Edification of the saints

Edification of the saints(a.k.a.you and me)

It is of such importance that we understand this vital essential truth, thus enabling each other more so for the ministry which is our calling.

Speaking from: Ephesians, chapter 4:1-4, 7, 29-32

[1]: I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
[2]: with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love,
[3]: eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
[4]: There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call,
[7]: But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

This part is very important.

[29]: Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.
[31]: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice,
[32]: and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Once again "the calling" is talked about, that purpose of us that we are made and is our reasonable service which at the same time fulfills us. I wrote of this before, that "calling" is loving thy neighbor which is made manifest through showing Christ to that person, testifying of Christ to them by word of mouth and deed which girds up each believer and sets captives free.

What really is quite frequent throughout scripture is this truth and commandment; loving thy neighbor a.k.a. Being selfless, longing just as the apostles did for our salvation and growth in the Truth. Really if you think about it the greatest two commandments are "love the Lord thy God with your entirety", and "love thy neighbor as thy self." All the other commandments are really made to make it easier how to understand and do the first commandment and that is loving God with your entirety. And when you love God you love what He loves and hate what He hates. He hates sin, thus you find yourself not desiring sin, not desiring this world, and God loves everyone, thus you find yourself loving people, desiring that they have what has been given to you, not through shedding tears, not through the flesh but the Spirit. I wish that churches would preach this.

Now back to the text and thus my point: Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.
People when reading this always miss its second meaning. Its first meaning is clearly addressing not saying cruel things towards one another out of spite or anger. Now the second meaning is talking about when you listen to the enemies lies that he sings over you. Such as dwelling in defeat instead of victory, frolicking in human frailty instead frolicing in the field of victory of Christ who lives in you. That is what the scripture is talking about when it says," -Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.

What this scripture basically is saying is "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything." Basically say what God says about yourself and others, that's what having faith means, that is what God does. He speaks and brings out of nothingness something. We are to do the same. Speak to the mountain in your life and it will move. The church of God is not a defeated, stupid, helpless wretch, it is a powerful, intelligent, victorious church.

There are so many people who pray out of human frailty, carnality, and defeat. For example: "Oh God without You we're such sinful wretches, just help us to get through this week and take away all the distractions." God is not a manipulator, He moves when we move, He doesn't steal control of our lives and situations without our consent. Only someone who doesn't love us would do that. I really love what Andrew Wommack referenced in the Scriptures, about the authority that Christ enabled and gave to us: Speak to the mountain and it will be removed. Now that mountain could be anything. In Christ all things are possible. We have been seated with Christ in Heavenly places. Christ in us, the hope of glory.

Back to the main point and what the scripture is saying to us. "Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear." Notice how it never says to say anything negative, but whatever may impart GRACE to those who hear. We could even take it to say that when talking with someone about Christ tell them how Christ can set them free from their prison. Extend that gift of God that was given for you, that grace, that imparts GRACE to those who hear.

What it all really comes down to is taking up the "call" of loving thy neighbor which can only come from being made worthy of the call which comes from loving God in the first place which causes you to love people, thus that's what the Christian walk is about. Anything else is false love, religion. I'll never forget the song: "Any other love is misplaced identity." Anyways I am just always brought back to this truth because almost everything centers around this.

Ephesians, chapter 4:25
Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

The truth is what God says about us, not what we think or feel, or the enemy says over us. There are so many passages that say a better word about us. No longer is the blood of Able over us, which cries out for judgement. The blood of Christ, that blood flowing with grace and truth speaks and pleads mercy and forgiveness over us, AND forever washes our sin and sins away. It does cover them but erases them. Therefore when in the assembly, do not testify of weakness, judgement, neither frailty. God does not say that about us and God is not a liar. Therefore always bring a word of encouragement, testify to the victory of Jesus who has taken up residence in each and every one of us. Always speak of the blood of Christ and what the cross of Christ redeemed us from and what that work of salvation has created in us. It is always that we are to speak of the new creature that we are as a result of salvation. You can't put new wine into old wineskins.

Ephesians, chapter 5:4
Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk, nor levity, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving.

This is another aspect and part of "being made worthy of His call." God's call to every believer is for them to love God with everything that is in them, and to love thy neighbor, extending the grace given to us, testifying that Christ is risen can set them free. A labor of love is loving thy neighbor which is manifested in the edification of each saint by each saint. (Not through the shedding of tears, nor the offering of food or drink.) Not letting corrupted communication come out of our mouths, but only that which edifies one another, thus bringing grace to the hearers.

There are too many people living out of slavery, out of carnal obedience, out of duty(not love, but a set of rules just like Catholics do) to Christ, to God. Duty was never intended to express love or help us to love but only act to keep our attention focussed. In these last days a defiled Gospel is preached. This gospel puts emphasis and stock upon a defeated better looking sinner, which is opposite from what the Bible you are reading and believe in says about you. It makes one dwell upon and put stock in circumstances, wealth, emotions, feelings, duty, and impulses first. Not selflessness, brokeness, humility, God fearing, meekness, loving one another and suffering with one another. It has all become, "God will help them, oh please God help them." We are ignoring the fact that God has put us in the earth to steward it, to reap the white field harvest. We expect God to do our job for us. When in reality, the and in the perfectly historical and proveable Bible that you believe in and reference and read, God moves to human hearts through human hearts. He doesn't suddenly break out like some child with a temper tantrum.

God is order, not impulse. Why do you think that people are dying in the main line churches (and the persecuted church overseas who are seeing the dead raised, walking on water when there is a flood and they need to get to work, money appearing out of thin air) when God has given you the authority to cast out devils and uncleaniness? It is because we refuse to acknowledge that power and authority that God HAS given to us and not in a future time, right now. We believe God to be a liar, and He is not.

Ephisians 5:18-21
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

The undefiled Gospel

The undefiled Gospel. Preaching Christ plainly:

Also be aware that this truth is what Paul was talking about when he said, "I did not come to you with lofty words but out of humility." What he was saying and pointing out was that he just pached Christ. He didn't try to water the Gospel down to impresd the intellegent or well learned. He didn't try to impress with eleoquent words like ninety percent of main line Church pastors do all the time with their glorified self help garbage. Paul did not preach with man's doctrines about God or man's desperate attempts at understanding God through their own impulse driven vain hearts. Paul was under the authority of the Spirit. He couldn't help preaching un-eloquently. Jesus was a meek humble servant, thus Paul pached out of Christ's character, who and what Christ was.

You see what I mean, Paul is a manifestation of the undefiled Gospel of Christ. Paul preached that very Gospel of Christ. If only our sheltered man appointed dead main line Churches could heed this Gospel. But we would rather make ourselves feel good about doing nothing.

When one is shown an undefiled Gospel of Christ, all fear, frailty, and weakness are gone. They are set for life, forever blood stained, forever ruined. This is why so many eleged Christians find it so hard to serve God. They have been shown a defiled gospel that is circumstancial, feeling, and emotionally based, robbing from and qwelling an even slight possible true move of the Holy Spirit in ones life to break the ones heart and make that one man into a holy temple capable of housing the Living God.

One of the biggest parts that will affect ones witness is whether or not ones life is lived out in the flesh, or the Spirit. Too many times does one preach based off of and upon emotions, feelings, and circumstance. A true life preached out of Christ and His resurrection, a life that is lived out to God is one that is like John the Baptists ministry whose sole message was "Behold the Lamb of God."

Always is our life to point back to Jesus, His power, His resurrection, His grace extended to us, always back to Jesus. How He CAN deliver us once and for all time from sin, and free us of it for all time. That through Him He has granted and given authority to cleanse the sick, (not just make them feel better while they still suffer) cast out devils and all unclean spirits and forms of uncleaniness. This is a very and completely Biblical thing of which I write.

It is not preached nor lived out of human frailty, fear, or weakness. Christ had neither, thus they are not in the Gospel of Christ. The gospel of man is not the Gospel of God. We must put away old things. We are not to take old things with us, things made from the flesh, unholy manifestations into the Holy presence of God, they cannot exist in His holy presence. Bob Gladstone said it best using King Uziah as an example stating that you cannot mix politics with the things of God and if you do you become unclean.

We must understand this, that His Gospel is not of weakness and false humility, it is of salvation, saved from our sins and a new man in us made, the New Man Christ Jesus in us. He did not bring back old things, He came and made new things. Salvation is not a drug that only deals with the symptoms and not the problem. Christ is the remedy. He doesn't make us feel better while we remain sinful, we are made a new creation. Our sin problem is remedied. The old man is killed. We are no longer of the earthly fallen kingdom but of the Heavenly kingdom where God dwells. We dwell with God and God with us, in God and God in us. And God cannot dwell where there is sin and uncleaniness, UNDERSTAND THAT. And we dwell with and in God right now, not some time in the future, NOW. We are His ambassadors who manifest His Kingdom here on earth, right now.

Loving thy neighbor

Loving our neighbor and one another in and through Christ:

(3rd John Chapter 1:5-8
Beloved, it is a loyal thing you do when you render any service to the brethren, especially to strangers, who have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey as befits God’s service.
For they have set out for his sake and have accepted nothing from the heathen. So we ought to support such men, that we may be fellow workers in the truth.)

I am writing a truth that so many miss and is key to a true ministry. This key issue is what Paul writes about where he says that few love.

(1 Thessalonians, chapter 1:2-3
We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.)

Now, why was it that the apostles gave thanks to God in their prayers for this particular group of people? Why and what did these group of people do that was the reason the apostles gave thanks? And always gave thanks? What was this "labor of love" this "work of faith"? It was the first commandment which was "Love the Lord with everything" which out of that love for God that birthed in them the second commandment, "Love they neighbor." Now what does "Love thy neighbor" mean exactly which is what I will be getting into and explaining and is the reason and point of all of this.

(2 Thessalonians, chapter 1:3-4
We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you are enduring.)

Again this love which is being shown by believers to believers is that which is called "charity," which means sharing Christ and extolling one another in faith and the truth, and that truth being Christ, testifying each others lives lived out of Christ to one another girded up and strengthened the body of Christ. And that is what loving your neighbor means. Nagurak, carnal love that is birthed by flesh giving birth to flesh cannot do this. Only that love which is of the Spirit can. Flesh gives birth to flesh, Spirit gives birth to Spirit. Whg do you think that the Church of God has become so weak? We have forgotten the difference between natural love and Spiritual real Godly love. We believe that coffee and monkey bread will show the world God's love. In the words of Aaron Weis, "A glass can only spill what it contains." The love we show one another is the love we show the world. Remember it is the Church that shapes the world.

(2 Thessalonians, chapter 1:11-12
[11]: To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfil every good resolve and work of faith by his power,
[12]: so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.)

Now what does it mean "to make you worthy of His call" It means to perfect the Son who is in you. And that comes by beholding God daily, taking on gthe mind of Christ, for one of the greatest bagttlefields in the human is the mind, for as a man thinks he is. Once the mind us surrendered to God, we can move out in the calling, we are finally made worthy of His calling. But fhis does not come by the shedding of tears at an alter, nor does it come by reciting from wrote what someone else did or prayed.

Just like repentance it is through action, the will, not feelings or emotions. It is through thought and deed. That is what is means by "the Word of God is on their foreheads and hands." The forehead is the mind, the hand is the deed or way of acting it out. The greatest way that we show God that we have repented and changed our hearts is by our deeds and by our lives, not our feelings.

Being worthy of His call is living and imitating Christ in all things. And this is a reasonable request. But as long a we listen to man we will not be able to live this reasonable calling.

Society, that is Church society has become to Greekish thus inhibitting the move of the Holy Spirit of God. We take Him with us but never let Him out of us for those who are dying right in front of us. Greekish means too educated to make a difference. We take and take until theres nothing and the our fat weighs us down so that we can't move. Remember, "The Jews seek a sign, the Greeks seek knowledge(not Spiritual knowledge)

So in the end we must seek a revelation of the Cross. We must repent, seek God for His love which upset and forever changed the world. We must understand the true essence of the first and second commandment; Love the Lord your God with all that is in you and is you." and "Love thy neighbor as thyself." When we learn how to love thy neighbor and to first love God, then we are worthy of His call, that call which is reasonable and for every man woman and child who lives and breathes.

This is a labor of love, a work of faith. May Christ be made manifest in all that we do. May we understand this reasonable request. May we live living sacrifices, the reasonable request that is not hard, for His yoke is easy, His burden light. Obeying God is not the uphill battle.

(2 Thessalonians, chapter 1:12
so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.)

The prosperity gospel

I have as of late really grown disenchanted with filthy rich main line churches that preach a prosperity gospel rather then the true gospel of God. The thing is that one can preach a gospel of prosperity and not actually be talking about money. Here is how it subtly works and is preached: Someone gets healed and they share their testimony with the congregation. Now they tell of how each person’s family and friends and everybody was there to help them out. Basically their hand was held the entire time and their nose was wiped the entire time. Now everybody on staff there is fat or over weight, everybody who attends that church is wealthy financially fit and prosperous. Nobody really suffers in that church and the so small little hardship that they go through which is always just in their emotions is exacerbated heavily and made out to be something that it is not. No one is hurting really and all have successful careers.

I never really picked up on this subtly preached gospel until I had a friend in need that only needed some things and a main line filthy rich church couldn’t even help out with that. They have loads of money that they can spend on a video projector but on someone who is unfamiliar to their assembly they cannot. And yet allegedly they helped a family in need when that family’s house burned down. I personally do not understand that. But it makes perfect sense. That person was a familiar of theirs. Basically they help based on their feelings and not Christ. It is sad for me to write these perfectly true things but I am venting them out of me. Plus the internet is filled with people who aren’t afraid to be honest. I just really hate it when the church is supposed to be able to help and this church has nothing keeping them back from helping but they don’t help. And yet they spends thousands of dollars for people to go to Ireland for a missions trip. Its like Jesus said about the Pharisees, where they spend and do all of this to reach one person and in turn make that person a bigger child of the devil. I ma just sick and tired of it. This is the sate of main line churches and main line alleged Christians no a days.

Where are the real actually living out Christ Christians who give even when they might not have, who are not successful, who posses humility and brokenness of heart before God. Who have been forsaken by main line churches and have been all alone and have had nothing but God and have prevailed. Who embrace worship first and at the very last filling their bellies. Who can fast and aren’t obese. Who ACTUALLY suffer and it isn’t just that they are in a bad mood that they say that they have it bad. That they actually have it bad. That they are not filthy rich but still help pothers and suffer and see others through Christ’s eyes and choose to suffer with them. WHO CAN ACTUALLY LIVE OUT CHRIST ON A DIALY BASIS AND NOT WHEN THE MOMENT IS PUMPED, OR WHEN THEY ARE EMOTIONAL, knowing that their tears and feelings will not bring a pleasant aroma to God’s nostrils, that brokenness, humility, meekness, that those are what God seeks and can use.

Lord forgive us of this blatant sin and man made gospel which we have created and openly and lovingly embrace.

How life really is

Rich people get handed everything. Poor people get poorer. The rich get richer. The poor get poorer. The rich steal from the poor and prevail. The poor get worse. If one is not rich or comes from a wealthy family, they are the ones surviving day to day on scraps of bread crumbs. They are the ones that no one reaches out to nor understands and hates to understand. No one helps them out no one cares for them, unless they worship the one who possibly helps them out. Recently I had a friend of someone who is close to me who was in need. I called a local filthy rich church and that filthy rich church could not help them out at all. That filthy rich church just stood back while when one of their familiar ones asks for help that filthy rich church runs along side them and helps them immediately. I myself have asked for help from the filthy rich church and they have literally said this: "Oh we will be sure to rally along side you and help you." They said that to someone else sitting close to me and completely ignored me when I brought to them my need. Because that person they liked.

What have they become. The mountain of their wealth is so high that its shadow blinds them to what they have. Its no wonder they cannot reach the lost and can only reach their bellies with monkey bread and doughnuts and coffee. Food and drink will do nothing for God and His kingdom. Why do they embrace stupidity? Why? It is because they just want enough of God and that much of God is so little. They just want enough to talk about it and make something out of nothing. They want to just talk, talk, talk. I am tired of it so much. But I will endure, I will succeed, even if these clowns fail me. All around they are scattered. To each body and assembly, to confuse with lofty words and proud talk, the elect of God. They are stumbling blocks set up strategically by the enemy. False prophets they are all. Proud talk, lofty spoken words with no spirit possessing them or their words. Nothing but stolen doctrines and philosophies they have. No originality. Nothing in them but words without power.

About modern worship songs(venting: aka the truth)

Most modern supposed worship songs that are written now a days are written out of the fact that we just don’t feel good even though we have nothing wrong with us. Really they are written out of us getting really emotional. Really we just want to whine about frail triviality. They are written out of wrote and not a pure heart to God. Borrowed, and stolen words from others sacrifices composed and neatly arranged so that they don’t sound like they were stolen when in fact they actually were.

The words sound all right but for some reason behind them there is no real sacrifice, no real suffering, just our pathetic frail easily offended hearts and their emotions clouding us forever until we see and put into practice the true mind of Christ. Not some self help crap. Most sermons today spoken in pulpits come from no sacrifice and are glorified self help speeches that carry no conviction, no reverence, entertain the masses instead of convicting the masses. When will it become like the Bible says “I will turn their laughter to sorrow, their joy to mourning” so that they see thee real state of their lives, cold, blind and naked retches that need Jesus and need to repent. But no no no, lets just keep telling them that they are all right while they continue unchecked to disrespect those things which are holy and Godly, be completely irreverent and the like. Lets just keep numbing their minds so that they see no reason to repent and that everyone else is wrong and that they have to repent and change. No wonder the world is going to hell in a hand basket. People refuse to change and obey God.

A true real and thriving revival comes from repentance and purity of heart, not idolatry.

Interesting Guitar tuning

One very interesting Guitar tuning is to tune the last two strings to the E note, then the two strings above the last two strings to the A note, and then to take off the top two strings. Using a slide method of playing with out a slide but instead using you two fingers to play all types of weird scales on the neck of the Guitar sounds really unique. Basically place one finger on one of the E strings and the other finger on one of the A notes and play them both on top of one another and you get not only a really unique sounding Guitar, but also you get a really unique sounding music.

I discovered this a while back but was using a different two set of notes that four of the strings were tuned to, plus I really wore out some of the strings on my Guitar and by accident came across it.

Well knowing that knowledge everyone who may play Guitar, enjoy!

The house of the dead

The house of the dead, dead things, living inside. Always there, never moving, never speeding, never slowing down. Everything dead. No people, no living things, all dead. No dreams, no past, no future. Everything dead, waiting for the end of all things. Waiting for the end of days, when all shall burn away into nothingness. When one returns to the house of the dead one realizes ones life without meaning, without purpose, without anyone or anything in it. A life of existence, waxing away until the very end.

One when looking and living in the house of the dead either dies inside or hopes for better things, better life, a life of not existing but living. A life of life. To live, and to grow. Anti-existence, living with someone who can share with you, who can suffer with you. Who can live for you and you live for them. Anyone can die for someone, few can live for someone.

The house of the dead is there. It is and will forever in ones life be there, as long as this world exists. But it is not there to consume ones life. It is there to convict ones life, to inspire ones life, for one to look upon and see what they have in front of them and within them. The house of the dead exists forever in our lives to show us that we are alive. The house of the dead convict us and show us what we have, all of our riches. The dead give us the meaning to live.

Why I love grunge music

Heavily distorted electric Guitars, dissonant harmonies. Grunge musicians were noted for their unkempt appearances and rejection of theatrics, complex instrumentation. Incorporates themes such as social alienation, apathy, confinement, and a desire for freedom. Basically disenchanted with the crap that has become society. Also grunge bands were uncomfortable with popularity.

"Grunge concerts were known for being straightforward, high-energy performances. Grunge bands rejected the complex and high budget presentations of many musical genres, including the use of complex light arrays, pyrotechnics, and other visual effects unrelated to playing the music." You see they are there to rock and for music not to draw attention to themselves or their hair or fancy lights. This is what I believe music should be about. When you make the music about itself, it benefits others and gives them an experience that they will remember forever.

One amazing concert or musical gathering can change the world. Take Woodstock for example. Grunge musicians come to play music and they come as they are which is what I believe you should do when playing music. When you go to a rock concert or go to practice an instrument, does the teacher say to you or does your music book say, "Did you brush your teeth, wash your hair, trim your nails? NO it does not.

What are children?

So what are children really? What were they created for and what are they made from? Children are made from a part of the mother and the husband. Or a man and a woman. But why was it when a child died in the olden days, that their was much lamenting. That reason is that the child symbolized and was the future of both of the parents or the man and the woman. It was a piece of him and a piece of her living on past the original parents and carrying on the family for a new generation so that really the family was never gone to begin with. Now a days in this sick and stupid culture, children are a hindrance and a burden. Not loved but dismissed these children and fatherless and motherless bastards go through life with no proper and right upbringing and no real home while the parents are away screwing and being screwed by whoever they want. It is such a sad tragedy. Just look at Columbine. If their parents really loved or were actually good parents who could see a lacking in these children's lives, then perhaps the way our security in our nation;'s schools are would not be so and others would never had been inspired to take up a gun. Just think about it.

So as we come down to it at the end of the day and everything and every opinion of ours that we made up in the first place to excuse our lacking in good parenting comes to a close what are we left with about what children truly are? Well here goes. Children are what the parent make them. They are a canvas for the parent to paint. Even if there is a bad parent the child will pick up on that. I was one myself you know. So in the long run and when we finally are brought back to our senses, we are left with this one truth: Parent right, love your children, trat them with and as your number one priority. Teach them despite the fact that maybe your parents were shitty to the core, you have a chance to not be like them and to show them up by raising a GOOD child. So go out and do it parents and stop using the fact htat you haev a bunch of children to say that you are a good parent. True parenting is shown through your children and if you have them under control.

Someones proposals concerning music

I heard, well actually i read about someone who proposed this statement: "Music and singing do not produce in the heart that which is not in it."

Actually I bet that person isn't a musician. Actually on the contrary, music makes the heart alive and restores the heart.

Here is another proposal by someone that I found interesting: "Those who are affected by music can be divided into two classes: Those who hear the spiritual meaning and those who hear the material sound."

I find that interesting for I hear both. The spiritual and the material. I wish that person would have written about the acceptions.

Beautiful cloud age symphony part 2

Beautiful cloud age symphony

Three part being

The Spirit is the life.

The soul is the choice.

The body is the experience.

It is important that we understand this truth, so that we dont just become head knowledge but a REAL living Christian. So that we dont just become hot air and fancy words. So that we become the men of God. Not just talk about the men of God.

Be encouraged

When we look at the heroes of the faith, we must accept that that the heroes of the faith are right around us not just in some distant past or in a book. As the Bible says, "You are our letters of recommendation to others." Basically saying that not only are the Apostles the heroes of the faith, but every man and woman of God is a hero of the faith…

So, be encouraged. Be uplifted and stop dwelling in defeat, which is the song of the enemy over your life. Dwell in the victory of the lamb, Jesus, which is your victory. You have died the same death He died, rose with Him, and became victorious as He was victorious for the same One who conquered death and made a public spectacle of all the demonic principalities in Heaven lives in you, the believer.

"I dwell in the victory of the Lamb of God.

I dwell in the Spirit, the new Wine, my God.

I praise His name with undefield tongues.

I lift up my eyes to the One who is high."

Thinking of home

What has happened to praise? Where is it? Even in back sliden Churches that I used to go to when I was trying to find a place to settle down. Even though I still think that I am a vagabond even to this day and still haven't found me a home Church, just a church that is close to go to a lot. But yet again there is a great dissonant, a harmony that does not go right. All right words are being sung, but there seems to be no true substance to them. The artists songs being sung are supposed great worship song writers, but I sense no real experience to their songs. Just borrowed words, as if all they do is read the Bible over and over again and just slap a bunch of scriptures into a song rather then it be from the depths of their souls and hearts and what God has placed in their hearts. Its funny because most modern day supposed worship albums have no war songs. They have no rouse and no morale booster in them. All they seem to be doing is just singing words and to no victorious God either. They are just singing the words because they are found in the Bible.

The reason for me writing this blog is just because I am homesick I guess. My home is in praise, my home, my sanctuary is in worship and praise that ascends frailty and defeat. That dwells in the throne room with my God, that when we give back to God even if we don't receive from God we somehow become better people and our lives that very second change. Where are the songs, "Be praised, You who lived Your life sinless. Gave Yourself to forgiveness, You will come again." Or "Holy, holy, holy, holy, is the Lord god almighty. Who was and is and is to come." "You have been more faithful, then the morning sun. You have been more faithful, then knowing night will come. You have been more faithful, then the changing of seasons." "Great is the Lord King Jesus. See how His majesty is lifted high. Great is the One who saves us. Who is like our God, Lord I lift You up." "We exalt Your name. High and mighty one of Israel. We exalt Your name. Lead us on to war in the power of Your name. We exalt Your name. The name above all names. Our victorious King. We exalt Your name." Notice the similarity of those songs. Always pointing back to Him. Even Newsboys have great songs of praise, and you'd think that these long years that they would be all tired out: Strong Tower. High and glorious. Strong Tower, mighty in love. Our refuge, our defender. Strong Tower, Lord of all." "I love Your ways. Your clear, Your perfect ways. I love Your ways, so beautiful to me. Lovely always, and faithful to restore. I love Your ways." "Holy, holy is our God almighty. Holy, holy is His name alone. Holy, holy is our God almighty. Holy, holy is His name alone. It is You we adore. It is You, only You." "Let Your glory be known. You have redeemed us, and called Your own. Let Your glory be know. Lt the power of the Cross, be revealed in us, oh Lord. Let You glory be known."But instead of praise to God we get songs that only talk and talk and talk about God but don't reach out and upward to God and don't really take the spotlight off of us. Instead of great power house praise ballad songs that reach into the Heavens, take us out of our prisons and uplift us we get, well I don't know but the sound of worship and Christian music that I hear now is not about a risen Christ and not about victorious saints. IT is about defeated, weak, frail, pathetic, stupid, sinners, who cannot make it through a day without sinning. Great work that has done. Why do you think that the Church has become so worldly and weak. No fathers or warriors have stepped up and have cut off the heads of those demonic principalities. They have intentionally given up and have in turn let their own heads be cut off.

I guess I am just homesick. I have had a taste of real life changing worship and praise gathering with believers that have literally changed my life. WHERE ARE THOSE NOW! What has happened to Christian music and worship music sung in Churches. What has happened and where has praise gone to? We can sing so much about your qualities. Why cant we sing to You. We can talk about You so much, why can we not talk to You? What has happened to everyone? Maybe this is a side effect if the great falling away. That there really weren't as many as we thought there were who were keeping their garments clean and not soiled for You. ME personally I believe that the remnants are scattered across the world just like in the days of Elijah the remnants have been scattered. Maybe they have been scattered because You knew that keeping them together in would corrupt them or cause them to fall. Nothing happens by change in the will of god for if there were such a thing as chance there would be no God and nothing would work.

"Oh God reach out and hear our words.

We sing them now, may our hearts be heard.

Oh draw us into Your sweet embrace.

We lift our lives in worship to You.

We cry out. We cry out in worship to You.

Our lips quiver to speak Your name."

Only God teaches theology

True theology comes to the believer when that believer has an open heart. It is only then that one can be taught how to study God's Word. Incantation and memorization will not suffice nor will it really work in the life of the believer, for the fruit of a person is not found in signs, wonders, or scripture memorization, but in the life song of the believer.

So when all of it comes down in and at the end of the day and a persons life, all that is important all lies at the heart of this one root. That is also concerning an individual's heart being open to true theology. If not then it all become head knowledge. They then become scribes. No one man can be taught by man how to study the Bible. Only God can teach. But also be aware that like within all time where we as humans have existed, that God speaks to people through people. Therefore no one can teach others the Bible but the Spirit that is within that person, which is of God.

So when all of our logic fails when we try to tell people how to understand the Bible thus inhibiting them further from understanding the Bible, what really matters is that we respect, and reverence that God alone is the only one who cant teach the Bible. NOT US. Though God speaks to us through us, we are not to confuse that as God saying that we can help you understand your dreams and interperate for you anything… ONLY GOD CAN. ONLY GOD IS ABLE. NOT US.

Memorization will not suffice nor will it really work in the life of the believer, for the fruit of a person is not found in signs, wonders, or scripture memorization, but in the life song of the believer.

But then again now that I we have established that only God can teach theology that makes a whole bunch of book dwelling air heads mad who have their little degrees because it takes the focus off of man and puts it back on God, and the fact that God has all knowledge, power, and authority. All we need is an open heart, a sensitive ear to the Spirit, and look at all that money that we save. We would learn so much more then if we were to go to college to have someone else teach us how to study the Bible filtered through their little stupid politics and biases.

(Remember that Jesus went to the un-learned and the bums and recruited them. A fisherman back then was one of the lowliest jobs around and was pretty much the job of a drop out in those days. But Jesus came to them and to the learned and back-sliden legalistic pharisees and scribes who had all the head knowledge and religion.)

People don't like this truth because they dwell too much in other peoples books and not the "Good Book." For this age and generation is filled with false christs, false teachers and prophets that say, "read this or this man's book, then you will understand what the Scriptures say." Rather then say, "Open up the Word, open up your heart, Have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. Spend a day alone in your prayer closet with God." But no, people would rather read about the "Drama of Scripture" then read the drama that is in the Scriptures when you open them up and read the Bible. Its every bodies books and THEN "The Good Book (Bible)" Everyone else's bible and not the Bible. (Dictionary defines a "bible" as any book, reference work, periodical, etc., accepted as authoritative, informative, or reliable.) Everyone's opinions and beliefs that mess everybody up, creating divisions in the body as it is, and hindering, stopping, and quelling a person from truly understanding the Bible and growing.

So bright, so beautiful... The best sky week in a while.

Incredible colors, brights, textures, make for quite a display of the creativeness of God's grand design.

The wonderful sky

If only people could see what I see in the sky. But they refuse. they desire to be blind, not see the incredible emotional paintings within the sky which God has created.

"Velvet Elvis" Repainting the Christian Faith?

This is filled with many Biblical and Scriptural erros. I just thought to post it because many people beleive this type of non sense. Now there are some things that this man says that seem right, but over all from his various letters that I have read Rob Bell denies the Gospel, calls heaven and Hell ways of living and many other things that are not true. there is no such thing as "repainting the Christian Fiath." It cannot be reapinted, for it it was it would not be of Christ and would be of man.)

The article below is found at:
http://www.relationalconcepts.org/long%20topics/Velvet%20Elvis%20Review.pdf

"Velvet Elvis"

Repainting the Christian Faith

By Rob Bell

Reviewed by Dr. David A. DeWitt

This book seems to be a merging together of four rather recent, unorthodox ideas. These ideas come from: Ray VanderLaan and Cornelius Plantinga (who are footnoted in the book), Brian McLaren and William Webb (not mentioned in the book). VanderLaan uses speculation, guess work, and unsubstantiated scholarship to change the clear meaning of Scripture because of supposed input from Hebrew, Greek, and Roman cultures (www.followtherabbi.com: "To Be a Talmid," Part 2: Jesus as a Rabbi). Plantinga defines Christian ministry as fixing the world to the point where this present physical earth, not heaven, is our eternal home ("Engaging God's World," p. 137). McLaren says the Gospel is not about personally receiving Christ but about joining with a church to serve the world ("Christianity Today," Nov. 2004, p. 39). Webb believes the Bible is a progressive record of the things God taught then, but now we (and God) have moved beyond that ("Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals," pp. 31-32). Mix these together and sprinkle in a little "new man" theology, and you have a stew which is "Velvet Elvis."

When reading this book, the reader must be aware of poor scholarship, questionable research, and a disregard for the authors' intended meaning of Scripture. For example, on page 164, Bell wrote, " … we rarely find these first Christians trying to prove that the resurrection actually occurred…. Everybody's god in the first century had risen from the dead. To claim a resurrection had occurred was nothing new: Julius Caesar himself was reported to have ascended to the right hand of the gods after his death. To try to prove there was an empty tomb wouldn't have gotten very far with the average citizen of the Roman Empire; they had heard it all before.… They understood that people are rarely persuaded by arguments but more often by experiences.… To the outside world, it was less about proving and more about inviting people to experience this community of Jesus' followers for themselves."

First of all, it is simply not true that Christians didn't make a big deal out of the resurrection of Christ. They celebrated His bodily resurrection from the beginning. It was the foundation of Peter's sermons in the first chapters of Acts. Paul called it of first importance (1 Corinthians 15:3). He said, and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain (v. 14) … and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins (v. 17).

It is certainly not true that the New Testament authors didn't think people were persuaded by arguments. [Remember, "argument" in this sense is not a fight with somebody, it's "a reason or reasons offered for or against something" (Webster's New World College Dictionary, 2002, p. 75).] All the epistles of the New Testament are arguments, the Sermon on the Mount, the Upper Room Discourse, the Olivet Discourse, and nearly all of Christ's encounters with people were arguments (see John 20:31; Luke 1:1-4). Rarely were any "experiences" with unbelievers except for the argument itself. I cannot find one example or command in the New Testament of anyone "inviting people to experience this community of Jesus' followers for themselves."

September 2005

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It is also not true that a bodily resurrection was common to the culture. Plato's dualism and the Gnostics taught that spirit was good and body was evil. The idea of a bodily resurrection was completely contrary to the culture. It was totally unique to Christianity. The Roman Caesars may have talked about a spiritual resurrection, but their bodies were all still in the grave. To substantiate this point, Bell's footnote says: "find a book on Greek mythology and look up Dionysus." I read three different authors on Dionysus and found nothing about a bodily resurrection. Fact is, the Greeks and Romans thought the whole idea of a bodily resurrection to be "foolishness" (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).

Let's look at Acts 17. In verses 2-3, Luke wrote, And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead. It sounds to me like Paul used arguments and focused on the importance of the resurrection. The next verse says, And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas. It sounds to me like they joined Paul and Silas after being persuaded by their arguments about the resurrection of Christ. Later in the chapter we read, And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were … saying, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,"—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus (Mars Hill), saying, "May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears …" (vv. 18-20). It sounds to me like the resurrection was something "new" and "strange" to the culture. At the end of Paul's sermon we read, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer …" (vv. 31-32). It sounds to me like the focus of Paul's message was on the bodily resurrection of Christ and that was the reason they sneered at him.

Questioning

There are many incorrect statements in the book, which taken in isolation we are tempted to agree with, until we read on and find a different meaning for his terms. Bell follows a style which he terms "Subversive Preaching." I want to emphasize that this is his term for it, not mine. (Type "Subversive Preaching" into your internet search engine.) This is not mentioned in the book, but I thought you should be aware of it, since it seems to dominate Bell's writing style as well. This "Subversive Preaching" style includes an emphasis on "culture," "questions," "following the rabbis," and "storytelling to communicate … to an ever-changing culture" (Church Communication Network: "Subversive Preaching with Rob Bell, Marshall Shelley, and Mike Breaux," June 3, 2004). This communication style tempts us to read our understanding into his statements and say, "Well, there is a sense in which that's true." But as we read on, we find that he has something very different in mind.

I've heard people defend Rob Bell's approach by saying, "He's just trying to make people think." He calls it "questioning." But remember—a true teacher makes you think with things that are true. A false teacher makes you think with things that are false. A true teacher tells the truth. A false teacher questions the truth. Questioning is great if you are trying to understand the truth, but not if you are challenging the truth. Bell uses questions in much the way Satan used them in the Garden of Eden. He changes "God hath said!" into "Hath God said?"

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The Purpose

As stated in the subtitle, the purpose of the book is "Repainting the Christian Faith." Bell puts it this way: "If you come across truth in any form, it isn't outside your faith as a Christian" (p. 180). That's Bell's explanation of Jesus' statement: I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). From the context, it is clear that Jesus meant He defined the way, the truth, and the life. Bell reverses Jesus' intended meaning and essentially says whenever you find any way, truth, or life, that way, truth, or life defines Christianity. He says this "truth" is to be found, not just in nature, but in the world in general (pp. 78-80).

But James says, You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (James 4:4). If truth comes from the world, we have a real problem. The world's wisdom says God serves people (Exodus 17:1-2; James 4:3). The Bible says people are to serve God (Isaiah 60:2; Matthew 4:10; Revelation 22:3). This separates the Bible from any human wisdom. The world thinks the truth of God revealed in the Bible is foolishness, and God says the wisdom of the world is foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18-21; Romans 1:21-22). It is precisely this worldly foolishness that Bell is suggesting we use to "repaint" Christianity.

There is a sense in which we are tempted to agree that all truth is God's truth, and true things can be found outside the Bible. But how would we know if something outside of the Bible is true if the Bible is no longer a sufficient standard for truth? Of course, factual observations can be made outside the Bible. (For example, most trees are green.) But the issue is the interpretation of those observations. (Were those trees created green for the glory of God or did they evolve that way by chance?) There can only be one true non-contradictory interpretation. That one correct interpretation is the perspective of the God of the Bible, revealed through the authors of the Bible (1 Corinthians 2:15). There can be many right applications but only one right interpretation.

Bell, however, says that, as time goes on and times change, our interpretation of the Bible should change. He even says: "Jesus took part in this process by calling people to rethink faith and the Bible …" (p. 11).

It seems as though Bell misunderstands the basic concept of new truth. New truth is stated every day. But that in no sense negates or changes old truth. If I get up in the morning and observe that it is Wednesday and describe the day—the news, the weather, my schedule—that does not change the fact that yesterday was Tuesday. New truth does not change or contradict old truth. New truth exists any time a new condition is accurately described. But if that description contradicts an old one, then one of the statements is false. Jesus stated some new truth, but He never called people "to rethink faith and the Bible."

Bell favors what he calls the methods of the ancient rabbis. He says, "Now the ancient rabbis understood that the Bible is open-ended and has to be interpreted" (p. 47).

Let's look at that statement. First, Bell and his source, Ray VanderLaan (p. 189) put authority in "ancient rabbis." These rabbis, who Bell thinks we should follow, are the

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Pharisees whom Jesus called sons of hell (Matthew 23:15). Jesus said, They love … respectful greetings in the market places, and being called by men, Rabbi. But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers (vv. 6-8). They point out that Jesus was called a rabbi. But Jesus was called rabbi only in the general sense of teacher (John 1:38). For example, I am called a teacher, and a seminary professor is called a teacher, but that doesn't make me a seminary professor. The rabbis Bell refers to were sanctioned by the Pharisees as official teachers in the synagogues. These people hated Jesus. These rabbis also represent today's rabbinical Judaism, which is a development of Pharisaism and basically a cult off of Old Testament Judaism. Moses would have them stoned. But Rob Bell thinks we should follow them. Also, notice that he says they "understood that the Bible is open-ended." So, according to Bell, it seems the Bible has no objective, inerrant, authoritative, sufficient message. It only inspires many interpretations, being "open-ended." But when it comes to application, they call that interpretation and say it changes from rabbi to rabbi and with the development of the culture. (Notice a trend here? Argument means two different things, rabbi means two different things, interpretation means two different things….) So by ignoring the clear teaching of Christ, changing the meaning of words, imposing a supposed cultural framework on the Scripture, Bell ends up marginalizing or reversing the meaning of the biblical text (via a "Subversive Preaching" style).

The Bible

As I mentioned above, for Bell the Bible is like his painting of Velvet Elvis. It inspires you, it is something of beauty, but it is not the last word or best word. Its authorship is irrelevant. Its inspiration is in what it does for you. He describes the Bible as "the most amazing, beautiful, deep, inspired, engaging collection of writings ever" (p. 42). But notice how he doesn't say the Bible is infallible, inerrant, or sufficient. He also says: "But sometimes when I hear people quote the Bible, I just want to throw up" (Ibid.). "Is the Bible the best God can do?" (p. 44). "… part of the problem with continually insisting that one of the absolutes of the Christian faith must be a belief that 'Scripture alone' is our guide. Is sounds nice, but it is not true" (p. 67). "When people say that all we need is the Bible, it is simply not true" (p. 68). "So when we point to early lists of the canonical [New Testament] books, whether such lists come from individuals or church councils, these lists are not considered authoritative distinctions binding on us today but only as evidence that a loose consensus was developing through time among the people of God" (p. 185).

This last statement demands some clarification. What Bell is agreeing with here is blatantly false. He seems to be misinformed about the history of canonization. The reality is, there are in existence only 27 books written by apostles or prophets in the first century. These 27 are the New Testament. The statements of that fact by Athanasius in 367 and the Council of Carthage in 397 were meant to close the door on any further discussion on the subject of what is an authoritative text. In no sense was it a "loose consensus … developing through time." (See Norman Geisler, "The Canonicity of the Bible," Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, pp. 80-85.)

Theology

On page 26, Bell criticizes a speaker who says, "… if you deny that God created the world in six literal twenty-four-hour days, then you are denying that Jesus ever died on the

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cross." The speaker's point was that the same Bible is the source of both. Bell says that's the wrong way to look at theology. He says that makes theology like "Bricks." Bell prefers to see theology as springs in "a trampoline." They just launch you up into inspired creative thinking, but they don't all need to be true. He explains with this example: "What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archaeologists find Larry's tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt 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." Bell's point is that it should not affect our Christianity because "the way of Jesus" is "still the best way to live … I'm far more interested in jumping than I am in arguing about whose trampoline is better" (p. 27).

This not only denies the sufficiency and inerrancy of the Bible, but it sounds like Hinduism (see 1 Corinthians 15:19). Apparently, for Bell it would not matter if the biblical authors lied about the virgin birth in order to get more followers.

On page 26 he goes on to say, "… 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" (emphasis his).

This is part of the "Subversive Preaching" style that filters everything through the Hebrew. It also illustrates why you can't do that. The problem is, the New Testament is written in Greek, and the Greek word used by Matthew means "virgin." Besides that, the whole context describes how Joseph kept Mary a virgin until after the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:18-25). In addition, Luke gives us the angel's explanation of the conception to Mary (Luke 1:30-35). So we can only conclude that Bell is asking us to believe that if Matthew and Luke lied to us about the virgin birth, it doesn't matter. But then who knows what else they lied to us about—but I guess that wouldn't matter either. If something mattered, how would you know what it was? Since the Bible is not the standard of truth, what is? Bell repeatedly tells us that truth is to be found outside the Bible, and all truth is God's truth (see "Movement Three," pp. 75-92). But he never tells us how to know if some idea is true. No standard is ever given to test truth. Since that standard is not the Bible, what is it? You? Me? Rob Bell?

Universalism

Rob Bell believes that becoming a Christian is not about receiving Christ (in direct contrast to what the Bible clearly teaches in John 1:12; 3:12-18; 5:24; 8:24; 14:6; Romans 10:9-10; Titus 3:5; 1 John 5:12; Revelation 2:21; and 9:20). Bell claims that not only reconciliation but also forgiveness is "true for everybody" (p. 146). Everybody is already forgiven. He says "inviting Jesus into your heart" is "a phrase that is not found anywhere in the Bible" (p. 109).

Well, the Bible says, But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name (John 1:12) and that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). That sounds a whole lot like "inviting Jesus into your heat." (See also Acts 8:37 and Ephesians 4:18).

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Bell tells about a couple he married who "said they didn't want any Jesus or God or Bible or religion to be talked about" in the ceremony. At the end of that chapter, Bell summarized the wedding by saying: "When they resonate with the peace and harmony of unspoiled nature … Jesus is the life force that makes it possible. So in the deepest sense we can comprehend, my friends are resonating with Jesus, whether they acknowledge it or not" (p. 92). Bell writes: "When Jesus said, 'No one comes to the Father except through me,' he was saying that his way, his words, his life is our connection to how things truly are at the deepest levels of existence" (p. 83).

What Jesus said is clear. When I read Rob Bell's explanation of it, I want to say, "Huh?"

Faith

With respect to faith, it would appear Bell believes that Jesus is more interested in us having faith in ourselves than He is in us having faith in Christ. Peter went out to meet Jesus, who was walking on the water. When Peter started to sink, Jesus said, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" Bell then asks, "Who does Peter lose faith in?" Bell answers, "Not Jesus; Jesus is doing fine. Peter loses faith in himself. Peter loses faith that he can do what his rabbi [Jesus] is doing" (p. 133).

Obviously, from the context, Christ is referring to Peter's doubt in Christ's statement: "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid" and His command to "Come!" (Matthew 14:27-29). The reprimand was for Peter's doubt in Christ.

Salvation/Missions

Bell wants to redefine a missionary as "a tour guide." He says, "So the issue isn't so much taking Jesus to people who don't have him, but going to a place and pointing out to the people there the creative, life-giving God who is already present in their midst" (p. 88).

For one thing, I wonder why anybody would be motivated to do that. But the real problem here is that this blurs the omnipresence of Christ with salvation through Christ. What people need to know is that they are lost and destined for hell because of their sins, and they need to receive Christ for salvation (Romans 3:20-25). Why do they need to know He is "already present in their midst"? True, missionaries find people who are worshipping a god something like Jesus by a different name. But those missionaries then attempt to lead those people to Christ because they are lost in their sin. As Paul said, How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14). In sharp contrast to that, Bell thinks we should simply tell the unbeliever that he is already forgiven. He concludes, "So this reality, this forgiveness, this reconciliation is true for everybody" (p. 146).

This liberal universalism confuses what Christ did on the cross with what is needed to become a child of God. Christ paid for the sins of the world on the cross. But that didn't save anybody. It just made everybody savable. Salvation, forgiveness of sins, requires a personal decision to appropriate Christ's sacrifice by personally receiving Him. It's as many as received Him who become children of God (John 1:12), not those who are informed that they are already "connected to how things truly are at the deepest levels of existence."

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Sin

Those eager to find something to agree with Bell on can always go to page 107. Here he says, "Humans are guilty because of our sin, and God is the judge who has to deal with our sin … Enter Jesus, who dies on the cross in our place."

Well, that sounds good. How could that possibly be a problem? But remember, for Bell, Christ's death not only paid for our sins, it also forgave us, thus eliminating any need of repentance for salvation. Also, when we get to page 114, we learn Bell's definition of sin. He gets it from his therapist. Apparently, this is one of those "all truth is God's truth" things. His therapist said, "Sin." Bell then writes, "And then he said, in what has become a pivotal moment in my journey, 'Your job is the relentless pursuit of who God has made you to be. And anything else you do is sin and you need to repent of it.'" In the next paragraph he says, "And as this became more and more clear, I realized how less and less pleased I was with myself" (emphasis his). So Bell's definition of sin is that which is contrary to "himself." Not as in the Bible, where it is anything contrary to God (Romans 3:23). Bell's therapist says it is violating who God made you to be. The homosexuals have got to love that. If I am a homosexual, I need to repent of anything that keeps me from being a homosexual. We might say God didn't make us sinners, but we all seem to be that way, and such a view sure tempts us to justify a sinful tendency.

In case you think I have misread him on all this, let me give you his illustration on pages 138-39. Bell writes, "I was having lunch with a guy who was telling me about a struggle he had been having for a while. He said he knew he was a sinner and that he was fallen and that he would keep committing this one sin … because he was a sinner … because of what a sinner he was … I was so depressed I wanted to bang my head on the table … And what was so startling to me is that he said he had just become a Christian … I wondered if becoming a Christian had made his life not better but actually worse." On the next page, Bell says, "I can't find one place in the teachings of Jesus, or the Bible for that matter, where we are to identify ourselves first and foremost as sinners."

The word "sin" appears 430 times in the Bible, and even a general reading of those references sure sounds like it says we are first of all sinners and that sin separates us from God. For example, Paul, as a believer and an apostle, said, I am of flesh sold into bondage to sin (Romans 7:14; see also Psalms 32:3; 38:18; 51:3; 119:11; Proverbs 14:9; Luke 11:4; Romans 3:9; 1 John 1:8). What is going on in the example Bell gives, it seems, is that this new Christian is for the first time indwelled by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12-16; 12:13) and being convicted by the Holy Spirit of his sin (John 16:8), and Rob Bell would talk him out of it. Jesus said, Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea (Mark 9:42). Of course, Bell believes we sin. But, as that great source of "all truth is God's truth"—his therapist—said, sin is anything other than "the relentless pursuit of who God made you to be." So are we to believe that this new believer, who is being convicted of his sin, is to think that his problem is that he is simply not being true to himself? After all, he just needs to remember that "all truth is God's truth" revealed that sin is not what is contrary to God but what is contrary to himself, and that Christianity is about happiness rather than holiness!

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No. Unlike Bell and his therapist, the Bible says, repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you (Acts 8:22). It's those who confess our sins who are forgiven (1 John 1:9), not those in a "relentless pursuit of who God made you to be." (See also Acts 2:38; 3:19; and 17:30.)

Many parents, whose young people are being sucked into this, think: "Well, at least my kids are involved in something about Jesus, and Paul said he would not oppose people preaching the Gospel, even if they weren't always right."

No. That is not what Paul said. Paul said he would not oppose those who proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives (Philippians 1:17). It was their motives Paul was unconcerned about, not their message. I am unconcerned about Rob Bell's motives. It's his message that needs to be opposed. For those with a false message, Paul said, I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed (Galatians 1:6-8; see also 2 Corinthians 11:10-15). When the question was about those with the same message, simply functioning in a different group, Jesus said, Do not hinder him, for he who is not against you is for you (Luke 9:50). But concerning those with a different message, Jesus said, He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters (Matthew 12:30).

Heaven and Hell

Bell says this: "For Jesus, heaven and hell were present realities. Ways of living we can enter into here and now. He talked very little of life beyond this one … When people use the word hell, what do they mean? They mean a place, an event, a situation absent of how God desires things to be. Famine, debt, oppression, loneliness, despair, death, slaughter—they are all hell on earth—For Jesus, this new kind of life in Him is not about escaping this world but about making it a better place, here and now. The goal for Jesus isn't to get into heaven. The goal is to get heaven here" (pp. 147-48, emphasis his).

I'm not sure what Jesus he is talking about, but it sure isn't the One in the Bible. (And, by the way, who cares how people use the word hell.) Jesus said, I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:11-12). … whoever says, "You fool," shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell … for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell" (Matthew 5:29-30). But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him" (Luke 12:5). In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2-3). Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment … (Luke 16:22-23; see also Matthew 19:29; 25:46; Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30; John 3:15-18).

8

Eternal life in heaven or hell is not just a footnote in the New Testament. The phrase "eternal life" occurs 41 times. The apostles spoke about the destruction of this present earth and the significance of seeing heaven and hell as a non-earth afterlife. Peter wrote, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. … But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth (2 Peter 3:10-13). John says, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away (Revelation 21:1). Paul described the future of believers, saying, For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). He also wrote, If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:19).

Does that sound like Bell's statement: "The goal for Jesus isn't to get into heaven. The goal is to get heaven here"? I know of not one single passage where Christ or the apostles commanded or suggested that we fix the world. Of course we should take care of the world we live in, just as we should take care of our car—but not to make it something eternally important. Of course we should have compassion for, and do everything we can for, the poor and suffering, but we should not think that it will bring heaven to earth.

Conclusion In this book, Rob Bell has told us about what he calls his "journey" (p. 114). He ends by saying: "I am not going to stop dreaming of a new kind of faith for the millions of us who need it" (p. 177). I suggest we tell Rob Bell that we don't need a new kind of faith. We just need to obey the one God gave us, instead of looking for reasons not to do that. I suggest we tell him—

If your journey ever leads you back to the Bible, let us know.

Do we have a sin nature? Lets see what God's Word has to say about it.

Do we have a sin nature? Lets let God’s word speak about that.
Ephesians, chapter 2
[1]: And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins
[2]: in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.
[3]: Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
[4]: But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us,
[5]: even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
[6]: and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
[7]: that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
[8]: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God --
[9]: not because of works, lest any man should boast.
[10]: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
[11]: Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision [12]: remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
[13]: But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ.
[14]: For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility,
[15]: by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,
[16]: and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end.
[17]: And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near;
[18]: for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
[19]: So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
[20]: built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
[21]: in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord;
[22]: in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Romans, chapter 5
[1]: Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
[2]: Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God.
[3]: More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
[4]: and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
[5]: and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.
[6]: While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
[7]: Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man -- though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die.
[8]: But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
[9]: Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
[10]: For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
[11]: Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation.
[12]: Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned --
[13]: sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.
[14]: Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
[15]: But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
[16]: And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.
[17]: If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
[18]: Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men.
[19]: For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.
[20]: Law came in, to increase the trespass; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
[21]: so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans, chapter 6
[1]: What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
[2]: By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
[3]: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
[4]: We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
[5]: For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
[6]: We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.
[7]: For he who has died is freed from sin.
[8]: But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.
[9]: For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
[10]: The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
[11]: So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
[12]: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.
[13]: Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness.
[14]: For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
[15]: What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
[16]: Do you not know that if you yield yourselves to any one as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
[17]: But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
[18]: and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
[19]: I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once yielded your members to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now yield your members to righteousness for sanctification.
[20]: When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
[21]: But then what return did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death.
[22]: But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life.
[23]: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans, chapter 7
[21]: So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
[22]: For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self,
[23]: but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members.
[24]: Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
[25]: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Romans, chapter 8
[1]: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
[2]: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.
[3]: For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
[4]: in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
[5]: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
[6]: To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
[7]: For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot;
[8]: and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
[9]: But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
[10]: But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness.
[11]: If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you.
[12]: So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh --
[13]: for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.
[14]: For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
[15]: For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, "Abba! Father!"
[16]: it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
[17]: and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

No we do not have a sine nature. We are not "better looking sinners."

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