| Author: | Bill Etem | ISBN: | 9781311698636 |
| Publisher: | Bill Etem | Publication: | March 12, 2016 |
| Imprint: | Smashwords Edition | Language: | English |
| Author: | Bill Etem |
| ISBN: | 9781311698636 |
| Publisher: | Bill Etem |
| Publication: | March 12, 2016 |
| Imprint: | Smashwords Edition |
| Language: | English |
Christianity is so strange in that it seems so complicated and yet it is supposed to be simple. You always hear Evangelicals saying that Christianity is 'not about religion: it's about having a relationship with God.' But in order to love God you must obey the commandments, recall 1 John 5. 3, and this is religion. John 14. 23-26 is religion. A Christian can't ignore John 14. 23-26. So many Evangelicals violate the Commandments, especially in not keeping the Sabbath day holy, and in being covetous, and in sometimes being adulterous. Evangelicals are usually pretty good at not supporting abortion and homosexuality, and in not taking God's name in vain, though they watch lots of movies which take God's name in vain. Of course there are lots of fornicating porn-watching foul-mouthed Evangelicals. But then who doesn't slip up now and then?
A big complaint non-Christians have against Christianity is they refuse to worship a cruel Deity who tortures non-Christians in hell. The hellfire scriptures: Malachi 4. 1, Matthew 25. 31-46, John 15. 6, 2 Thess 1. 8, Revelation 20. 12-15 do look pretty painful, but they are somewhat ambiguous. Perhaps most of the damned are pulled out of the lake of fire after a brief albeit agonizing swim. Perhaps they are then shipped off to some place in eternal perdition where they aren't too uncomfortable. Maybe they can spend eternity shopping at some huge mega mall in the underworld. Perhaps they can spend all eternity working on art, or boating on the Styx, or perhaps reading books in some library in Hades.
Christianity is supposed to be simple. Jeremiah 31. 31-34 says that God will write His new covenant on the hearts of His people and even the least of God's people will understand this new covenant. Jesus, in Matthew 26. 28, tells us Christianity is this new covenant. So Matthew 26. 28 and Jeremiah 31. 31-34 tell us that Christianity must be pretty simple, simple enough that even the least of God's people can understand it.
The New Testament is simple to understand, for the most part. 2 scriptures in particular make everything confusing: Matthew 16. 13-19 and 1 Corinthians 11. 27. The former deals with God's True Church and the latter says it is a terrible sin to celebrate communion in an unworthy manner. Christians routinely celebrate communion with divorced people, with Sabbath violators, with covetous people, with people who take God's name in vain etc. Are you celebrating communion in an unworthy manner and putting yourself on the road to perdition when you celebrate communion with pro-choicers and with pro gay marriage people?
Every complication would be easy to resolve if we could just locate the Church which Christ founded on a rock. God's True Church, the Bride of Christ, is a group of people, of saints, who lead other people to heaven.
If you insist that your church is God's True Church, then, if you also insist that it is sometimes wise to rebel against God's True Church, you are just not making any sense. Since you are 100% assured of going to heaven if you always obey God's True Church, and since you might very well go to hell if you rebel against God's True Church, then it makes no sense to ever rebel against God's True Church.
Christianity is so strange in that it seems so complicated and yet it is supposed to be simple. You always hear Evangelicals saying that Christianity is 'not about religion: it's about having a relationship with God.' But in order to love God you must obey the commandments, recall 1 John 5. 3, and this is religion. John 14. 23-26 is religion. A Christian can't ignore John 14. 23-26. So many Evangelicals violate the Commandments, especially in not keeping the Sabbath day holy, and in being covetous, and in sometimes being adulterous. Evangelicals are usually pretty good at not supporting abortion and homosexuality, and in not taking God's name in vain, though they watch lots of movies which take God's name in vain. Of course there are lots of fornicating porn-watching foul-mouthed Evangelicals. But then who doesn't slip up now and then?
A big complaint non-Christians have against Christianity is they refuse to worship a cruel Deity who tortures non-Christians in hell. The hellfire scriptures: Malachi 4. 1, Matthew 25. 31-46, John 15. 6, 2 Thess 1. 8, Revelation 20. 12-15 do look pretty painful, but they are somewhat ambiguous. Perhaps most of the damned are pulled out of the lake of fire after a brief albeit agonizing swim. Perhaps they are then shipped off to some place in eternal perdition where they aren't too uncomfortable. Maybe they can spend eternity shopping at some huge mega mall in the underworld. Perhaps they can spend all eternity working on art, or boating on the Styx, or perhaps reading books in some library in Hades.
Christianity is supposed to be simple. Jeremiah 31. 31-34 says that God will write His new covenant on the hearts of His people and even the least of God's people will understand this new covenant. Jesus, in Matthew 26. 28, tells us Christianity is this new covenant. So Matthew 26. 28 and Jeremiah 31. 31-34 tell us that Christianity must be pretty simple, simple enough that even the least of God's people can understand it.
The New Testament is simple to understand, for the most part. 2 scriptures in particular make everything confusing: Matthew 16. 13-19 and 1 Corinthians 11. 27. The former deals with God's True Church and the latter says it is a terrible sin to celebrate communion in an unworthy manner. Christians routinely celebrate communion with divorced people, with Sabbath violators, with covetous people, with people who take God's name in vain etc. Are you celebrating communion in an unworthy manner and putting yourself on the road to perdition when you celebrate communion with pro-choicers and with pro gay marriage people?
Every complication would be easy to resolve if we could just locate the Church which Christ founded on a rock. God's True Church, the Bride of Christ, is a group of people, of saints, who lead other people to heaven.
If you insist that your church is God's True Church, then, if you also insist that it is sometimes wise to rebel against God's True Church, you are just not making any sense. Since you are 100% assured of going to heaven if you always obey God's True Church, and since you might very well go to hell if you rebel against God's True Church, then it makes no sense to ever rebel against God's True Church.
