 |
| To Part 2 |
No other religion can make
such claims, not even Judaism which rejects the New Testament revelation that Jesus Christ
is the true Messiah, and the Authority of the commandments of God found exclusively
in the Old Testament. Obviously, my Jewish friends would differ on the latter
charge, but we believe Jesus gave the right assessment of what the Jews thought
of the Old Testament by giving greater weight to their traditions rather than to the commandments of God found in the OT; in essence, Jesus was charging them
with nullifying the commandments of God in the OT by the keeping of their
traditions (cf. Mt 15:3; Mk 7:9, 13).
In case you feel I am being
anti-Semitic; I have always been supportive of Israel as a nation (Gn 12:3; Num
24:9; Psa 122:6), but this doesn’t mean I approve of everything that they say
and do. I do support the right of the Jewish people to exist individually and as
a nation. I cherish the Judeo/Christian values. I long for the day when the
Jewish people receive Jesus as their true Messiah, and they will.
The spiritual reality for any
Jew, who steps out into eternity without Jesus, he or she will share the same
fate as any other religious or secular person who dies without Christ (Jn 3:18;
1 Jn 5:12), even though they claim to be the people of God or children of
Abraham. Christianity diverged from Judaism in the first century A.D. over a new
covenant mediated by Jesus Christ, hence Judeo/Christian values. The Jews today
are still looking for a political Messiah, not a spiritual One, as much as the
Sanhedrin did in Jesus’ day.
Its Founder, Yahweh, Jesus the Christ. All the
founders of non-Christian religions of this world are literally, physically, and
spiritually dead (save for the Founder of the Abrahamic Covenant, of course, Gn
12:1-3). The Jews had rejected God the Father by rejecting His Son Jesus the
Messiah, but technically speaking, Judaism and Christianity share a
monotheistic belief in the same God –Yahweh.
There is no founder of any
other religion in the world, past, present, or future that can compare to the
Founder of true Christianity. What founder of another religion was not an
indirect creation of God? What founder of any other religion was not made in
the likeness of God?
They all were, but they
arrogantly chose, as a finite created being, to rebel against their infinite
Creator. What founder had these attributes of Yahweh: eternality (having no
beginning or ending), aseity (absolute autonomy, self-existence,
self-sufficiency), omnipotence (all-powerful), omnipresence (everywhere
present), omniscience (all-knowing), omnisapience (all-wise), infinite (without
limitation), immutability (unchanging), sinless (holy), to name a few?
Because of the faith-fact
that the Founder of biblical Christianity is alive, a believer or follower of
Jesus Christ can enjoy an ongoing personal relationship with Him! Though we could
debate ourselves silly on the meaning of religion, Christianity gives a fresh,
new approach concerning religion; at its very core, biblical or wheat
Christianity is about a one-on-one relationship with the Creator of the
universe, Jesus Christ (Jn 14:23; 1 Cor 1:9; 2 Pet 1:4; 1 Jn 1:3-7 // Jn 1:3; Col 1:16-17; Rev 4:11).
Since all of
the founders of the various religions of the world are dead, there are only
meaningless religious rules to obey for some kind of perceived positive
afterlife. Religion cannot love you; a dead founder cannot impart eternal life
to his or her followers; only a living, loving (agapao) Person can do
that, and only a Person with eternal life can grant eternal life,
(1Jn 5:11) And this is the testimony: that God has
given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
(1Jn 5:12) He who has the Son has life; he who does
not have the Son of God does not have life.
(1Jn 5:13) These things I have written to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal
life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the
Son of God.
In this is love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the
propitiation [satisfaction, added] for our sins (1 Jn 4:10).
How do we show our love to
God?
This is love, that we walk
according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard
from the beginning, you should walk in it (2 Jn 1:6; cf. Jn 14:15).
His revelation to man.
This would include general
revelation (creation) and special revelation (the Word of God: Genesis to
Malachi, Matthew to Revelation, 66 “books” in all). I don’t expect 1 Cor 2:14-type
people will agree with this, but in spite of evolutionary theory, biblical
cosmology teaches that the universe did not evolve but was created (Gn 1:1; Psa
33:6; Isa 45:12; Jn 1:1-3; Col 1:16-17; Heb 11:3; Rev 4:11).
Wheat Christianity believes
in the theory of creationism; so much so, that our faith believes it to be true
though we acknowledge it to be theoretical. Evolutionists, however, talk as if
evolution is a proven, undeniable fact and will not acknowledge it to be only
one theory of the origin of the universe. They have an Achilles heel. Non-life cannot produce life;
it takes life to make life. They are intellectually dishonest because they know
evolution is highly untenable but only support it because they refuse to accept
the ramifications of the alternative – creationism. I am of the opinion
evolutional theory demands more faith than creational theory. Read these two
perspectives of David and Paul under inspiration,
The heavens declare the glory
of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork (Psa 19:1).
(Rom 1:20) For since the creation of the
world (general
revelation, added) His
invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so
that they are without excuse,
(Rom 1:21) because, although they knew God, they
did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became
futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
What founder of some great
religion had this awesome infinite power to create a seemingly infinite
universe and even have some of his attributes reflected by the things that were
made (Rom 1:20)? None! You can perceive the transcendence of true Christianity
through the eternal nature of its Founder. What temporal founder of any other
religion, major or minor, can muster the awesome, creative, omnipotent power of
Yahweh? None, glory to God!
There are only competing
religions in the world because God allows the sons of Adam to have a choice to
accept or reject Him. From the six solar days of creation and 1500 years in the
making of special revelation (Genesis to Revelation, the LXVI), and all subsequent
to Genesis 1:1, what emerges is that beacon of the light of God's grace and
mercy through the true Messiah, that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (Jn 3:16). We
miss salvation; we miss it all.
This, my friends, is the God
of biblical Christianity, Wheat Christianity, genuine Christianity, the real
deal Christianity that is comprised of only spiritually regenerated people.
Now, I must ask this question of you personally; are you a weed, or are you
wheat? If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, you
are a weed, and you are inevitably bound to be separated from God and the wheat
for eternity should you step out into eternity in a weed state (the natural man not having the Holy Spirit). I mean no
offense by my directness, but it is a biblical truth.
The miracle of salvation is a new creation by God in our lives (2 Cor 5:17, 21; 1 Cor 15:1-2, 3-4). Imagine the transformational power of going from weed to wheat, from a son of the darkness
to a son of the light, from a son of Adam to a son of Abraham, from a child of
the devil to a child of God, from a sinner to a saint, from an eternity in the
lake of fire in total isolation to an eternity in heaven with Yahweh and His
children! Only the God of creation, the God of all mankind, the God of true
Christianity can do such a thing when we place our trust in Him for salvation, in other words, when we allow Jesus to pay the penalty of our sin on our behalf (Acts
4:12; 1 Jn 2:2; 4:10). Only wheat Christianity has those kinds of spiritual blessings
and benefits.
I love these
words of Jesus in John 10:10; you can sense the simultaneous actions of ongoing
spiritual warfare and the overflowing of spiritual blessings by the Shepherd of
our souls in spite of the conflict,
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I
have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
The Bible is the only book on the earth that is not of this planet (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:20-21) and the only
thing remaining in connection with the old heaven and earth after the universe
is dissolved (Lk 21:33). That uniqueness alone makes the Bible the most
valuable book in the world even though it is mishandled and treated with
disrespect from saved sinners and lost sinners alike. There are many things
that can be said of the Bible that makes it vastly superior to the writings of
other religions,
For the word of God is living
and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb 4:12).
There is so much that could
be said about the core of biblical Christianity that I have but lightly touched
upon for the sake of brevity.
Though we can be saved in an
instant, the journey to be like Jesus Christ involves a lifetime of knowing
and doing God’s will for our lives. The quality of our spiritual
service unto God will be evaluated at the Bema seat, but not our salvation
which is eternally established (cf. the tenses in Rom 8:29, 30). For every
second, every minute, and every hour of every day, the goal is to be more like
Him and less like ourselves. We are not to be fashioned to this world but to be
transformed by the renewing of our mind by the Word of God (Rom 12:1-2).
What Christianity are you a
part of, the weeds or the wheat? Of another religion? Metaphorically speaking,
if it looks like a weed, thinks like a weed, talks like a weed, and walks like
a weed, it has to be a weed, right? That is an impression of the world. The assumption
is that this weedy person has to be one of them.
However, a Christian can be
weedy at times, too – in the weeds, but not of the weeds, but looking like a
weed, thinking like a weed, talking like a weed, and walking like a weed, wheat
but weedy. Have you ever given that impression to others? Sadly, I have. Are
you one of those who is wheat by day and weed by night?
Have we forgotten that light
and darkness don’t mix? Wouldn’t it be refreshing and a blessing to us and to
others not to be mistaken on our spiritual identity because we are being
spiritually androgynous, meaning that believers can’t tell if we are a weed or
wheat, but God can? Could you pass the biblical wheat test?
If it looks like wheat,
smells like wheat, talks like wheat, and walks like wheat, then there is a real
possibility that it could be wheat, yes? It is not about whether we eat our Wheaties or not, but that our wheat walk should match our wheat talk. Authenticity, wholesomeness, godliness, and lovingkindness are good descriptors rather than weed/wheat talk and walk. If we claim to be of the faith, let us show the world are wheat fruit (Gal 5:22-25), not weed fruit (Gal 5:19-21).
Didn’t Jesus tell His disciples that you will know a tree by its fruit (Lk 6:44)? Why would we chunk all the privileges, honor, and blessings that come with fidelity to Yahweh for a weed culture that is passing away? Truly, are you with the weeds or the wheat?
Didn’t Jesus tell His disciples that you will know a tree by its fruit (Lk 6:44)? Why would we chunk all the privileges, honor, and blessings that come with fidelity to Yahweh for a weed culture that is passing away? Truly, are you with the weeds or the wheat?
Biblical
Christianity is a lifelong journey in knowing and doing the will of God in
every aspect of a believer’s life in conformity to the Scriptures.
%20MG%20t-bkgrd%2060x44.png){kind=small}
%20sunflower%20makeover%2045x63.png){kind=small}
|
| End of Series |
