Most Christians today, if not the majority of them, are by definition confused Christians. One of the main reasons why they were confused, I think, was because they tried to memorize the writings of the Apostle Paul without having a clear understanding of what Paul was saying. They do not have a clear picture of the writings of the Apostle Paul because Paul wrote like an experienced lawyer, and most preachers are not experienced lawyers to interpret Paul's writings, but they love to think that they know everything that Paul wrote or said because it doesn't seem too difficult to comprehend. Really?
What most Christian preachers or ministers know about Paul's writings in the Bible can be summed up in just one word - grace. They were trained in Bible schools or seminaries to become followers of Paul. So they surround themselves with other Paul's followers who are always looking for excuses to receive “grace” from God without understanding what grace requires of them. The main requirement for receiving God’s grace, I believe, is a partnership between God the Father and us. We must earn God’s grace. It is not only faith that is required to receive God’s grace, but also works, deeds, or obedience.
Are we keeping the laws, and commandments of God the Father?
Brothers and sisters. We have to get the grace of God the way Noah did. The Bible says, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6:5-8).
Do you know why Noah found grace in God's eyes? It wasn't because he showered every day. It wasn't because he kept his beard clean. Do you know why? Because he got his reward for being obedient to God, while the whole world at that time received nothing, and as a result, all perished in the big flood. They all choked to death on mud water. God did not find grace in them. God sees nothing in them that merits or deserves His grace.
The Bible is a Law book. If we read the Bible, we must clearly understand that we are reading a law book and not a novel or a fairy tale. The Bible is a legal textbook, and many readers can get confused interpreting the Bible by reading it in English. For example, look at what Jesus said in this verse,
“Therefore, if you bring your offering to the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, and go. First, make peace with your brother, then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24). Do you know what Jesus said or commanded us to do here? He commands us to atone for the sins that we have committed against others. I call this self-atonement for all the sins that we have committed to others. If we do not want to atone for the sins we have committed against other human beings, God will not even hear us. Isn't that what Matthew 5:23-24 implies? Why should we ask for God's grace through work, why? When we ask, is that not work? When we make peace with our brother is that not work? Preachers have taught us to depend mainly on grace, and not on work, work, and more good works! They make us lazy. There's nothing to brag about when we do what Jesus wants us to do, right? And Matthew 5:23-24 is Jesus' command and not mine. That's what Jesus commands us to do.
Moreover, Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its taste, how is it salted? It is of no use but to be thrown out and trampled by men." You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither did they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it illuminates all [that is] in the house and glorifies your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16
Showing our good work is not bragging. Showing our good deeds is obeying HIS COMMAND to us! Showing our good works is not boasting. Showing our good works is following His order.
But you say, that's not what Paul said. Who cares what Paul, John, or James might say. We only hear and obey what Jesus commanded us to do because He holds the keys to heaven, and not Paul, James, John, Peter, and all the other servants of Jesus.
We can only sin against God and man. If we sin against God, we ask God to forgive us. If I hurt your feelings, I ask you to forgive me. I don't know if we can sin against orangutans or monkeys. I will leave the answer to this question to the Bible scholars for clarification who may know a little bit more about the Bible than I do.
So what's wrong? For more than two thousand years we have known that Jesus said that we must atone for our own sins (Matthew 5:23-24). If we don’t want to do it, Jesus will not hear our prayer or accept our offering. I have not found a single verse in the Bible where Jesus Himself said that He came to atone for our sins.
Jesus was crucified because Jesus had repeatedly been accused of blaspheming God's name.
When Jesus appeared before Pilate he asked Jesus, “ Are You the King of the Jews”? “Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." Pilate, therefore, said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say [rightly] that I am a king. For this cause, I was born, and for this cause, I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all.” "But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you, therefore, want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" Then they all cried again, saying, "Not this Man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber. John 18:33-40. I quoted this section directly from the Bible so my readers know the story prior to Jesus’ crucifixion.
In the ancient Jewish lands of Jesus when we said we were children of God we would be stoned and buried alive. We must not blaspheme God's name! We will be placed in a mortuary if we blaspheme the name of God in their land. In America when we say that we are the children of God or that we have come to atone for the sins of mankind, we may be placed in a madman's house, not in a mortuary. That's the difference.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:34, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."
In John 7:7 Jesus said, "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.
Every day when I turned the TV on and listen to preachers talk I get very frustrated because none of them talk about the evil works of the world. This is what they should be preaching instead of entertaining us with loud music and loud bands.
John 7:7 is another important reason why Jesus was crucified. Humans hate Jesus because He exposed all the faults and evils of humans.
Why do we still say today that Jesus died for our sins even though we have known for thousands of years that Jesus said that we must atone for our own sins? Do we still need to make people feel guilty to get their credit card numbers? Is it still necessary to make people feel guilty for church members to hand over their checkbooks and wallets to the church treasurer? No, don't do that. I think we are making a big mistake if we continue the practice of the Beast. I believe that we should abstain from acts that insult and humiliate our Lord! Remember, He is watching us from above!
Or, do we think that we have not insulted and humiliated our heavenly Father enough on a daily basis?
Comments