Christian Commentaries // cc

Of Course You Have a Relationship with God

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Travis Reems

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
(Joshua 24:15 ESV [show] And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (ESV)
, emphasis mine)

Whether you are of Semitic heritage, as I am, or Asian, African or European, your forefathers served some god(s). And today, people groups around the world serve many different gods, including YHWH, God of the Bible (hereinafter referred to as “God”); Allah, ancient desert moon god and the god of Islam; and, Ganesha, one of many Hindu gods. But people also serve gods that they might not realize they are serving, such as greed, lust, addiction, covetousness, and especially the god of self. The Bible actually has the following list:

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.
(Galatians 5:19-21 ESV [show] Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (ESV)
)

All of these “gods” are truly just idols, for an idol is anything we place ahead of God and service to Him. So even the atheist serves gods. And, many self-proclaimed Christians are idolaters too, because they fail to put God first.

You cannot have no relationship with your mother and father, because even if you have a poor relationship with them, you still have some relation to them, albeit poor. Likewise we all have a relationship with God, be it a right relationship or not. If we do not have a right relationship with God, we’ve caused Him to be alienated from we, as we’ve walked away from Him and the right relationship. It is not God that has soured the relationship, but us, through our behavior toward Him.

There is only one right relationship with God, which is based on the fact that God created the entirety of existence. As a part of the entirety of existence, we were made by God and thus He owned us from the beginning of existence. God, in giving us free will, gave us to ourselves. We, rather than returning ourselves to our rightful owner, sold ourselves into slavery to sin. God, rather than writing us off as bad investments, repurchased us from sin. If we correctly recognize our relationship to God as His property–made, bought and paid-for–we must repent of our sins, love God and submit to His will.

Whether we choose to serve God or not, we are going to serve someone. If we do not choose to serve God, then we choose, even by our inaction, to serve His adversary, whether it be through service to one of the numerous false gods or service to ourselves through secular humanism. We will all be judged, and none will be judged worthy, but those who take Christ Jesus as our Master, will be justified through His atoning sacrifice. All others will recognize the Lordship of Christ Jesus, but only after they’ve been forever distanced from Him in torment. So, return yourself to His ownership today, not for the eternal reward or fear of the eternal punishment, but because that is where we all rightly belong.

And, if you already call yourself a brother or sister of the faith, then make sure you have a right relationship with God by placing Him at the center of everything you love, think and do.

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Posted in relationship | Tagged Christianity, Idolatry, Sin | Leave a comment

Prosperity Theology

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Travis Reems

As the church, we need a few divorces in our thinking because there is bad theology being taught by pastors preaching prosperity theology.

We must first divorce ourselves from the notion that being good or faithful to God–even in tithing or giving–will in anyway cause blessings on our lives because we no longer live under the covenant of the law, but rather we live under the covenant of grace. His will be done according to His divine plan and desire regardless of our behaviors or activities. Pastors preaching prosperity theology mostly relying on scripture of the old testament and lifting verses out of context and out of covenant, preach that if you will sew a seed of some specified amount into their ministry, you will be blessed by a multiple of 5, 10 or even 60 times your seed amount. And if you don’t send it, then God won’t bless you.

Any such verses being used from the old testament were written to the specific people of that time because they were under the old covenant of works-righteousness, whereby being observant of God’s law returned particular blessings to them. Further, many of those verses are part of larger chapters that refer not only to God’s people under the law, but more specifically God’s people in a specific situation, such as under captivity of a foreign power–much like Paul’s writings to the early churches to persevere the persecution that they were enduring for the gospel, which by the way does apply to the modern church as well.

Verses used to support prosperity theology from the new testament are likewise being used out of context. The parable of the talents is often misused by pastors to support financial prosperity doctrine, when the message is clearly not about financial gain for one’s own benefit, but about appropriate utilization of resources–including but not exclusive of financial resources. And by appropriate, it is meant God’s purpose for those resources, which include one’s time, assets, natural abilities, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, but most importantly the gospel with which we are all entrusted and commissioned to share.

The second divorce we must undergo is that of the false teaching of prosperity theology from the Pentecostal/Charismatic church, in which this false teaching is so prevalent. If we do not make this divorce, then the right belief in the gifts of the Holy Spirit will continue to be maligned by the negativity rightly placed on the wrong belief in prosperity doctrine.
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Posted in false teachings | Tagged Bible/Scripture/God’s Word, Biblical Hermeneutics/Exegesis, Christianity, Church/Body of Christ, Doctrine | Leave a comment

Love thy Neighbor

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Travis Reems

As Christians, we are commanded by God to love all people. In fact, to “…love your neighbor as yourself,” (Matthew 22:39, ESV [show] And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (ESV)
) is second only to “…love the Lord your God…” (Matthew 22:37, ESV [show] And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (ESV)
). But who is our neighbor? And, what does it mean to love our neighbor, especially as we love ourselves?

The first question of who is our neighbor, Jesus answers in the parable of the Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37 [show] But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise." (ESV)
), in which a man, presumably a Jewish man, as that was Jesus’ audience, was traveling on a road to Jerusalem, but along the way was attacked, robbed and left for dead. The man who appeared to be dead was then passed by two highly religious men, both of whom crossed to the other side of the road as to not come into contact with a possibly dead body, as that would make them unclean and unholy for a period of time, and would require sacrifices to atone for their sin of touching a dead body. So, both walked by, not checking on the man to see if he was truly dead, or in need of help. A third man, a man of the Samaritans, who are to this day an outcast off-shoot of the Jewish tribes of Israel, then came by the man. When this Samaritan, who was hated and an outcast by Jewish people, came to the man, he checked on him, saw that he was still alive and dressed the injured man’s wounds. The Samaritan then took the man into an inn and paid the innkeeper to attend to the man–to see to all the injured man’s needs–and promised to pay whatever additional costs were incurred by the innkeeper in doing so. After telling this parable, Jesus then told those to whom he had told the parable that anyone to whom we show mercy is our neighbor and to go do so. So, our neighbors are clearly everyone.

The latter of the two questions, as to what is love, is more difficult because loving another person falls into two categories: meeting needs and calling to repentance. We read throughout the gospels of Jesus’ miracles–healing the sick (Matthew 9:20-22 [show] And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well. (ESV)
), making the blind see (Matthew 9:27-31 [show] And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, Son of David." When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you." And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, "See that no one knows about it." But they went away and spread his fame through all that district. (ESV)
), resurrecting the dead (Matthew 9:18, 23-25 [show] While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." (ESV) And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. (ESV)
). We also read of Him feeding thousands (John 6:10-11 [show] Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. (ESV)
) and halting a lawful, but unmerciful stoning (John 8:3-9 [show] The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. (ESV)
). So, by His examples, we are shown that healing, feeding and showing mercy are love.

But to say that love is only meeting needs is to tell a half-truth, because to fully love a person is not only to meet their needs today, but to meet their needs for all eternity. What good does it do to feed a man today, only to send him to everlasting torment in hell? In actuality, it is better to see a man go hungry today and yet eat of the bread of everlasting life than to go to hell on a full stomach. So, it is also love to call our neighbors to repentance. Jesus shows us this in the continuation of His encounter with the adulterous woman whose stoning He halted. After He sends away her would-be accusers, He says to her “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11, ESV [show] She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."]] (ESV)
). So we see that while we are to call brothers and sisters of the faith to repentance, out of love for them.

Liberals often only emphasize the meeting needs aspect of love missing the need to call to repentance, while conservatives stress the call to repentance at the same time ignoring the needs of today. To miss either is to not love at all. Only through seeing and hearing these two parts together can our neighbors fully receive the gospel of Jesus’ ministry.

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Posted in doctrine | Tagged Christianity, Great Commandment, Love | Leave a comment

Revelation Madness

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Travis Reems

Having heard rave reviews about a certain televised pastor, I began watching his television broadcast for the past two weeks only to discover that he is a practitioner of dooms-day scare tactics. How very disappointed I am to not have found in this man a person more interested in God’s word than his own political beliefs, as he appears to draw his theology from his pre-existent political views, rather than drawing all opinions and positions from scripture.

When will Christians realize that Jesus will return when He has decided to return, and nothing we do can speed-up or slow down the coming of that day? Further, whether that day is today, tomorrow, next week, next year or 2,000, more years from now, we should continue doing the same three things regardless of the date: love God, love each other, and bring the Word to non-believers to help them establish their own relationships with God through Christ Jesus. Stop the focus on worrying over what is foretold in Revelation, and focus on the actions we are to take until that day we join Him in the air.

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Posted in false teachings | Tagged Christianity, Doctrine, Revelation Madness | Leave a comment

Worship in the Fast-food Nation

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Travis Reems

Last week, I jokingly said to a couple friends that if their Sunday services take less than two hours, then they are doing something wrong. Each had expressed that their total service time was about an hour and fifteen minutes. At the time, I made the statement mostly jokingly, but have since come to think that maybe congregations that do spend, what to me seems to be, such little time worshiping God are in fact missing something. Both of my friends marveled at the three hours my congregation typically spends in Sunday worship services, as if they wondered why one would give-up so much time for church. This is exactly the Sunday-itis that is running rampant in the body of Christ.

We must all first realize that we are not “going to church,” because church is not a place, building or even a specific congregation of believers, but that we all, across denominations, nationalities and creeds are The Church. So, we are “in church” anytime we fellowship in Christ with brothers and sisters of the faith. Therefor, being in church is not a distinct time separate from the “rest of our lives.” This subject alone could fill tomes, so I digress until a later time.

The greater issue of concern in this attitude of fitting God into our schedules is that in our modern culture we want to rush through our obligations so that we can return to feeding our selfish desires. We’ve put God in a box labeled “Sunday obligation” on our weekend chores list. Mow the lawn, visit Grandma, drop-by church, wash the car. And we better get it all done before kick-off of the big game.

Spending more time “in church” should not be a contest, and doing so certainly does not make one more righteous, pious, sanctified, justified or holy. The issue here is not about how much time one spends in worship services, or even in prayer, reading scripture or whatever else might bring one closer in his or her walk with God, but the motivation behind doing any of it. If one feels obligated to any of this from a place of guilt or, worse yet, out of the need for outward demonstration, then his or her motivations are not genuine. The only reason to draw near to anyone is love for that person. Those with a deep, abiding love for God will desire to be closer to Him–commune with Him in worship and in prayer.

Answering the question, “why do I go to church?” should settle this issue in anyone’s mind. If we go to church to serve our own needs, then we can give God as much or as little time as we like, but if we pray, worship, and attend services to glorify, honor, and raise the name of God, then we should consider how much attention God would have us give Him.

Those wanting a drive-by experience with God on a weekly basis (or less) might want to consider whether to install a drive-thru window in their local congregation to best serve their needs. However, those wanting a true relationship with God might want to inspect their motives behind why they “go to church” and how much time through-out the week they devote to the All Mighty, their Savior.

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Posted in culture | Tagged Christianity, Church/Body of Christ, Sunday-itis/God-in-a-box | Leave a comment

Sunday-itis

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Travis Reems

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with a Christian woman about contemporary Christian music, of which she stated that she is not fond. During the conversation I asked what musical artists she enjoys, to which she replied with a short list of secular artists. Having expected a list of Christian artists, contemporary or not, because that was the frame of our conversation, I further inquired about what Christian music she does enjoy, and to my surprise she replied that Christian music was for Sunday. Her attitude betrays a system of belief existent within the Church: Sunday-itis.

This plague is spreading throughout the Body of Christ to the point of causing paralysis and has, for the most-part, gone unnoticed by the host, as it presents little sign of itself, although it is severely destructive. I term the disease Sunday-itis because those parts of the Body infected, attempt to place God in a box labeled “Sunday.” Sunday-itis causes some to believe that they can make a weekly appointment with God (typically on Sunday, unless something more important comes-up) for 1-3 hours, depending on denomination, as if God were a barber with whom you could pop-in to see for a quick touch-up.

These same portions of the Body have no place for God in everyday life, not to mention every minute of the day, as our relationship with God is intended to be. They try to live a bifurcated life where they tithe their Sunday mornings to God and live the rest of the week for themselves. What’s worst about this disease is that those infected do not realize it, and appear to believe that their state is the norm, and to live otherwise is a twisting of the faith.

I have purposely omitted the denomination of the lady of whom I wrote about above because I do not want anyone to think that this disease is only prevalent in her denomination, because to some extent is exists in all congregations, and to some extent in each of us.

Part of the cause of Sunday-itis is the selfish nature of the flesh in which we each are wrapped, but it has spread through the Body of Christ because it has been accepted by certain denominations as the de facto standard for Christian life, where the clergy live, eat and breath Christ and on-demand deliver a small dose to the laity. Much of this attitude, it is clear, has been handed-down to modernity through tradition originating in the Roman Catholic church. But the mainline decedents of that denomination are as much to blame for not having provided a cure to the disease over the past 600 years.

If we call ourselves Christians, that means we have died in ourselves, only to be reborn in Christ, and that we have given-up our own lives to live in Him. From the moment of our rebirth, we are to live every moment for Him, and show Him a David-like zealous love (2 Samuel 6:20-21 [show] And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!" And David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the LORD--and I will make merry before the LORD. (ESV)
and 1 Chronicles 16:7-12 [show] Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the LORD by Asaph and his brothers. Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him; sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered,
). We are to dedicate our lives to three endeavors: love God (Matthew 22:37 [show] And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (ESV)
), love each other (Matthew 22:39 [show] And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (ESV)
) and help bring others to a relationship with God through Christ (Mark 16:15 [show] And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. (ESV)
).

This is, of course, not to say that we cannot enjoy the gifts of life, family and friends that God has given us, but rather to say that we should celebrate the giver more than the gift.

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Posted in culture | Tagged Catholocism, Christianity, Denominationalism, Great Commandment, Great Commission, Mainline Christian Churches, Sunday-itis/God-in-a-box | Leave a comment

Statement of Faith

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Travis Reems

After considering some of the posts I have on my heart to write, and thinking about where to start, I think it prudent to begin with a statement of faith, as one’s statement of faith is at the center of their beliefs, and therefore, their thoughts, opinions and assumptions on and of religion. Having never drafted a statement of faith, I am drawn to similarities among others’ statements of faith, most of which are Bible-based. And, as I just completed an exercise outlining several Bible verses that have particular meaning to me, it seems appropriate to also begin my statement of faith with those very verses. Thus, my statement of faith is as follows:

Authority of scripture
Scripture, being the inerrant and infallible word of God, is the primary source of the revelation of God’s will, by which all other sources must be verified.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17 [show] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (ESV)
; 2 Peter 1:20-21 [show] knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (ESV)
; Revelation 22:18-19 [show] I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (ESV)
)

Who God is
There is but one God–YHWH–existent in three persons: His will, His word, and His spirit.
(Deuteronomy 6:4 [show] "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (ESV)
; John 1:1 [show] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (ESV)
)
The word of God was given to humanity manifest first in the Law given Moses and then in Jesus (Yeshua ben Yosef).
(Exodus 19:3 [show] while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: (ESV)
)

What God wants for humanity
God loves all of humanity, to such an extent as He gave of Himself so that we could be with Him for all eternity.
(John 3:16 [show] "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV)
; Revelation 3:20 [show] Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (ESV)
; Matthew 7:7 [show] "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (ESV)
; Galatians 2:20 [show] I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (ESV)
)
God wants humanity to prosper, but through obedience and reliance upon Him.
(Jeremiah 29:11 [show] For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (ESV)
; Revelation 3:20 [show] Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (ESV)
; Psalms 46:10 [show] "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
; Galatians 2:20 [show] I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (ESV)
; Micah 6:8 [show] He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
; Isaiah 55:8-9 [show] For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
)

What God wants from humanity
Love is the driving force behind God’s actions and wants the same to be true for our own. (1 Corinthians 13:13 [show] So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (ESV)
; Luke 10:27 [show] And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." (ESV)
)
God wants our all-out (zealous) love, as shown through obedience, repentance, and thanks-giving.
(Matthew 10:38 [show] And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (ESV)
; Matthew 16:25 [show] For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (ESV)
)
God wants our unconditional love of our fellow man, as shown through charity, kindness, and patience.
(Matthew 25:40 [show] And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' (ESV)
; John 13:34 [show] A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. (ESV)
; Micah 6:8 [show] He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
; Galatians 5:19-26 [show] Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (ESV)
)

Reconciliation, Redemption and Salvation
Humanity is incapable of reconciling their iniquities with God’s holiness.
(Galatians 3:10 [show] For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." (ESV)
; Galatians 3:23 [show] Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. (ESV)
)
Redemption is given to humanity as a gift from God, wholly unearned.
(Ephesians 2:8 [show] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (ESV)
)
Salvation, therefor redemption, and therefor reconciliation, is received through faith alone in Jesus.
(John 14:6 [show] Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (ESV)
; John 3:16 [show] "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV)
; Galatians 2:20 [show] I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (ESV)
; Isaiah 53:5 [show] But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
; Ephesians 2:8 [show] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (ESV)
)

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Posted in doctrine | Tagged Bible/Scripture/God’s Word, Christ/Messiah/Jesus/God’s Word, Christianity, Doctrine, God, God the Father/God’s Will, Holy Spirit, Reconciliation/Redemption/Salvation, Sin, Trinity | Leave a comment

Christian Commentaries // cc

Of Course You Have a Relationship with God

Prosperity Theology

Love thy Neighbor

Revelation Madness

Worship in the Fast-food Nation

Sunday-itis

Statement of Faith

Poll

Bibles

Books

Movies

Etc.