Creedless Christianity

It seems to be a growing fad amongst "evangelical Christians" mainly of the "Emergent form" to adopt a form of "Christianity" without any bounds, doctrines, or creeds. Often touted by these men and women is "Jesus is our creed" or "all we need is the bible." On the surface such statements seem admirable. However when asked about the specifics of their belief system such "boundless" theology is reckless. Now I'm not the type to try to put God in any "boxes" that He hasn't already placed Himself in. The fact of the matter is He has spoken and told us what He is like and what He is not like, thus He has placed Himself in a "box" so to speak.

Now I am sure you will argue, "Matt isn't the Bible good enough for you?" supposing that by believing a creeds or confessions, those creeds or confessions are somehow an authority over the bible. This is not the case. Rather a creed, confession and especially catechism are statements of belief based upon and subject to Scripture. They are snapshots of the beliefs of a group. This is biblical, since the New Testament speaks often of "The Faith," the objective element of what a person actually believes. It seems to many modern "churches" will speak of belief in Jesus, but when you try to define who Jesus is, they would suggest that such destroys "the Faith."

This might seem silly to say, but the Orthodoxy, the Ecumenical creeds are a summery of the beliefs that encapsulate "Mere Christianity." Strange as it is, the Arians, Unitarians, Socinians, Jehovah's Witness', Etc. all claim to be Bible believing groups. Further they all would defend the inspiration and infallibility of the Bible. If we cannot say that God is Trinity then we surly destroyed mere Christianity and created another form of religion, which is nothing new. This form of thinking ends in a rejection of the Church as a divine institution, and ultimately the rejection of the Bible, the very thing these churches are seeking to hold fast to, yet without bounds.

I does seem strange that even most "emergent" of "emergent" have what they call a statements of faith, however slim they may be. Unfortunately these statements of faith essentially defines themselves as boundless, such thinking is idolatry. God has set up boundaries for Himself. He set up boundaries for Himself, and when we seek to remove them we end up like Aaron in the wilderness of Sinai. (Exodus 32:1ff) This is silly to think that this form of the worship of God would be acceptable to Him.

I pray that we might repent of such idolatry and turn to Christ, as preached by the apostles, defined in scripture, attested to by the saints, and summerised in the Ecumenical Creeds.

Soli Deo Gloria!
Happy Reformation Day!

The Gospel in Sixty Seconds or Less (with scripture proofs)

God, He created the world and everything in it, including humans to serve and glorify Himself for His own good pleasure. (Genesis 1:1ff; 1:27; Isaiah 43:7; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 11:3)

Our first parents being very silly thought that they could find more fulfillment if they ruled themselves rather than being ruled by their creator. (Genesis 3:1ff; Romans 5:12)

Thus because of our rebellion God has vowed to righteously yet lovingly judge us on an account of what we do, to which we all fail His holy standards and earn eternal death.(Psalm 7:11; Psalm 9:8; Acts 17:31; Romans 3:23; 6:23)

But God being rich in mercy and love toward us, for His own good pleasure sent His Eternal Son, who emptied Himself and was made into the likeness of man that He might fulfill the perfect requirements of God’s standard.(Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-3;14; Philippians 2:5-11)

Furthermore the Son, Jesus Christ, bore the eternal judgment of God against sinners on the Cross of Calvary; thus satisfying the eternal anger of God at sinners. God treated the perfect one Jesus Christ as a sinner that He might be just in declaring sinners perfect. (Isaiah 53:10ff; John 19:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

This wonderful exchange of our sin and His righteousness takes place when a sinner places their faith, fully trusts, the Lord Jesus as their substitute. Then God sees the sinner as an adopted son covered in the righteousness of His perfect Son, not a rebellious sinner. (Psalm 32:1-2; Mark 1:15; John 3:16-17; Ephesians 1:5)

God showed that the sacrifice was acceptable by raising His Son Jesus from the dead. (Luke 24:5; Romans 4:24)

God will judge the world in righteousness and all of those who are not covered in the righteousness of Christ, depending on Him alone to be their righteousness and for forgiveness, will be forced to stand on their own to bear the eternal anger of God. Thus it is either all on Christ or all upon us. (Romans 4:1-8;16; Ephesians 1:3-2:10; Titus 3:3-7; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:27)

Therefore repent and believe. (Mark 1:15; John 6:35; Acts 16:31; Romans 1:16; 3:22)
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Supposedly if you cannot convey the Gospel in sixty seconds or less you probably do not know it well enough or at all. Oh the simplicity a child can understand, oh the complexity even the greatest mind could drown in. Now I have not timed myself on this but those of us from New York speak rather quickly.

The Testimony of Paul Washer

This is the testimony of Paul Washer, a great Christian Preacher speaking about his conversion to Christianity. It is scary how much his parallels mine. Enjoy.

Thank God for St. Patrick

It is a very unfortunate day when the world begins to believe that Patrick is the patron Saint of Leprechauns and Green Beer. While there is nothing inherently wrong with either to reduce what God did through this man for both Ireland and the world is something that sickens me. This is as horrible as reducing St. Nicholas to Santa Clause, St. Valentine to Cupid, and almost as grotesque as reducing Easter and Christmas to days about fuzzy animals and simple presents. It is a mockery.

St. Patrick's story is one of the Gospel. Patrick an unbelieving Roman born in Britain who was taken into slavery by the invading Irish Celts. It was in Ireland that God found Patrick and after six years of slavery as a shepherd, God allowed Patrick to escape and return to Britain. There he joined the church and began to study the Word of God. Feeling God calling him to return to Ireland to take the Gospel of Christ to the Irish people, his capturers. In one dream he heard God say, "We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more." In 433 AD he did just that.

Thinking he would convert his old master for whom he was a shepherd to his new Master for whom he remained a shepherd under the tutelage of the Great Shepherd, he returned to the place of his former bondage. Unfortunately due to the pagan influence upon Patrick's former master caused him to commit suicide and destroy his lands. Patrick horrified by this superstition began to minister to the pagan Celts.

At the druidic festival Beltane, a yearly ritual of fire, Patrick began his ministry. The ritual was commenced by the King lighting the first fire of ritual from whence all other fires in the Kingdom would be lit. Patrick on an opposing hill light his Easter fire prior to the King's. This was blasphemy against the druidic gods. Seeing this fire the druids told the High King, that were that fire not quenched prior to the rising of the Sun it would never be put out. Therefore the King sent druids and soldiers to put out Patrick's fire.

Like Elijah and the prophets of Baal, Patrick mocked the druids, and the more they tried they could not quench the fire. At this sight the King accepted Patrick and allowed him to preach the Gospel in his lands. Later the King became a believer. After this time the Gospel flourished throughout Ireland. This is the reference of where Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland, driving the druidic paganism out of Ireland.

St. Patrick is credited with explaining the Trinity to the Gaelic culture through the use of the shamrock, an herb used in many druidic rituals. He often held one up and asked if the shamrock was one leaf or three, to which the common reply was, it is both one leaf and three. Patrick concluded to them so it is with God. Of course the pagan mind cannot comprehend the things of God so Patrick was sure to emphasize to the pagan mind that the Christian belief was not that of polytheism.


With the Christianizing of Ireland Patrick set up monastery after monastery, through out Ireland and these Irish monks would take what little money they had and bought the classic works of antiquity and copied them in their monasteries. This became very important after the fall of Rome to the barbarians. The barbarians torched most of the written works in the Roman empire. Had it not been for Patrick we would not have many of the works of antiquity. Therefore even if you do not believe the Christian Gospel you must at least than Patrick for his roll in preserving the works of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and many others. Therefore today when drinking a pint of Guinness remember to thank God for St. Patrick and his contribution to the world we live in.
Happy St. Patrick's Day.

The Problem With Denying Hell.

The other day I heard a story about a man who went to a church and the minister at that church said that God wanted to save him, well any nonbeliever, he truly did, but he couldn´t without that person´s help. To this the nonbeliever said "if your God cannot save me then he surly cannot condemn me to hell" and walked out of the church. Ironically his theology was far better than that of the ministers´. Why you might ask, because frankly if your god needs any help in saving you, if he alone cannot hold you to him then he can in no way keep you from him either. Yet the same must also be true, if your god cannot condemn you then he can in no way save you, I say this because if your god lacks the justice to destroy the wicked then he also lacks the power to save those who are wicked. This means that if the god you serve requires anything of you before their grace is sufficient then in essence they as god are not a requirement to true salvation.

Now many people will say that this is simply circular logic and in a way it would seem to be, yet the point must be made if your god cannot condemn you to hell, that is if it takes something of your own doing, if it is outside of his power to save you without your help, then he not only has no power to condemn you but he also has no right to if he wishes to remain a just god. If your god lacks the power to save you entirely and as such lacks the power to condemn you to hell why would you follow such a god. There is no power in him, and he is no greater than you or I. If such a god existed as God the supreme ruler of the universe then it would only seem fair that one day he may be overthrown by one who has the power to truly save. This means to follow a god who cannot save completely and apart from mans own actions is to follow an impotent god, or that is one with no power to condemn you either. This means to turn away from such a god will have no implications simply because he does not have the power to save you nor does he have the power to condemn you in a way that would remove you completely from salvation or exaltation.

Frankly there are many out there who say that there is no hell, many of these people even claim to be Christian. Do you know that 90% of what we know of hell in the Bible comes from the lips of Jesus Christ? Therefore to say there is no hell is, simply put, to call Jesus a liar! Yes the God who is love talks more about hell than everyone else in the Bible combined. What is more he uses the word eternal, the same word He uses to describe the eternal Heaven. Some might ask why Jesus spent so much time talking about hell when it is found very seldom elsewhere. Simply put because man can only withstand but a glimpse of a Holy God´s Love, he surly cannot withstand more than that of a Holy God´s Hate. Thus Jesus who is God in the flesh spoke more of hell than the rest of the Biblical writers combined. Again I reiterate that if there is no hell then Christ is a liar and if that is the case then he was not a perfect sacrifice. Following the chain of events if He was not the perfect sacrifice then surly he cannot save us from our sins! If Jesus lied then either God is no longer a just God or we are all going to hell!

Now you see this makes it very interesting either Christ bore all the wrath of God for all of those whom will ever be saved from the first to the last or he bore none of it. Why can I say this? I can say this because if he bore only some portion of our sins then indeed we are all going to hell for eternity since even one sin can sentence us to hell for eternity, for it is written to commit one is the same and breaking them all (James 2:10). Therefore if he only bore the wrath of God in terms that all men might become savable then no man is going to be saved because it takes the works of men, which are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) before a Holy and Just God. As such there truly is no forgiveness of sin because there is no shedding of blood, which is a requirement for the forgiveness of sins. This is why it is an act of God that you are saved, if you are saved. And from what are you saved? Not your sins. No you are not saved from your sins, sin never did anything to you, sin cannot ever do anything to you, sin isn´t even a being of any kind. Sin simply put is sin, it is like a rock sitting on the ground, it cannot hurt you unless acted upon by an outside force. No my friends, if you are saved, you are not saved from sin, you are saved from the wrath of a Holy God who hates sin and in fact hates sinners. Those of the world and friends to the world are an enemy of God and God is an enemy of them (James 4:4). God is powerful enough to thrust his enemies into hell (Revelation 21:8).

I hate when people say well hell won´t be so bad because my friends and family will be there so if I´m going to hell then were all going together. My dear friends, you have no concept of what hell is, it´s not some martini bar where the devil runs around and pokes you every once in a while with his little pitchfork. No beloved, no, hell is far more terrifying than that. When you stand before God and his common grace is stripped from you and you become a monster that makes Hitler, Stalin, and Ben Laden all look like little choir boys, your friends, your family, everyone you ever loved and everyone who ever loved you will sit there and cheer as God thrust you into hell because God has rid the world of something so abominable as you. Then if your friends and family do follow you in, remember how they cheered as you were being thrown past the gates of hell, will also be so evil to you that you will want nothing to do with them and they nothing to do with you. You will be outside of love, and never know it again. Hell is said to be a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12; 13:42; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28) so while your friends may be there, it is sort of hard to call them a friend when they are chewing on your arm!

This eternal lake of fire will cause suffering, oh will it cause suffering, and those among you who have been cutters before might know this better than others but often times emotional suffering can be drown out by physical suffering but I tell you this there will be no refuge in the pain of that lake of fire though you may seek to find it none will come for you. No the emotional pain will tare at you from within as the lake of fire burns you from without and this is the outer darkness that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30 and Luke 13:28 where all the weeping and gnashing of teeth will not end your suffering. Scared, if not you should be, this is the wrath of a Holy God.

But you say "God is Love he would never condemn anyone to hell." Yes, God is Love, yet we have twisted what love means in such a way then tried to make God fit into our false version of it when what we should have done is take God and see how Love fits into Him. Yet because God is love I submit to you that he must hate, and if he is Holy he must hate that which is Unholy. Unregenerate sinners are completely and totally filthy, unholy to the core and as such God hates them.

My beloved friends there is hope there is hope indeed. "He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD." Proverbs 17:15 and "He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand." Isaiah 53:9b-10 You see Christ who justifies the wicked became an abomination in the sight of God the Father, and took the wrath of God for all that would be saved. This is the cup that Christ is asking the Father to allow pass in the garden (Matthew 26:39,42, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:41-44, John 18:11); the cup of God´s Holy Wrath, which Christ drank for all who would be saved. You see Christ was not trembling because of the whips and nails of the Romans, He did not fear the things man could do to Him. He trembled and sweat blood in the garden not because of a fear of man, no, for if that were true then Peter would be greater than Christ because he was singing praises to God as he was crucified. My friends Christ was trembling because the full wrath of God was about to be placed upon Him and He who had never been outside of the perfect loving relationship with His Father and was about to be crushed by Him. As such if you are saved, truly saved, God loves you because Christ justified you and makes you Holy. He can never pour out His wrath on those whom are saved in the slightest degree because He sees His Son in their place.

Now many might ask how one person could do this, could justify and sanctify a multitude. Quite frankly it is because Jesus is worth more than the entire world put together! His worth is Infinite; He was the infinitely perfect sacrifice. His perfect sacrifice was and is a total and complete substitution for all who believe, not because He was simply a perfect man, no but because He being God Himself bore the wrath of God and is worth more than all of creation combined. As such the justice of God´s wrath was satisfied for all those who believed, believe, and who will ever believe. It is this that gives God, that is the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the power to save and condemn because He is Just and Holy and His wrath has been completely satisfied in His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ for all that would be saved, yet wo unto you that do not repent for the hell spoken of previously awaits you, and if you have a fear of God in you, repent and believe, continually. Believe that He alone can save you from your sinful nature, and He alone can save you from His mighty wrath that you may know the everlasting joy and love those who truly know Him so often speak of. It is by His love and mercy that you are even given this chance, do not squander it.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST IS A MESSAGE ABOUT:
1. GOD

1. Is. 6:1-5, 5:16; Rev.4:8-11. God is Holy.

2. Dan. 4:35; Ps. 135:6. God is Sovereign.

3. 1 Jn. 4:8,16. God is Love.

4. Heb. 12:29. God is a Communing Fire.

5. Gen. 17:1; Jer. 32:17; Is. 43:13; Amos 9:2-3. God is Omnipotent.

6. Ps. 139:1-6; Rom. 11:33-36. God is Omniscient

7. Jer. 23:23-24; Ps. 139:7-12. God is Omnipresent

8 Ps. 145:17. God Is Righteous.

9. Ex. 34:6-7. God is Merciful.

10. Rev. 29:11-15. God is a Judge.

11. Jn. 4:23-24. God is a Spirit.

12. 1 Jn. 5:7; 2 Cor.13:14; I Pet. 1:2. God is one God revealed in three distinct persons; Father, Son, & Holy Spirit (trinity, not modalism).

13. Jn. 1:1-3, 14,18, 10:30-33, 17:5, 20:28; Acts 20:28; Rm. 9:5; Phi. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-17, 2:9; I Tim. 3:16; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:1-12; II Pet. 1:1; Rev. 1:8. Jesus is God.


2. SIN

1. Gen. 2:15-17. Adam and Eve's disobedience resulted in spiritual and physical death.

2. Rom. 6:23. The wages of sin is death.

3. Dt. 6:4-5. However, before sin entered the world man's purpose was to serve God and glorify Him.

4. Matt. 22:34-40. Therefore, man is now living in an abnormal condition.

5. Rom. 3:10, 5:6-9; Lk. 5:31,32 There is none righteous, no not one!

6. Rom. 3:23. Everyone, without exception, is a sinner.

7. Rom 5:12. Adam's sin nature is inherited by all mankind.

8. Is. 64:6-7. God views our good deeds as “filthy rags.”

9. Eph. 2:8-9. God rejects our good works.

10.Ps. 51:5, 58:3. We are sinners from birth.

11. Jn. 3:19. Sinners love their sin.


3. THE LAW

1. Ex. 20:1-20. The Ten Commandments must by obeyed perfectly.

2. Mt. 22:34-40. If we disobey the 1st & 2nd greatest commandments we have broken all of the Bible’s laws.

3. Jas. 2:10-11. If we break one commandment we’ve broken them all.

4. Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:24. The purpose of the Ten Commandments is to reveal sin in us and disclose our inability in keeping the law’s demands. This creates an attitude of desperation in sinners to be delivered from the guilt and penalty of the law. Christ alone is the sinners hope.


4. THE VANITY OF LIFE

1. Heb. 9:27. Three things are common to all: Life, Death, & Judgment.

2. 2 Pet. 3:8; Ja. 4:13-14. Life Is short: The earth will be covered by all new people 110 years from now. Our life span is compared to one grain of sand taken from one planet among a thousand planets covered with sand. After you die no one remembers you (Eccl. 1:11, 2:16).

3. Eccl. 12:8,13,14, Life is vain: Solomon, the wisest man who lived, had everything this world has to offer yet he judged this life as totally vain and futile. Nevertheless, man pursues the vain things of this world against all reason, logic and intelligence (2 Tim. 3:7).

4. Lk. 12:16-21. Life is fragile: You may die tonight! Many labor to extend their life through exercise and vitamins but will add only a few years.

5. Eccl. 5:15; 1 Tim. 6:7; Lk. 9:24. Money and riches are vain.


5. HELL & JUDGMENT

1. Rev. 20:11-15. The great white throne judgment.

2. Matt. 25:41-46. Everlasting fire and punishment for the unsaved.

3. Heb. 9:27. After this life comes judgment.

4. Lk. 16:19-31. Hell is a place of unceasing pain and torment with no escape.


6. THE NEW BIRTH

1. Jn. 3:1-7. Jesus teaches that the “new birth” is necessary for salvation.

2. Jn. 1:13. Salvation is not inherited from our parents, secured by our effort, nor decided by our will, but is a process by which we are “born of God.”

3. 2 Cor. 5:17. To be born again means that our old life is replaced by a new one.

4. Eph. 4:21-24; Col. 3:9-10. When a person becomes “born again” the Bible describes him as a “new person,” who brings forth new fruit.

5. Gal. 6:15. All that matters is that we become a “new creation.”


7. GRACE

1. Eph. 2:8,9. Grace is a free gift, it is unmerited favor.

2. Acts 15:11. We are saved by the grace of Christ.

3. Rom. 4:3-5. Salvation is by grace through faith and not by the deeds of the law.

4. Tit. 3:5-7; Rom.3:24. We are “Justified” freely by His grace.


8. REPENTANCE

I. Lk. 13:3. Unless we repent, we will all perish.

2. Acts 3:19. We must repent and be converted.

3. Matt. 4:17. Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” however; the world ridicules the need of repentance.

4. Acts 26:20. We must repent and bring forth fruits worthy of repentance.

5. I Jn. 1:9. If we confess our sins He will forgive us our sins.

6. Prov. 28:13. He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confess and forsakes them will have mercy.

7. Ps. 66:18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.


9. FAITH

1. Heb. 11:6. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

2. Jn. 20:24-29. Blessed are they who do not see yet believe.

3. Jn. 3:16-19. Whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

4. Eph. 2:8. We are saved by grace “through faith.”

5. Gal. 3:23-26. We are saved through faith in Christ and not by keeping the law.

6. Rom. 3:28, 5:1. We ore justified through faith in Christ.

7. Gal. 3:11; Rom. 1:17; Heb. 10:38; Hab. 2:4. “The just shall live by faith.”


10. SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST ALONE

1. Jn. 14:6. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

2. 1 Jn. 5:11-13. He that has the “Son” has life, and he that does not have the Son of God does not have life­.

3. Acts 4:10-12. Salvation is in none other than Jesus Christ.

4. Rev. 3:20. Jesus knocks on the door of our heart.

5. Rom. 10:13. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

6. Jn. 3:36. He who does not believe on the Son of God has the wrath of God on him.


It is easy to see why C.H. Spurgeon once said " And so, within the simple Gospel, how much lies concentrated? Look at it! Within that truth lie regeneration, repentance, faith, holiness, zeal, consecration, perfection. Heaven hides itself away within the Gospel."

Religion vs. The Gospel - Ready Fight!

Religion says, if I obey, God will love me. The Gospel says, because God loves me, I can obey.

Religion has good people & bad people. The Gospel has only repentant and unrepentant people.

Religion values a birth family. The Gospel values a new birth.

Religion depends on what I do. The Gospel depends on what Jesus has done.

Religion claims that sanctification justifies me. The Gospel claims that justification enables sanctification.

Religion has the goal to get from God. The Gospel has the goal to get God.

Religion sees hardships as punishment for sin. The Gospel sees hardship as sanctified affliction.

Religion is about me. The Gospel is about Jesus.

Religion believes appearing as a good person is the key. The Gospel believes that being honest is the key.

Religion has an uncertainty of standing before God. The Gospel has certainty based upon Jesus’ work.

Religion sees Jesus as the means. The Gospel sees Jesus as the end.

Religion ends in pride or despair. The Gospel ends in humble joy.


Side Note: I just want to note that ‘religion’ is not bad in a biblical sense, see also James 1:27. However, what makes it bad is the prevalent perception that institutions or creeds in conjunction with human works can serve as a portal to heaven rather than a full reliance upon the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.

Grace and Peace.

absolute scandal

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” The Apostle Paul penned these words in his letter to the Romans. Lets take a closer look at this gospel of utter foolishness that Paul is not ashamed of.

Our story begins with God, that is also where it ends but lets not get ahead of ourselves. Now out of an abundance of Himself, God created everything, then He created a man named Adam. For all intensive purposes Adam was perfect, but still it was not good for him to be alone. Now we are never told why it was not good for Adam to be alone, perhaps it had something to do with the fact that guys never clean anything and Eden would have eventually looked like a dorm room because Adam never took out the trash or washed the dishes. Whatever the reason God creates a beautiful, sinless, naked, perfect woman, Eve. Eve was that woman every guy is looking for, and Adam meets her and suddenly life has taken a major turn for the better. God Himself presides over and consecrates their wedding. If only the Bible had ended right there, after two simple chapters, in Eden with man and woman, naked, eating fruit, trying to fill all the earth with their happy, horny, and holy selves, but alas the story continues.

Ever since that big oops in Eden we have been walking around scratching our thick skulls, trying to figure out how to get back to that glorious and wonderful time. Basically our first parents sinned against God and brought this horrible curse against all of creation, including themselves. The reason for the sin is a rather funny story in retrospect, they believed a talking serpent, who used to be an angle that got royally kicked out of heaven because of His pride, over God.

Now after getting kicked out of Eden, our first parents have two boys, but that doesn’t last, I mean one kills the other, which just creates a downward spiral of death and carnage. The people of the world grow so vial and wicked that God brings a flood to destroy all but a handful of them. He saves the family of this Noah guy who is decent, but he ends up getting drunk and passing out naked in his barn like some hick at a family reunion.

Time keeps moving on and God chooses a cowardly man named Abraham who is all to happy to pimp out his beautiful and loving wife to avoid a conflict. God chooses to work through a cheating, trickster, and conman named Jacob. Later God rises up a stuttering murderer to lead his people out of Egypt. A king named David is chosen by God to lead His people after many years, but he becomes an adulterer, a murder, and an all around odd guy to point to the promised Christ. Now David’s son, Solomon, he is the definition of addiction. This guy had more wine, women, and money than any guy could possibly know what to do with. This short list doesn’t even include prophets like Ezekiel, who God had cook his meals over his own feces, Hosea, who marries a prostitute, or Jeremiah, who cries more than a newly crowned American idol winner, all the time.

Now to top it all off God comes to earth and has a mom that everyone thinks is a skank and a dad who has the brilliants of a wet cloth for believing that entire “virginal birth” story. His brothers likely pummeled him, because hey, you can’t be fully human without experiencing at least one beat down at the hands of your siblings. The God-Man goes through puberty, which probably included that crazy voice-changing thing where in the course of one syllable the boy can go from sounding like James Earl Jones to Fran Drescher. God comes hiding in human flesh, according to Isaiah, He’s your average Joe, and basically no one knows who this guy is.

This sounds like the plot of some crappy daytime talk show, right? The God-Man who is born to a teenage virgin in an animal stall, grows up with a blue collar dad in a backwards rural town, and has that crazy cousin named John who lives in the wilderness and survives on a steady diet of locust, honey, and repentance.

Now somehow this John fellow gets a posse of followers, that probably would have a high rating on ugly people.com, and is the leader of a religious movement. Jesus takes a few members of John’s group to form his own little fellowship. Until this point the God-Man has been the classic underachiever, no wife, kids, career, or even a home really.

Yet apparently God is a cool cat to hang with since He and His crew get invited to all sorts of parties, including weddings, which at the time were basically week long celebration, with wine and dancing, in an attempt for some lucky guy and girl to get back to Genesis 1 and 2. This was Jesus’ first of many parties.

The religious leaders of the day see this and constantly accuse Jesus of being a drunken, glutton, and all around crooked guy who hangs out with the wrong people. Easy girls like Mary, gangsters like Matthew, and those kids in high school who wore concert t-shirts with their favorite bands on them and smoked just off campus during lunch. To the religious leaders Jesus is an absolute scandal, his followers are crooks, and it agitates them because every time they see Him He is surrounded by multitudes, all listening intently to hear His next one liner, because they love His sense of humor. (Come on part of His divinity had to include comedic timing.)

Now back to the party, Jesus shows up and begins His public ministry. Rather humorous God comes to earth and kicks things off as a bartender. You see these silly kids, who were just married, didn’t buy enough wine to last the whole week. Now this would be a major humiliation for these poor kids in front of their entire family not to mention their friends. Mary, Jesus’ mother asks Him to do something about it.

Ironically Jesus takes six rather large stone jars, which are used for ceremonial washing, and asks that they be filled with water. Now Jesus didn’t get the sudden urge to take a bath, nope, He turns the water into wine. Oh and this isn’t the cheap wine named after some bird or handgun, no this is that good foreign stuff that most people in America can’t pronounce because it isn’t spelled M-I-L-L-E-R-L-I-G-H-T.

Now after this Jesus preformed many other miracles, just take a look through the gospel of John; he spells out seven of the God-Mans’ miracles. Yet the highlight of his career was neither in his miracles nor his loving nature to felons and losers, but rather his victory over death. This crazy God-man died as a substitute for the sins of the sons and daughters of our first parents, remember Adam and Eve. Now how was this possible? Well he was perfect and as such his sacrifice was perfect, basically he gave sin, death, and the devil a royal beat down. Now as such he was offering himself as your substitute and offered it as a free gift to all that would believe.

The Bible says that this is how the sovereign, timeless God of the universe first makes His Glory known. Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians that this message of Jesus sounds like foolishness to many, and will be a stumbling block to others who attempt to find Him. There are many reasons for this but they include our ignorance of Christ, which spawns a Christian’s freedom in Christ. Paul also said “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." (Galatians 5:13) The gospel message is one of freedom, but not freedom to sin, no rather it is freedom from sin, as we are all born slaves to sin.

Anthony M. Coniaris put it this way “It is as if God the Father is saying to us: "Since I have told you everything in My Word, Who is My Son, I have no other words that can at present say anything or reveal anything to you beyond this. Fix your eyes on Him alone, for in Him I have told you all, revealed all, and in Him you will find more than you desire or ask. If you fix your eyes on Him, you will find everything, for He is My whole Word and My reply, He is My whole vision and My whole revelation.”

Now you may not believe this and that is fine, no one can force you to believe anything, but as St. Augustine said “If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.” As for me I will live in the glorious freedom that Christ’s shed blood has granted me, and remember “He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent” – St. Augustine

Buddha never claimed to be God. Moses never claimed to be Jehovah. Mohammed never claimed to be Allah. Yet Jesus Christ claimed to be the true and living God. Buddha simply said, "I am a teacher in search of the truth." Jesus said, "I am the Truth." Confucius said, "I never claimed to be holy." Jesus said, "Who convicts me of sin?" Mohammed said, "Unless God throws his cloak of mercy over me, I have no hope." Jesus said, "Unless you believe in me, you will die in your sins." - Anonymous