In Christ, Everyday Is Forgiveness Day!

The Russian Orthodox Church observed a tradition on February 26th called "Forgiveness Sunday". On this special day the church members ask forgiveness of all their family and friends and let go of any grudges that they may be harboring toward others. This tradition originated in the first century church and is a way for the Orthodox believers to prepare themselves for the season of Lent.
I'm not really too knowledgeable about the Orthodox church but anytime forgiveness is taking place it's probably a good thing. I also reflected a bit on the whole notion of a day of forgiveness. It sounds a bit lacking doesn't it? Just a "day" of forgiveness, that's kind of how man goes about eternally important issues isn't it? I'm sure they have good intentions but somehow it just seems anemic. It made me think about God the Father's method of securing our forgiveness. He sent His only Son to die on the cross in our stead, in our place. He laid on Christ the iniquity (sin) of us all. Jesus carried the sins of the whole world, He bled, He died and He physically rose from the dead so that you and I could be justified, forgiven and pardoned. When Jesus died on that cross over 2000 years ago it wasn't just a day of forgiveness it was the portal to total and continuous forgiveness. The Bible tells us clearly that He forgave all our sins and He forgives all our sins all the time. Now that is important because even though we become Christians when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we still possess a heart that is, as Jeremiah described it, desperately wicked. Now Christ took all that into consideration when He died for us and He provides for us a "sea of forgiveness", we are swimming in a sea of forgiveness! I love what the writer of Hebrews said about Jesus saving and forgiving power...

Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

He saves and forgives us to the "uttermost". The word means completely, perfectly and utterly. He forgives completely and He ever lives to make intercession for us! It's not just a day of forgiveness it is a state of forgiveness. This forgiveness is received by simply resting and relying in the work of Christ on the cross! Watch the little 3 minute video in the sidebar, come to Christ right now, be forgiven!

 

Derek Fisher, Meghan McCain and Ashley Judd - Are You Kidding Me?

Today I checked out a site called Hot Trends. It's a Google site that shows real time results for the most searched keywords on Google. Today the most searched items were...
1.  Derek Fisher, a player for the Los Angeles Lakers, is going to be traded.
2.  Meghan McCain, daughter of John McCain, recently posed for photos in Playboy magazine.
3.  Ashley Judd, Hollywood movie star, whose face is puffier than usual do to a recent series of steroids for a sinus infection.
Are you serious? This is what is on the minds of people in these epic times we are living! This is the "parade and peanuts" mentality that prevails while never before events are unfolding all around us. The global economy is teetering on the edge of the abyss, Biblical signs of the end times are everywhere, natural disasters are destroying property and people worldwide and Ashley Judd's face is the paramount thought in your mind? It's unbelievable and if you go to Google's Hot Trends you will find this insanity to be in vogue everday.
There was one item though that caught my attention. Dick Gallagher, famous comedian, had a severe heart attack and is in an induced coma at this very moment. It was Gallagher's second heart attack in the last two years. Now this story is worth searching for because Gallagher is on the edge of eternity. I don't know the spiritual condition of Mr. Gallagher but I do know that at the moment of death we enter into eternal life "somewhere". My Bible tells me that the only possibilities for this "somewhere" are Heaven and Hell. The Bible tells us that after death comes the judgement and then eternal existence of either bliss or torment.

Hebrews 9:27

King James Version (KJV)

 ²⁷And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

I hope that Mr. Gallagher recovers, the doctors are optimistic, and I hope that he has trusted Jesus as his Saviour or will soon do so. I also hope that you have trusted in the work of Jesus on the cross as payment for your sin. I hope that if you were to enter eternity today that Heaven would be your destination. You can remove all doubt today, trust in Jesus. Watch the little three minute video in the right sidebar. Focus your attention on the important matters of our time...your soul.

Marcus Borg: The Jesus He Never Knew

Marcus Borg tells about giving a lecture on faith and concluding by asking for questions. One person expressed her concern that he had not mentioned faith in the cross. To clarify the question, he asked, "Do you mean do I believe that Jesus died for our sins?" She said, "Yes." Borg answered, "I don't think that Jesus literally died for our sins. I don't think he thought of his life and purpose that way; I don't think he thought of that as his divinely given vocation." Jesus, p. 96 

Once again I would like to focus a post on some more of Marcus Borg and his outrageous statements concerning Jesus. I think there is value in refuting the gainsayers (Paul's language) because in looking at the incredibly faithless statements of so called Bible scholars we can sharpen our own understanding of what the gospel message truly is and who Jesus really claimed to be.

Let's examine the above statement by Borg and look at it piece by piece. First statement...

"I don't think that Jesus literally died for our sins."

Now here is what the Apostle Paul said concerning Jesus and his death  and notice that Paul identifies these words as "the gospel".

1 Corinthians 15

 ¹Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
 ²By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
 ³For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
 ⁴And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. What glorious good news! But not to Borg, he views the Bible as a human product that is fraught with error. Notice that Paul said that it is by receiving this good news that we are "saved". One has to wonder, based on Borg's own words, whether he knows what it means to be forgiven and saved. Dear Reader, it boils down to a very simple proposition, either you believe God's Word or you don't. Obviously, Dr. Borg does not accept the literal meaning of I Corinthians 15:1-4. I feel pity and anger for this man. I pity him because unless he believes the gospel he will die in his sins. I feel anger because Borg's influence through his writings and lectures has ensured that Borg will have company in the afterlife! Here is statement number two...

I don't think he thought of his life and purpose that way; I don't think he thought of that as his divinely given vocation." 

John 12:27

King James Version (KJV)

 ²⁷Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

John 14:6

King James Version (KJV)

 ⁶Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Luke 7:48-50

King James Version (KJV)

 ⁴⁸And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
 ⁴⁹And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
 ⁵⁰And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Mark 14:61-64

King James Version (KJV)

 ⁶¹But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
 ⁶²And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 

Clearly, Jesus knew that He was the Christ, God in the flesh and the one who could forgive sin. He knew that it was His vocation..."for this cause came I unto this hour". The average reader, void of earned doctorates, not having a professorship at a major university, not having written a single book will simply read the Word of God and believe it. It is no wonder that the Apostle Paul recorded these words in the first chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians...

  ¹⁸For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
 ¹⁹For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
 ²⁰Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
 ²¹For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
  ²⁶For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
 ²⁷But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

The Greek word that is translated "wise men" is sophos which means "cultivated or learned". I fear that many of our world's so called intellectuals have become so cultivated and learned they have lost the ability to believe with a child-like faith and many of them will in the final appointment hear a rejection from the Savior...I knew ye not. 
So here we are again Dear Reader, what about you? Have you been to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins? Have you relied on what Jesus did on that cross to be sufficient payment for your sins? Come to Christ! Don't make this more complicated than it is...come to Jesus! 

Marcus Borg And His Pernicious Views On The Resurrection

“Marcus Borg really does not believe Jesus Christ was bodily raised from the dead. But I know Marcus well: he loves Jesus and believes in him passionately. The philosophical and cultural world he has lived in has made it very, very difficult for him to believe in the bodily resurrection." -  N.T. Wright

“I am very comfortable not knowing whether or not the tomb was empty. Indeed the discovery of Jesus’ skeletal remains would not be a problem. It doesn’t matter, because easter is about resurrection not resuscitation.” -Marcus Borg from his book The Meaning of Jesus

Is it a big deal that Marcus Borg believes and teaches that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a bodily, physical resurrection? The answer to that question is a resounding yes, that is, if you believe the Bible is Divine product (Borg believes it is a human product). Here is what the Bible says about the resurrection of Jesus Christ...

Romans 1:3-4

King James Version (KJV)

 ³Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
 ⁴And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: (Paul says the resurrection of Jesus is the very proof that He was and is the Son of God, He is Divine!)

Romans 8:11

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹¹But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Notice that Paul says Christs resurrection models what our own resurrection will be like as He will quicken our mortal bodies.)

Romans 6:5

King James Version (KJV)

 ⁵For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: (Our resurrection will be like His...bodily, stay with me, more Scripture to come!)

John 2:18-22

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹⁸Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
 ¹⁹Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
 ²⁰Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
 ²¹But he spake of the temple of his body.
 ²²When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. (Jesus clearly taught His bodily resurrection.)

Luke 24:39

King James Version (KJV)

 ³⁹Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. (Jesus spoke these words after His resurrection, He arose with flesh and bones!)

Acts 2:31

King James Version (KJV)

 ³¹He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. (So much for Borg's statement that the finding of Jesus skeletal remains would not be a problem. Clearly this man doth err not knowing the Scriptures!).

John 20:19-29

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹⁹Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
 ²⁰And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD.
 ²¹Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
 ²²And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
 ²³Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
 ²⁴But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
 ²⁵The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
 ²⁶And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
 ²⁷Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
 ²⁸And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.
 ²⁹Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. (Jesus would not have made this challenge if He did not possess a physical body.)

Romans 8:19-24

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹⁹For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
 ²⁰For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
 ²¹Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
 ²²For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
 ²³And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Our resurrection will be just like His and will be the redemption of our body!)

Here are serious Bible warnings that Borg should consider before it is too late...

1 John 4:2-3

King James Version (KJV)

 ²Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
 ³And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

2 John 1:7

King James Version (KJV)

 ⁷For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

1 Corinthians 15

 ¹Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
 ²By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
 ³For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
 ⁴And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
 ⁵And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
 ⁶After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
 ⁷After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
 ⁸And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
 ⁹For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
 ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
 ¹¹Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
 ¹²Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
 ¹³But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
 ¹⁴And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
 ¹⁵Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
 ¹⁶For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
 ¹⁷And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
 ¹⁸Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
 ¹⁹If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

I suppose that Dr. Borg should be pitied. Pitied because at some point in his life he failed to exhibit a child like faith in the plain sense of the Scriptures (a Divine product!). I can only conclude what the Bible says.."yet in his sins". I don't write these blog posts to be judgemental, I write to warn and encourage folks to believe.

Justin Martyr (A.D. 100-165) said: “The resurrection is a resurrection of the flesh which dies.” (Justin Martyr, Fragments of the Lost Work of Justin on the Resurrection, ch. 10. Found in the Ante-Nicene and Post-Nicene fathers Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., and Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, eds., Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vols. 1-14; Second Series, vols. 1-14).
Tertullian (A.D. 160-230) stated that the resurrection of the flesh to be the church's “rule of faith,” saying it “was taught by Christ” and only denied by heretics. (The Prescription Against Heretics, ch. 13.) The church was unanimous that those who denied a physical resurrection were not part of Christ’s church.  The bodily resurrection has always been the core belief of the majority of Bible believing Christians through out history. It is a crucial component of the gospel (see I Cor. 15:1-4). It is apparent what Dr. Borg believes, but what about you? What do you believe about Jesus? Trust Him as your Saviour today. Watch the little 3 minute video in the right sidebar and let me know what you decided about Christ!

Rob Bell Quotes That Undermine The Biblical Doctrine Of Forgiveness

I guess I've started a little series on false teacher quotes and the ramifications some of these quotes have on the Biblical doctrine of forgiveness. My last post looked at some of the tripe that Marcus Borg serves up at numerous speaking engagements and book writings. Today I want to examine one of the latest heretic flavors of the month...Rob Bell. Here is one of a multitude of blasphemous utterings from Bell...

"What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archeologists find Larry’s tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was really just a bit of mythologizing the Gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of the Mithra and Dionysian religious cults that were hugely popular at the time of Jesus, whose gods had virgin births?

But what if, as you study the origin of the word “virgin” you discover that the word “virgin” in the gospel of Matthew actually comes from the book of Isaiah, and then you find out that in the Hebrew language at that time, the word “virgin” could mean several things. And what if you discover that in the first century being “born of a virgin” also referred to a child whose mother became pregnant the first time she had intercourse?"
-Velvet Elvis, p. 26

In Luke chapter 1, verse 27, we see the word "virgin" used in reference to our Savior. Dr. Strong in his Exhaustive Concordance says the word means a "marriageable woman, a woman who has never had sexual intercourse with a man". I guess Rob Bell was using some other scholarly source huh? Virgin has pretty much always mean't what we have always thought it to mean. You might be wondering why it's such a big deal. I mean, after all, where is my compassion and tolerance right? Well when it comes to the Scriptural record as to the person and work of Jesus Christ it is a big deal. You see if Jesus was not born of a virgin then He was not God. If He was not God then He couldn't have presented Himself a sacrifice for our sins and He couldn't have risen from the dead. If He didn't rise from the dead then we are of all people most miserable!!!

I Corinthians 15
  ¹⁷And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

 ¹⁸Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

 ¹⁹If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 

You see, Rob Bell has the same problem that Dr. Borg has, he just doesn't see the Bible as the Word of God. He's got lot's of degrees and earthly accomplishments but he just doesn't grasp what is truly important.

  2 Timothy 3:7
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Ever learning, ever piling up degrees, ever writing books, ever speaking at conferences, ever blaspheming and never coming to the knowledge of the truth. How do these false teachers recite the Apostle's Creed every Sunday? "He was born of the Virgin Mary"...Amen! Jesus is the way, the truth and the life... John 14:1-6. He is the only way to Heaven and the only escape from Hell (Bell doesn't believe in Hell either, more on that in a later post!). Dear Reader, steer clear of such wolves! Come to Jesus in child-like faith today. Watch the little video in the right sidebar and let me know what you have decided. Come to Christ!