tension between our identities and our actions that is lost when we cease to think of ourselves as saints.

In the end, I am not suggesting that Christians can never refer to themselves with the word “sinner.”  If rightly understood, this can be fine.  But, we should also be keen to think of ourselves as saints.  After all, when Christ returns that is what we will be.  In glory, there will be no sinners.  Only saints.

Dr. Michael Kruger

Charlotte, NC

Video lesson by Just Christians

Word study on PRACTICE

PRACTICE and its Varying Natures in the Bible.

Romans 6:1-12, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Isaiah 32:6, For the foolish person will speak foolishness, And his heart will work iniquity: To practice ungodliness, To utter error against the Lord, To keep the hungry unsatisfied, And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

Matthew 7:23, And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.

Matthew 13:41, The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,

Acts 8:9, But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great,

Acts 19:19, Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.

Romans 1:32, who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Romans 2:1, Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

Romans 2:2, But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

Romans 3:13, “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”;

Romans 7:15, For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.

Romans 7:19, For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

Romans 13:4, For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

2 Corinthians 12:21, lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.

Galatians 5:21, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

2 Peter 2:14, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.

1 John 1:6, If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

1 John 2:29, If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

1 John 3:7, Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

1 John 3:10, In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

Revelation 22:15, But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

Are Unfaithful Christians Still Christians?

"A gentle reminder to ALL who claim Christ"

Do you still belong to Christ, are you honorably representing Him in all that you do and in front of all you come in contact with everyday? Are you proud of wearing the name "Christian"?

Since it is possible for a child of God to fall from the faith (2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Timothy 4:1), drift into error, and so be worthy of dis-fellowship (Romans 16:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; Titus 3:10), when such occurs, is it appropriate to continue referring to such people as “Christians”?

"Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter."  (1 Peter 4:16).