No one is saved apart from repentance…!
Oct 31
"Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:14, 15) There are many passages in the New Testament which indicate that repentance is the key to salvation. For example, Paul said that he had preached everywhere that they "should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance" (Acts 26:20). But he also preached that faith in Christ is the way to be saved. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). One could cite many verses stressing repentance and many that stress faith. There can obviously be no real conflict here, though there is a danger in what has been called "easy believism," if repentance is ignored. Mental assent to certain facts about Christ is not true saving faith. Nor will it produce salvation for a person merely to be sorry for his sins and change his behavior if he did not really trust from his heart in the person and work of Christ.
But when you sin…
Oct 28
"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1) There is no suggestion anywhere in Scripture that any person can be sinless. "All have sinned" (Romans 3:23), the Bible boldly declares. "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). Repentance toward God (Acts 20:21) and salvation by God (2 Corinthians 7:10) eternally settles the issue of the sinful condition inherent in us (Ephesians 2:1-8). However, even though we have been "made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21), we still commit sinful acts! (1 John 1:8-10) Hallelujah for the Advocate! What a blessed promise it is that is recorded for us that the same Jesus Christ who died for our sins, who rose from the grave in glorious victory over sin, "is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us" (Romans 8:34).
Dual Covenant Heresy: end time deceptions
Oct 28
We have had many people ask about the “Dual Covenant” belief that has been promoted quite heavily in various Jewish ministries. The following article speaks truth about it and was written by Jan Markell of Olive Tree Ministries - THANK YOU, JAN! THE DUAL COVENANT HERESY: MORE END-TIME DECEPTION! by Jan Markell If you hadn’t guessed, Olive Tree Ministries is pro-Israel. In fact, we would be labeled a “Christian Zionist” organization, which certain radio ministries have derided in a most non-Christian manner. We love the Jewish people and I have or had many Jewish family members who were believers. Others went to their graves ignoring the Messiah and His message. I have mixed feelings when it comes to various “Nights to Honor Israel” being held around the country. A local mega-church in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area has had some in recent years. I attended in 2007 and was so bitterly disappointed — in fact, sickened –that I chose not to go back last week. Forgive me if this takes on a twinge of being harsh. That is not my purpose. I am just passionate that all come to a knowledge of the Savior while there is time. I would also like to know when was the commandment to take the Gospel to the Jew abrogated? (Romans 1:16)
Jesus Music History – part one
Oct 27Sometimes in our lives, seemingly unrelated events come together in such a way they make a very strong point. Such was the case for me a few weekends ago. I had just received the two video set First Love and planned on watching it Saturday evening. In the Saturday morning paper, within just two pages, were two stories that impacted me significantly. First was a long story about Mitch Albom, the Detroit sportswriter, who wrote the monstrously successful book Tuesdays with Morrie. The point of the article was that Albom could with great eloquence recount the lessons he learned from Morrie Schwartz, his former professor, yet in reality he struggles to show evidence of the lessons in his life. Then came a review about a biography of Henri Nouwen, which talked with some sharpness of Nouwen's shallow theology and the life he led. While these stories were interesting, I passed them off as interesting weekend reading. I sat down on Saturday evening expecting to watch just a portion of First Love Part One. Some four hours later I found I had watched both tapes in their entirety and was anxious to see more.
Lest we forget… a warning to the Church in America
Oct 25
"Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons." (Deuteronomy 4:9) Some of us can remember the words of a melancholy song of the twenties: "You promised that you'd forget me not: but you forgot to remember." Words like these seem to apply increasingly to our observance of Memorial Day, which was originally established in 1868 to honor the Civil War dead, as well as all those others who have given their lives to establish and preserve our "sweet land of liberty." But now it has become just a holiday, a day for leisure and pleasure, rather than for prayer and thankfulness, at least for most Americans.
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