The Gospel: For Sinners

I was originally going to title this post, “The Gospel: For Dummies”, but I’m done with insulting people for the cause of Christ. I can’t demean someone to the cross. Though their sins be reprehensible and their faults many and great, as such were ye in evil lost, ’til Christ did darkness break.

I posted to twitter yesterday my opinion on the Captain American boyfriend issue. It is disturbing to me and physically upsetting; I said as much in my twitter post. From that post, a conversation sparked between myself and a lesbian girl about religion, God, and what sin is. To ensure I remained above reproach, I kept the conversation public until it took a turn into matters which required much more in-depth answers. I moved the conversation to a private, group chat including my uncle, who is a pastor, so that we could discuss with her more extensively the gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of her soul.

I am currently still in conversation with this young woman and would appreciate your prayers for wisdom to say the word’s God would have me say to reach her heart for Him. I know He doesn’t need my help, but this is a opportunity of an eternity for this young woman to hear the simplicity of the gospel, and I pray she would respond to God’s promptings. This situation has caused me to realize the importance of simple, straightforward gospel teaching and preaching for our hurting and broken world today. I know it takes an enormous amount of courage to share the gospel with someone, and you may even be afraid of messing it up by not knowing the right verses in the right order, or the proper magic formula to save someone. Let me just tell you this: God saves, not Man. He will use your willingness to reach souls, He doesn’t need your practised speech or prepared prayer: He will use you in whatever state you come to Him.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared. The Bible says:

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

–2 Timothy 4:2

Start with the basics. First, level the playing field and admit that you suffer from the same curse they do. They are no worse in God’s eyes then you are because everyone is a sinner and we all disobey God.

 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

–Romans 3:23

Then make them aware of the consequence of our actions. Once they see you as being in the same boat as them, so to speak, they will listen to you as an equal. In the same way that a thief gets punished for breaking our laws, sinners get punished for breaking God’s.

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

–Romans 6:23

There is hope even though we are all sinners. God gave us a gift of eternal life in spite of our sin and ourselves. But, why did God give us the gift of eternal life and how?

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

–John 3:16

God loves us. That’s the gospel. That God loved us enough to send His only begotten Son to die, to pay the penalty for our sins and to take our wages: death upon his shoulders and die in our place. The gospel is this, that He who knew no sin, became sin for us that we might become His righteousness. Here’s the miracle:

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

–Romans 5:8

While we were yet sinner, unlovable, unlovely: God loved us and sent Jesus Christ to die for us. If we would call upon His name and ask Him to be the Lord of our life, we will be miraculously saved, from death to life, sinner to saint.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

—Romans 10:13

It’s not enough to know that He loves us and died for us. It’s not enough to want Him to be your Savior. “For whosever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved.” He must become the Lord of your life. You must die to sin and live for Jesus Christ alone. Paul says:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

–Galatians 2:20

When we surrender to His lordship, we are crucified with Him, and yet still live; though it is no longer our selfishness that lives, but Christ’s mercy and grace that lives and loves through us. This is the gospel for sinner, salvation for the lost. Let’s preach the word until all have heard the mercy of the Lord to a lost and broken world. This gospel, this grace, this Jesus changes everything.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

The Road More or Less Travelled

Depression.

As a manic-depressive writer, I experience modes of intense and extreme inspiration and addictive need to write. In these times my content is superb and a high volume output of words. Then I fall into acute stages of depression. Nothing feels right. I hate what I’ve written, often I will destroy it completely. You’ve heard of mad scientist syndrome; this is a mad writer’s syndrome that seems to only exist among those who are a genuine addict to their writing. Those who write as a hobby, those who write when they feel like it, they don’t grasp the concept of manic-depressive writing.

I feel a need to write, 90% of everything I see I instantly convert into some manner of fiction and apply it to a story or blog post. I absorb as I observe. When, I fall into depression, it is as much a physical lackluster indifference as it is a spiritual depravity. Depression is a brokenness of body in lethargy, of mind in apathy, and of spirit in loneliness. When we feel depressed, we feel deserted, broken, useless and dried up. There is nothing worse than feeling washed up and worthless. Depression is the road less travelled.

But, depression is a necessary element to writing. In depression I discover a depth and level of feeling that I cannot attain without falling into the pit of hopelessness. Depression is life without Christ: the eternal hope. Depression is the absence of hope, and God is the author of hope. I don’t like depression, but I need to have it to relate to those without hope. I need to feel where they are. To know how they feel, how they cope. If I can’t convince them that I know the feeling of hopelessness, why should they listen to my solution of hope in Christ.

It hurts to lose hope, to feel abandonment. But, I need to feel that to write the words of hope from that: the only escape. I’m never completely depressed, for Christ lives within me and I am never absent from His presence. I feel but a shadow of what those without the hope of Christ feel, but it is enough. Rising from depression, I write in manic again and my words are powerful and meaningful, holding the inspiration of the dark place from which I came.

The point is that sometime Christ has to lead us through the valley of the shadow of death before we can truly be effective. Depression is the road more or less travelled, but it serves a purpose. Even in the dark valleys where hope cannot be seen, we should not fear any evil, for He walks beside us. The greatest triumphs come from the darkest situations and the most hopeless trials. Trust the one who lead the way, step out in faith and watch what God will do.

Writing is a journey, it’s not always easy, it’s a rough road, but it’s a road that must be taken by a few for the sake of the world; for the sake of the one reader who may see the life giving words from one who has been to the pit and returned triumphant through Christ. I write because God made me a writer: whatever that entails I am willing to endure for the bigger picture and the bigger purpose. I am a writer.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

 

Human Sponges

If I should speak, then let it be of the grave that is greater than all my sin; of when justice was served and mercy wins; of the kindness of Jesus that draws me in. O, to tell you my story is to tell of Him.

–-Big Daddy Weave

Psalm 119. Now, I’m not going to copy and paste the whole passage into this post, but this is important to note: with the exception of verses 90, 122, and 132 every verse mentions the law, word, way, statutes, commandments, testimonies, or precepts of God. My point is that there are 176 verses in this chapter; it is the longest chapter in the Bible. With 176 verses to play with, David used only 7 expository words to describe God’s Holy Word. Why those words? Why so often? 

David was so filled with the Spirit of God and a desire to be completely engrossed and saturated with God’s words, His commandments, statutes, testimonies, words, precepts, way, and law that all the flowed from Him was just that.

What you are filled with is what will flow from you. By David’s example, we learn that if we are completely soaked with the Word, it will flow from us in everything we say and do: like a sponge, (there’s where the title comes into play).

Sponges start out dry and cracked before they come in contact with water. Really, they are useless for cleaning; if you try to clean with them they will shred or break. Without the water, the sponge has no purpose, no meaning.

But once a sponge is filled with water and the water flows through it, it makes thing clean. Even when a sponge is emptied of its contents, it is still moist and ready to soak up more. 

Like sponges, humans are dry and useless without Christ who is the living water. But, once they’re filled, and are saturated and soaked in the words of God, He can then use them to clean up a dirty world. Notice that I did not say that without Christ we are worthless. Every human life has intrinsic value. Every sinner has a savior and every saint has a service. 

You know what a full sponge does when you drop it on the floor or throw it against a hard surface? It splashes water everywhere around it. As Christians we are sponges to be dripping with the Word of God. Never let yourself become dry. Be filled with the Spirit and the Word of God, so that when you hit the wall, Christ will explode from you.

Rejoice when you are crushed, for the more you pressurize a sponge, the more water will seep from it. If all that is within you is Christ, when you are put under pressure, He will be all that comes out of you. I’ll tell you right now, it is hard to be mad while quoting a Bible verse, or praising God. The Scriptures say that the joy of the Lord is our strength, and that in the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy. 

We are sponges. Are we dry and useless, or are we filled with the water of life? 

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

Something Sunday

I had something perfect all planned out for today. It was going to be great because I wouldn’t have to stay up late Saturday or wake up early on Sunday to write a post. However, Sunday requires a little extra thought. Sunday’s post can’t be just another blog post. Sunday is God’s day, therefore Sunday’s post should be God’s post.

Close your eyes and think of the first Bible verse that comes to your mind. Now, think about what it means. Just ponder on it for a moment, feel the power of the Word. Now, say it, out loud. Don’t be afraid, it’s the most powerful thing on earth. Think of yourself as a superhero discovering his superpower for the first time. The unveiling. Discover the power in the Word of God. The cool thing about this, is that even if you thought of “Jesus wept”, by saying that verse you invoke the name of Jesus. But, even deeper, you declare the deity of Christ by mentioning His name, and then declare His mortality by attributing humanness and emotion to His nature in saying that He wept.

Jesus was entirely God, and entirely man. His physical body died, but His spiritual body conquered death and by the power of God, revived Him back to life again. Jesus was human, He felt things, He lived things, He wept.

For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

–Hebrews 2:2-3

These two verses stuck out in my reading this morning. Hebrews is a fascinating book because it is directed towards the Hebrew people, in a similar way that the book of Romans was directed towards the people of Rome. The Hebrew people, specifically the priests and scribes of the temple, were the religious elite; more, they were the philosophical apex of their time because they alone had the proper origin of philosophical thought: the Holy Scriptures and the divine revelation of God. This book is directed to those who know the most about God, the recognized embodiments of morality and holiness, (though they eventually became quite the opposite).

The point is, these people were something by religious standards, and yet to them the same gospel is preached as it is to the Romans. The simplicity of the gospel is even more complex than anything the minds of the Hebrews can imagine.

The words, “If every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation…”, they hit me hard every time I read them. This is basic, this is the root of the doctrine of salvation, sin, the fall of man, and moral depravity; yet, this is what God, through Paul, chooses to share with the Hebrews. If all of our transgression received their just reward, how can we escape everlasting death and sorrow if we neglect salvation? What is being said is that if a single sin was to recieve it’s right reward, that alone would be enough to send us to Hell and no amount of good works could save us: the salvation found in Christ’s death on the cross is the only thing that can save.

That is power. That is truth. I challenge you to speak the Word of God today; not just in Church or at home, but when you’re pumping your gas, when you’re in line at Walmart, anywhere and everywhere you go, just say a verse or two out loud. It will brighten your day and it may brighten someone else’s as well. Speak power.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

 

Deity Defined

The Godhead; the Holy Trinity; God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Ghost, the idea of the three in one God is a mystery. Some dismiss it because they do not understand it, others say that it cannot exist because the Bible never implicitly says that it does. However, those people are misguided and should observe scriptures closer to see the truth of our God.

From the beginning God has been plural, from the moment He said, “Let Us make man in Our image”, God’s multi-person nature was made known. He did not say, “Let Me make man in My image”, no, He said let Us make man in Our image. That is only the start of it.

The saturation of three in the Bible and its significance also suggests that God is Himself three. God loves the number three. You may say, “what do numbers matter”? Well, God apperantly thinks numbers are significant; He liked them so much that He named an entire book after them. 

• 3 were the sons of Adam whose decendants multiplied upon the earth. (Gen. 4:1-2,25)
• 3 were the sons of Noah who replenished the earth after the flood. (Gen. 9:19)
• Abraham sacrificed a heifer, she goat, and ram, each of 3 years to discover God’s Will. (Gen. 15:9)
• Joseph interpreted dreams in prison, the outcomes of which were to occur 3 day later. (Gen. 40:10-19)
• Jacob, called Israel, had 33 sons and daughters. (Gen. 46:15)
• The plague of darkness upon Egypt lasted 3 days. (Ex. 10:22)
• The menorah is a candlestick with 3 branches coming off either side. (Ex. 37:18)
• Balaam smite his donkey 3 times before it spake to him. (Bum. 22:28)
• Gideon divided 300 men into 3 companies and defeated the Midianites (Judges 7:20)
• Samson posed riddle for 3 days, caught 300 foxes to set fire to the Philistines crops, lied to Delilah about his hair 3 times, and killed 3,000 Philistines at once in his death. (Judges 14-16)
• David was 30 years old when he began his reign and ruled 33 years in Judah. (2 Sam. 5:4)
• 3 men cast into the fiery furnace. (Dan. 3:23)
• 3 times daily Daniel prayed. (Dan. 6:13)

• 3 days Jonah spent in the whale. (Jonah 1:17)
• Jesus died at the age of 33 at 3:33 pm on the 3rd day of April in the year 33 A.D..
• 3 days Christ spent in the grave. (Matt. 27:16)

The number three saturates the Bible, always important, always meaning something. The more you observe, the more amazed you are at the significance of this number. I definitely encourage you to read those passages and those stories and look for the number 3 you’d be surprised how often it gets mentioned when important events take place.

But, this doesn’t really prove anything. So what? God likes threes. Let’s take a different angle, why would 3, be so important as to appear everywhere in the scripture’s most integral times? Well, like everything in life, numbers are made to reflect their Creator. They mean something, each and every one of the basic, single-digit numbers has a special significance, even 11 and 12 bear very specific personalities.

If God is truly 3 and the number reflects His presence, we should expect at least one instance in the Bible that says that He is indeed 3. And, not surprisingly, that is exactly what we find:

1 John 5:7 (KJV)

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

There are three and these three are one. What more proof could you need? God is three and yet He is one. Perfect harmony and yet distinctive diversity in one eternal being.

God, The Father, the sovriegn Lord; power supreme belongs to Him. 

God, The Son, immutable, transcendent, the Word of Life indwells in Him.

God, The Spirit, unknowable, condescending, the revelation of Glory is given to Him.

The Father is the ultimate authority to whom all have answer. Jesus, the Word, is the translation of God’s thoughts, the Begotten Son, is the channel of God’s words. The Spirit is the revelation of God’s word imputed to men. The one who acts upon God’s Will through the channel of Christ.

One and yet three, three and yet one. God is undefinable, unbound, and so gracious not to strike me down for my feeble attempts to interpret His greatness. Rest in the knowledge that God is bigger than any of your problems can even understand. His grace will lead you, His Word will feed you, and His Spirit teach you in the ways you should go.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

Lost In The Translation

People will tell you: “It doesn’t matter what version of the Bible you read as long as you read it”, but I think that is a grossly uneducated statement. The conformity under which the Holy Scriptures have fallen, whether by good or malicious intent, has caused many versions, (translations), to become spliced, blurred, and outright fabricated.

I read the KJV, the King James Version of the Bible. I know that may mean nothing to some of you, but it means a great deal to me. Today, I would like to question you, to challenge you to examine your translational preference of the Bible; it is crucial, believe me.

A proper understanding of Scripture, and of God himself can only be achieved through prayer, meditation, and the reading of God’s Holy Word. Thus, it is tantamount to consider your version carefully. Never. Never select a version of the Bible based upon its easy readability. To lower the intelligence of Scripture to a level of easy readability is compromising to the inspired Word.

Not only, when you opt for a simplified translation are you admitting that you are not smart enough to read a book that was written by the One who created your mind, you are also saying the Word needs to be changed for you to be able to read it. Absurd, but unfortunately true of most young people in this current age.

Now, before you discard me as a KJV fanatic, I’d like you to hear me out. I do not make snap judgement, especially when the Word of God is concerned. No decision I make on this subject is made lightly or without ammasing all the information.

Let’s examine the information. There are several modes of translation we see today that are used in translating the Holy Bible into languages and versions. I would like to focus on the two most prominent: Dynamic and Formal Equivalency.

Dynamic Equivalency: thought for thought translation, taking the thought behind a sentence or verse and translating it into what it would mean today.

Formal Equivalency: word for word translation, taking each word and translating it as closely as it can be translated into the subject language.

Obviously, the weaker and less reliable method is Dynamic Equivalency. If the Word is translated thought for thought into man’s ideas and preferences, it can easily be contorted. God himself said:

Isaiah 55:8 (KJV)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

Isaiah 55:9 (KJV)

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We do not think the thoughts of God, we cannot. How can we expect His Word to retain its integrity and truth when it is our thoughts that are being translated. Versions translated using Dynamic Equivalency include: NIV(New International Version), HCSB(Holman Christian Standard Bible), NAB(New American Bible), NLT(New Living Translation), The Message, and many others.

The single fault for which I can discredit all of these versions is their method of translation: they are only dynamicaly equivalent to Scripture and are not Scripture themselves. For this reason, these may still be good books, but should not be referred to as Holy and not called God’s Word, but rather, Man’s words.

The most accurate method is Formal Equivalency, however, simply because it is the most accurate does not mean that we can take the products of this method at face value as the Word of God any more than we can that of the others.

Examples of translations in Formal Equivalency are: KJV(King James Version), ASV(American Standard Version), RSV(Revised Standard Version), YLT(Young’s Litteral Translation), ESV(English Standard Version), as well as many others, including all of the, “New”, editions of those versions.

Now, simply because these are all word for word translations of the Bible, we should not accept them without further attention to detail. What were they translated from?

Well, many of the translations are not even translated from the original texts. Rather, they were translated from other translations, rendering them doubly faulty and errant. I’ll target ESV simply because I believe it to be a heresy in and of itself, purposeful omitting 1 John 5:7 without a footnote or reason. ESV is guilty of altering the meaning of over 100 verses to warp what they meant, and outright omitting over 30 verses from the Bible. For a single fault of this kind alone it should be condemned.

Deuteronomy 12:32 (KJV)

What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Here, God speaks of His commands, His Scripture. But, if this is not enough evidence for you. Here also is 1 John 5:7 from KJV, a verse left out of the ESV deliberately.

1 John 5:7 (KJV)

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

To omit this verse is to undermine the very trinitarian nature of God, making this translation a new religion, a heresy. This is only one of many omitted verses in an effort to undermine God.

There are those who call themselves skeptics, they seek to cause dissension in the church by revealing the fallacies in other versions of the Bible. Don’t allow your faith to be shaken by Man’s feeble attempts to interpret the Word and Will of God.

The KJV I have found to be trustworthy and accurate, and if your only reason for rejecting it is the style in which it was written, we should seek to raise ourselves to its standards, not bring it down to ours. Besides, you have a promise from God himself:

John 16:12-13 (KJV)

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Many things He has for us that we cannot bear, we cannot fathom or understand. That is what the Holy Spirit is for, to guide us and reveal the Word to us. I encourage you to study this out in greater depth and choose your version of the Bible with care. Make sure nothing has gotten lost in the translation, for some things once lost, can be very hard to find again.

As always, thanks for reading, and let me know if you have any questions. I hope this helped someone.

–the anonymous novelist