21. July 2019

Sunday sermon

SUNDAY SERMON 7-21-19

Isaiah 43:9
Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.

Blog- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/

The blog is my main site- on some sites if you click the link it gives a ‘warning’- if that happens- simply type the address in or search on google- the site is safe- the most up to date posts are on the Blog.

Site- https://ccoutreach87.com/

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks

Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber

Other sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/links-to-my-sites-updated-10-2018/

Cloud links- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/

Youtube Playlist- https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-playlist/

[Links to all my sites at the bottom of this post]

NOTE- Every so often some of my sites think I am Spam- or a Bot- I am not. My name is John Chiarello and I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I do share my past posts from my other sites- but it is not spam- Thank you- John.

Sunday sermon
https://youtu.be/LmKcV0XBaJY

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8mkjx5xam35d1qk/1-7-18%20Sunday%20Sermon.mp4?dl=0

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMcX_RR1U1bfeROjo

ON VIDEO [Sunday sermon-Verses from Church Unlimited- Mass]
.Catholic Lectionary
.One meal only
.Is psalms 2 a Messianic prophecy?
.’Heathen for your inheritance’
.The tattoo
.Times of reformation [in the 1st century]
.New Wine into New Wine-skins
.A story about prison wine
.Word made flesh
.When Jesus became God? [my critique of the higher critics]
.Church history
.Song from the Mass
.Apologetics
.The magisterial reformers
.R.C. Sproul

1Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

OTHER VIDEOS- [new below]

7-16-19 Teaching https://youtu.be/DD079uigMuY

Sanctify them https://youtu.be/mHdgI3icJGA

Samuel 25 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhBlAVgO1uXLksA5_

Battle is the Lord’s https://youtu.be/TqfUmwkwgXk

The mouths of babies https://www.dropbox.com/s/1t7028q39cxabyo/7-28-15%20The%20mouths%20of%20Babies.mp4?dl=0

The day Kennedy died [NYC view] https://www.bitchute.com/video/RQjMCalmXVlg/

Ephesians 5 https://youtu.be/R9hmfExkpwU

5ht Ave. NYC https://www.instagram.com/tv/Bw10sL3H1Ea/?utm_source=ig_web_options_share_sheet

11-11-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhBp1wgu7lU34dS_Z

Kings 16 https://mega.nz/#!7L5VyYoK!jGLom4aw2hAYymffqLri_xE2eJZyaGtd32CiO3XlcyM

Galatians 4 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMc7CJMXKGvTAhb_Y

Acts 7 https://youtu.be/r4cPQHcshCI

Pops n Austin https://www.dropbox.com/s/a2goydt2ie981kl/7-30-15%20Pop%27s%20n%20Austin.mp4?dl=0

Samson https://dai.ly/x7817uc

1^st John https://flic.kr/p/2giaQ9s

1-7-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMcX_RR1U1bfeROjo

Kings 15 https://mega.nz/#!yGpDDIrS!oj3NlWZoAxKstFB8RME345fUW1gEFsxV7uWbVje-6t8

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205872581811912/

Plymouth Rock https://youtu.be/DyDv5n6U-3o

Romans 4-7 https://youtu.be/nnBn5O6BLhM

Samuel 21 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhBSvLIKXP2GKSeMS

Intro- Acts https://youtu.be/gB224VXYjfw

7-29-18 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/tbm03l75peg7fmq/7-29-18%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0

Homeless friends https://dai.ly/x77y9y5

10-15-17 Sunday sermon https://flic.kr/p/2ghFB1m

1^st Peter https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhBcxu_UPVdtb-F9d

Kings 14 https://mega.nz/#!uCJhCITD!jeJ2UrMR192Z3jxJ4S9A8BB_f1RynSt6rSQZcgfCrP8

This is my Body https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhBJgH7idcLKZSrX9

We are the light- too https://youtu.be/FZIqiEjYv_I

Lord shall give you a sign https://www.dropbox.com/s/75rl8eboe5dtgfr/7-29-17%20Lord%20shall%20give%20you%20a%20sign.mp4?dl=0

Acts 12 https://dai.ly/x77qqk6

10-14-18 Sunday sermon https://flic.kr/p/2ggK9xi

Acts 1 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhBOtNdn3F2PIcSVU

Kings 13 https://mega.nz/#!eOhlRKoJ!GIcrounr9B3H-W-UDxBsgP2vWezpeiwsGug6juJbLOs

Apologetics- Philosophy https://youtu.be/-obZ4-MoPYE

Acts 24 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhA0ZM-WRlROFRKD_

Acts 6 https://youtu.be/Vqgm3E4k95A

John 10 https://www.dropbox.com/s/gtycps6pynxjpv3/7-28-16%20John%2010.mp4?dl=0

Bus- NYC https://www.instagram.com/tv/Bwwtu68HEut/?utm_source=ig_web_options_share_sheet

2-18-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgTlYdJIX5MEsAB0N

Kings 12 https://mega.nz/#!jPhW1QzB!GY05QdaW0KaG19lrXdsIDW_4A6jNnd-WgmEqUQhN5tg

Gate shut https://www.bitchute.com/video/q2LobpQOMZOt/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2019/07/18/acts-1-5/
Revolution https://flic.kr/p/23fyQpi
C.U.- Mass http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/111444622
God’s set time- Socrates https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_ctvSh1-HpklD9Ch3cfIGbmYeSLX17eA/view?usp=sharing
Some of my sons- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IE-9QQK5Bvx645Jsr2TXXGk94WCxoqvc/view?usp=sharing
Acts 14 http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/111742436
Christianity- Philosophy https://youtu.be/Cu6BnzfU7MQ
John 7 https://vimeo.com/250538876
Ralph and Charlie http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/111800421
Aliens- economy- does God exist? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qJc8ZdKvF32fbf9wTRsMtTSLO4cQ6rEe/view?usp=sharing
Aliens- economy- 2 https://drive.google.com/file/d/10ER2w1a1XxAYRzXRtBeZ9rmfmz749QR7/view?usp=sharing
Pops https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/NGY26AzudGTTn4Q14G3Bjoht1VxdChSoPBRGTeeg2vK
Angels came http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/111864761

NEW-
Today I spoke on the verses from the Mass and Church Unlimited- the theme was the deity of Christ and the New Covenant [as well as church history and a few other subjects].

The reading from the Mass [John 1] showed us the deity of Christ [meaning Christ being God in the flesh] and the calling of John the Baptist-
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
John was the last and greatest Prophet- in the line of Old Testament prophets [I know the debate- but won’t do it now].
In John 1 we see him introducing Jesus- bringing in the Messiah, as the forerunner John was simply a messenger-
John 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
And we see the reality of the New Birth- not a natural birth- but a spiritual one- Born of God-
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
I also refuted the teaching [from the higher critics] that the doctrine of Jesus being God was a later development in the history of the church.
The writings from the New testament state the early belief among Christians that Jesus was indeed God in the flesh-
Here is another verse that shows us this-
1Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Which just happened to be one of the verses from the Sunday Mass.

The passage from Ephesians was something I taught recently and will simply add that teaching below.

One of the other themes was ‘expand and advance’- I quoted a few passages from Isaiah and others that fit with the theme-
Isaiah 54:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
Isaiah 54:3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
We also saw the reality of the New Covenant- the New Wine-
Mark 2:22
And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

Though the verses from the various churches were not coordinated with each other- yet the theme did fit together.
The verse from the Psalm has always been a favorite- I quote a variation of it during my regular prayer time-
Psalm 147:12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.
Psalm 147:13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.
Psalm 147:14 He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.
Yet- I’m not exactly sure where I remembered the passage from.
I know I got it from the bible- and added it to my prayer time years ago-
But the passage from the psalms speaks about it as already being accomplished.

In my prayer time I quote it in a different way [I say how on the video] and yet here it speaks of it as already being answered.

I tried to share an interesting perspective from this experience- That God hears us- and even answers our prayers- before we pray them-
King James Bible
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. Is. 55:24

My daughter mentioned she had a question to ask- but later forgot [while filming]- after I shut the video off- she remembered.

It was about the Lords Supper [communion] and the different views that Christian churches hold.
On the video I talked about the Reformers- and mentioned there was a debate between Luther and Zwingli- but didn’t want to get into it on the video.
Sure enough- it was about the question my daughter asked later- which I have taught before.

I told her it’s a good thing she didn’t ask it on video- because I would have probably went on for about another 30 minutes- which I’m trying not to do.
I write these short ‘new’ sections right after I make the video [usually] and don’t teach too much in them.

If you watch the videos- and read both the verses I add in these posts as well as my past posts section- you should be able to get enough out of them to go a bit deeper than this simple overview.
John

PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relate to this post- Sunday sermon]
https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/
https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/
https://ccoutreach87.com/mark-links/
https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/
JOHN 20
Romans 4:23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
Romans 4:24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
Romans 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
https://youtu.be/2Xsj00Qhd8g John 20
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/10-20-16-john-20.zip
ON VIDEO-
.Who was the 1st witness?
.Why?
.Peter’s 2nd chance
.Why did Thomas doubt?
.My Father AND Your Father
.The car inspection- and Tattoo
NEW- Mary is the 1st witness of the resurrected Christ- significance?
For those who doubt the bible- Christians use arguments for the Christian faith- we call this Apologetics.
In the 1st century- the testimony of women was not valid in official documents.
Sad- but true.
Now- if John were making up a story about Jesus- and he wanted everyone to believe it.
He would never say Mary Magdalene was the 1st witness- because right off the bat- no one would believe it.
So- why did John say this?
Because it was true- see?
Ok- we also have the occurrence of Thomas doubting that the other disciples saw Jesus.
Jesus appeared to them first- Thomas was absent.
So- they tell Thomas- and he says ‘unless I see the wounds- and touch them- I won’t believe’.
Jesus shows up a week later- and tells the doubter ‘go ahead- touch them’.
John is combating Docetism- an early belief that Jesus was simply a phantom- and he was not really raised from the dead [or really born a man].
So- the account is true- and yes- God controlled the situation in a way that we have the actual record- that Jesus was indeed really- physically- raised [‘go ahead- touch me’].
At the end of the account- Jesus sends his men out-
Remember- they are looking at him- wounds evident on his Body-
They saw his passion- the things he went thru- and he says ‘Just like the Father sent me- I send you’.
Yes- they were aware of the cost- they realized they would have a tough road ahead.
All of the apostles get martyred- accept for John.
He got boiled in Oil- it didn’t kill him- and he was banned to the Ilse of Patmos-
He gave us his visionary experience of the triumphant Christ- in his apocalyptic work-
Called the book of Revelation.
One of the great visons John had on the Ilse-
Was a lamb- as it had been slain- now standing as a victor and the glorious head of the church.
And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. Rev. 5:6
Amen.
PAST LINKS [verses below]
HISTORY OF EVERYTHING- IN 1 HOUR
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. … 2nd Thes. 2:10-13
https://youtu.be/uwDi82SICXo History of everything in 1 hour [part 1]
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/6-16-16-history-of-everything.zip
ON VIDEO-
.Did my ‘prophecy’ come true? Watch and see
.They said a rocket hit the plane
.What did Patience say?
.Update on detention center
.Bishop Mulvey
.I was right about Devon Anderson- planned parenthood- the judge said she broke the law
.Where did the animals come from?
.Is the story true?
Mesopotamia
.Palestine
.Aristotle
.They were looking for the ‘LOGOS’
.Ptolemy
.Copernicus
.Cosmology
.Scientific/Industrial revolution
.Sir Ramsey and documentary evidence
.Luke/Acts as historical evidence
.Phenomenological language
.Aquinas- Anselm and Augustine
.Richard Dawkins alien creator
.Einstein and the big bang
.C.S. Lewis
.Everything is proof of God
MY LINKS-
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/overview-of-philosophy/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/protestant-reformation-luther/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/qm/
PAST POSTS- [verses and news links below]
1895- BUYER BEWARE!
We bought the Rocu thing the other day.
That’s the device that lets you watch movies on line.
You get a lot of real good stuff- I was surprised.
I was also surprised to see all the documentaries about religion and Christianity.
The ones from Netflix looked interesting- so I watched a couple.
Yikes!!
All of the ones I saw were done from a skeptic’s point of view.
Now- as someone who writes on apologetics [the defense of the faith] I am familiar with these arguments against the faith.
But- if you are not familiar- these doc’s will shake your faith- for sure.
Why?
They are done from the perspective that Christianity basically copied the Greek myths of God and religion- they focus on the ‘similarities’ between Christianity and Greek [and other cultures] religions.
Okay- what was wrong- or deceptive?
First- this entire school of thought was popularized in the 19th century- from the Christian universities in Germany.
Yes- some good men- well meaning men [others not so good! Freud- etc] believed that in order for the faith to survive in this ‘brave new world’ [modernity- and the whole humanistic advance of man since the enlightenment].
That they had to re-fashion the faith and sort of bring it up to date with the times.
Men like Rudolph Bultman introduced the idea of ‘de mythologizing’ the bible.
So- these guys rejected all the supernatural elements of the bible- no more miracles- angels- demons- or resurrection!
Many people embraced this ‘new’ bold approach to the faith- and basically became theological liberals.
One of the reasons some of these men went down this road were covered in the above documentaries.
Okay- as I watched a couple of them- they had similar themes- and were also wrong in the same way.
They compared about 25 other religious myths- from other cultures- and they said these other religious myths all had a savior- a son of god- who had 12 disciples.
They said this Lamb of God died- was buried- and on the 3rd day rose again.
They said he did miracles- was born of a virgin- was called Lord and savior.
And they made it sound like this ‘story’- in complete form- was repeated many times before the Christians ‘picked it up’.
Wow- double wow.
Why are these documentaries dangerous?
First- I actually have read/studied in this field.
The similarities that they described in the doc’s were way overdone- they simply are not true.
That’s the first problem.
But- they did mix in some truth- with the false stuff.
Both of the documentaries I saw [it seems like there is one person- producer- behind the 2 I saw] did give an actual quote from a 2nd century Christian leader- Justin Martyr.
The quote is indeed real- Justin is known as one of the first Apologists of the church.
He defended the faith during a time when many enemies of the faith slandered the religion.
In one defense [out of many] he said that those who reject Christianity because we believe that a Divine son rose from the dead- that others also held the same type of belief in the pagan world.
He was referring to the god Jupiter and the stories that surround those who believed in him.
You also do find this same type of thing in the myth of Hercules.
Okay- so the skeptic was right then?
No.
In the documentary- the skeptic actually gives the quote from Justin- and Justin says that just because these similarities did exist in other religions- before Christ- that this in no way means the Christian faith is false.
How so?
Justin said it was possible for satan to have ‘imitated’ what was really going to happen.
The skeptic mocked this argument from Justin- and went on to challenge the faith.
A few things.
First- it is possible that Justin was right.
2nd.
This whole line of attack is not new [unless you never heard of it before- which is why I’m kinda surprised that Netflix has them in their lineup].
It goes all the way back to the writings of Gilgamesh.
These are writings that also have similarities to the things we find in the bible- yet they are not coming from the Christian perspective.
They contain a story about a flood [like the one in Genesis].
So- over time- skeptics have said ‘see- the bible must have copied these flood stories- because we find them in other cultures’.
I actually covered this before.
Let me give you the short version.
We- as Christians- do indeed believe the story of Noah [the flood].
Some debate whether it was a global event or local- I don’t want to get into that now.
But- if there was a huge event- say like a 911 plane attack on the world trade center.
Would you not expect to find that event- recorded in more than one culture?
Of course you would.
So the fact that other cultures have a flood event recorded too- this does not mean the Christians plagiarized the flood- no- it would be evidence that the flood really did happen.
See?
Now- the similarities between a divine son who rose from the dead.
First- there ARE NOT 25 or so stories like this- with 12 disciples- raised on the 3rd day- and so on.
The producer of the doc was simply mislead- or outright lying.
2nd.
We must remember that anything we find in Greek culture- which predated Christian ‘culture’ was also predated by Jewish culture.
That is to say that the story of Judaism comes before the Greek philosophers.
Are there any themes in the Jewish religion that speak about a Messiah who would come- die- and be the Messiah of all mankind?
Yes!
So- you could argue that any similarities between Greek myth- and Christianity- are actually ‘copies’ taken from the Old Testament story.
That is- God himself gave us clues about the story of redemption- and these clues might have very well ‘seeped’ into the Greek culture- before Christ- and that’s why you might find similarities between the 2.
See?
Okay- I could go on- but I think I made the point.
I was not mad that these documentaries were on net flix.
But I saw the danger in presenting one side like this- without giving the other view [which I just gave].
All in all- the Christian faith has more historical backing [like the many thousands of bible manuscripts that survived the early days] than any other religion or writings of any kind.
The documentaries made a couple of good points- things that were indeed true- but they had way too much mis information in them to be playing on such a huge venue.
Buyer [or watcher] beware!
http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com
Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read
ATHEISM- APOLOGETICS [links added- long version]
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/18/history-of-everything-1/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/history-of-everything-2/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/qm/
MY RADIO LINKS-
http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-7R Kant, Hume, Sartre
http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-6E Apologetics- Kant, Hume
http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-62 Apologetics
http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-6F DaVinci code
http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-7Q Something from nothing- Quantum Leap
http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-7O Multiverse
MY VIDEOS
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/10-18-15-nietzsches-twilight-of-the-idols.zip
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/10-28-15-jean-paul-sartre.zip
On today’s video- I attempted the impossible- to tell the story of ‘everything’ in 1 hour.
Ok I bit off more than I could chew.
It took 2 hours [the next video ‘history of the world- part 2’ will finish it].
But- to sum up today’s video.
Is the biblical account of creation accurate?
We read that God made everything- by speaking.
Is this even possible- or some silly fable?
Over the history of time we read the story of the Jewish people- their trials and failures.
That’s the majority of the history of the Old Testament.
They believed the story in Genesis- while others questioned whether or not all things actually had a beginning point.
In time- we see the rise of the Greek philosophers- during what we call the intertestamental period [the 400 years between Malachi and Matthew].
These thinkers were looking for the answer to these questions- and the Greek word they used to describe this answer- was LOGOS- which is the Geek word- for WORD.
Then we had the appearing of Christ in the 1st century- and the apostle John calls him the LOGOS.
Hmm?
That’s the same word that the Greeks were looking for- John says ‘we have found him’.
Remember- this is Jesus Christ- the living Word.
Ok- over time we had the great movements of history- the Renaissance- the Reformation- the Enlightenment- the scientific revolution- the industrial revolution.
Most scientists believed that all creation was eternal- so- for them- the answer to ‘everything’ was- it was always there.
In the 20th century we had the great breakthroughs of Einstein- and we call one of them the Big Bang theory- meaning- all things did not always exist.
They had a beginning point- which we call the point of singularity.
Ahh- now we are back to ‘where did it all come from- if at the start- there was nothing’.
Yes- ‘In the beginning God spoke’.
So- at the end of the story- of everything- we find the answer at the beginning.
In the beginning God spoke-Yes- the early followers of Jesus called him by this name- THE WORD.
And science and logic show us that all events need a cause [even the ‘event’ of creation].
So- this history of the world- recorded in the scripture- was true all along!
Surprised?
1946 JEWS TEACHING SCIENCE- WHAT IS THIS?
I want to try and cover a little bit more on Einstein.
But just a few quick notes.
The last few days- as I have watched some of the post election coverage- I find it funny how the ‘4th estate’ has tried to rise above their own ignorance.
This past year- as I have both read- viewed- listened to many media sources- all sides of the various debates that go on in the country.
There was a conscious decision made- by some on the left- to ‘suppress the vote’.
What?
I thought it was the Repubs that were trying to do this?
Yes- there were efforts made- whether noble or not- to suppress some of the minority vote [noble – some say they were just trying to stop voter fraud- others said they were trying to suppress the minority vote].
But- how did the left do this?
Once again- yes- hailing from the great state of N.J. [ the headquarters of many media outlets- it is sad that the most grievous offenders come from my hometown area! – Fort Lee- Secaucus- spots right where I grew up].
MSNBC spent an entire year mocking the faith of Romney.
I saw Martin Bashir- actually say- on air- that Christians should not vote for Romney because he denies the Trinity.
Can you imagine him saying this about a Muslim candidate?
Chris Matthews- he spoke about Romney and his religion as weird- a cult- and other interesting terms [Matthews says he was taken out of context- but simply using the word accomplishes the task].
Now- after a year of this- it is true that some White evangelicals [their target audience of suppression] did indeed not vote for Romney.
In media lingo they call this ‘failed to get out his base- the White vote’.
Mission accomplished.
They see what they did as a noble cause- a good thing.
When you convince yourself that those who don’t embrace your ideas are racist nuts- then it justifies this double standard.
There was an article on Hillary Clinton seeing the Broadway play the Book of Mormon [yeah- Bloomberg manages to keep the lights on Broadway on- but watch out if you’re from Staten island or the Rockaway’s!]
When she came out of the theater she said it was so funny- she couldn’t stop laughing.
What was she laughing at?
The play is an open mockery of the Mormon faith.
Yet- this same state dept official- she was outraged over the release of some on line movie clip that depicted the prophet Muhammad in a negative light.
They just sentenced the maker of the movie to a year in jail- over some probation thing.
Yes- that’s the double standard of the media- politicians- it is quite obvious.
Okay- Einstein.
As I read a few chapters every few days- I want to comment on the important- relevant stuff.
One of them being the very word Relativity.
Now- I am tempted to go back and review all the posts we did on physics [you long time blog readers might remember?].
But this book is not a physics book per se’- but a biography.
Yet a quick review might help.
Einstein became famous for a few things- most of us know the famous equation E=mc2.
Simply a conversion of mass into energy formula- it works for all things- not just Nuclear.
His theory of Relativity shook up the world of physics- and Einstein is indeed the father of what we call modern physics [and Quantum theory].
Okay- what he did was he took the centuries old ideas of Newton [the father of classical physics] and he said that time and space were not absolutes.
That’s is- that depending on the observer [and his speed] time actually changes.
Some in the scientific community could not fathom what he was saying.
The book has actual headlines from the NY times- they openly doubted some of Einstein’s work
I remember reading this years ago- but this time I saw the real headlines.
They said stuff like ‘what is this new theory- that space might be limited- this defies the actual definition of space’.
Now- it would take too long to tell you what they were covering- but it is one of the various theories of the universe.
In actuality- the times might have been right in this one case [it’s a theory that the universe is curved- has no detectable edge- if so- you can than argue for an infinite universe in a closed space- because there is no edge- or end].
As a side note- logically- the times was correct.
Just because you can’t find a ‘sharp edge’ to a thing- that does not mean the thing is ‘endless’.
I covered this years ago in our apologetics posts- it was interesting to have re –read this from this author [Isaacson].
He is a good author- and explains stuff well.
Okay what was the other stuff that some objected to?
Some associated- wrongly- the theory of Relativity- with the modernist philosophy called Relativism.
Relativism [remember the philosophy stuff?] said that there was really nothing as objective truth- that what you see might be just as true as what someone else sees.
You might both be looking at the same thing [morally- murder- etc.] yet to one it might be wrong- to the other- right.
This idea- Relativism- was strongly rejected by many philosophers- especially those with a Christians/Theist background.
Even today this is one of the major debates going on in the world of the philosophy.
But- some confused what Einstein was saying- and they thought [or used it] to back up the ‘moral’ philosophy of Relativism.
This was a mistake.
Einstein himself- as I mentioned in an earlier post- was not a relativist at all- that is when speaking about moral absolutes.
So some began to associate him- as one of the new ‘Jew’ scientists- who were introducing dangerous doctrines to the world.
Yes- some of the objectors to Einstein objected on the basis of this new ‘Jewish science’ that was breaking away from the moors of Christian science- whose father was Isaac Newton.
See how both anti Semitism- and religious belief played a role in this?
I’ll end with a quote from a famous man of the time- an up and coming politician- I mean he could awe his audience like no other.
Obama- Clinton- even the great communicator- Reagan- were no match for this man when it came to giving a speech.
He said ‘Science- once our greatest pride- is today being taught by Hebrews’.
Who said this?
The future leader of Germany- Adolph Hitler.
http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com
Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] – I have posted lots.
1942 POLITICS AND EINSTEIN
Let’s start with the big story of the day.
The election.
Just a few things before I get back to Einstein.
As I have followed the news on this- over the past few weeks there has been some question on whether or not the media have manipulated any of the numbers.
How?
Going in to today’s election- if the media are correct- Obama will no doubt win.
Why?
They have shown polls that have the president winning in enough states [battle ground states] that he should win
[parts]
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/romans-updated-2015/
JOHNS GOSPEL
LINKS-
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/14/amos-5/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/15/jesus-christ/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/17/father-abraham/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/the-flood/ John 3
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/the-well-john-4/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/john-5/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/05/john-6/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/09/john-7/
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/8-10-15-john-14.zip
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/john-8/
https://youtu.be/f8VpxlYM_kU John 8- ‘who the Son sets free’
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/john-9/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/31/john-10/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/05/john-11-the-8th-sign/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/10/i-found-a-verse/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/13/john-12/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/19/samuel-john-hebrews-review/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/22/john-13/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/26/john-14/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/john-15/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/09/15/john-16/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/09/24/john-17/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/john-18/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/john-19/
I give an example on recovery/relapse on today’s video- here’s my teaching-
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/christian-recovery-from-addiction-long-version/
VERSES-
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Rom.5:10
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. Col. 1:18
John 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
John 20:2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
John 20:3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
John 20:4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
John 20:5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
John 20:6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
John 20:7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
John 20:8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
John 20:9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
John 20:10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
John 20:11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
John 20:12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
John 20:13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my LORD, and I know not where they have laid him.
John 20:14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
John 20:15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
John 20:16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
John 20:18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the LORD, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
John 20:20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD.
John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
John 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
John 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
John 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.
John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Ps.16:10
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Acts 2
55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.
56 But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.
57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.
59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.
60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Luke
1Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Corinthians 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2dn Cor. 5:21
http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg
https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts
https://vimeo.com/user37400385
john chiarello
POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ NOVEMBER 30, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT
EPHESIANS- INTRO- CHAPTER 1
Ephesians 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Ephesians 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Ephesians 1- Intro.
https://ccoutreach87.com/11-21-17-ephesians-intro-chapter-1/
https://ccoutreach87.com/11-21-17-ephesians-intro-chapter-1-2/
ON VIDEO-
.Butterfly
.Background on the city of Ephesus
.Sovereignty
.Paul’s prayer
.Plymouth Rock
.Mayflower
.Jamestown
.Puritans
.Reformation
.Church of England
.Some history of the Puritans and their rejection of the Church of England [Anglican] keeping some of the High Church practices of the Catholic Church
NEW- [Notes- corrections? Below]
Intro- Ephesus was the capitol city of the Roman province of Asia- it was one of the top cities of the day [Like Rome- Corinth- Alexandria- etc].
It was a major commercial center because of a port to the Aegean sea- [Now silted up]
And if you remember my Acts study- the famous temple of Diana was located there- which was considered to be one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/09/acts-19/
Paul spent more than 2 years there and he probably penned this letter while sitting in jail at Rome [House arrest]
I actually just covered the history of this in my study on the book of Acts- so I thought it fitting to now start a new study on the letter the apostle wrote to this Christian community.
Chapter 1-
Paul begins the letter acknowledging God’s sovereignty in his own calling-
Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
His own conversion was an example of God’s choice- God converted Paul that day on the Damascus road- when Paul was on the way to persecute Christians- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/18/acts-9/
So his own experience is seeing God picking him- not based on his [Paul’s] own choice-
And Paul reminds the believers that is the same choice of God that picked them as well-
Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
The doctrine of predestination is clearly taught in this passage-
It has been a hotly debated doctrine thru out the history of the church-
But it is simply stated in the above passage- God chose us to become his children- before the world was made.
Yet- the purpose of God is greater than us- people in time- who have believed-
God’s greater purpose is reconciling all creation to himself thru Christ- who was/is the eternal Logos who himself made all things-
Ephesians 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Ephesians 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one ALL THINGS in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Paul also speaks of this redemption of creation in his letter to the Romans- https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ [see chapter 8]
The scope of what God has done in Christ is difficult to grasp at the start- and the apostle prays that their spiritual eyes might be able to see the bigger picture-
Ephesians 1:15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
Ephesians 1:16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
Ephesians 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Ephesians 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Ephesians 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
The raising of Jesus from the dead and his ascension to the right hand of the throne of God shows us that ultimate rule and authority are now exercised in the kingdom of God-
A kingdom that is above all others-
Ephesians 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
This authority given to Jesus Christ has also been delegated to us- the body of Christ-
We are the community of people where the Spirit of God resides- Jesus being the head of the church- we being the Body- and all things having been put under his feet- speaks of all authorities being subjected to the Body as well- who we are-
Ephesians 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Ephesians 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
All of these great mysteries have come to pass- because these things are planned by the counsel of God himself-
Ephesians 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
The power given to the church is an enormous responsibility- the gift of the wisdom of God to enter into these realities also comes with a balance- a discretion-
Ephesians 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
All of these things were made possible only thru the obedient act of the Son who went to the Cross to redeem us-
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Phil 2-
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
The death of Christ for the sins of man positions those who believe to stand blameless before the throne-
Ephesians 1:4
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
As we walk before him in love- seeing the grace and peace that has come to us as a free gift- we then can become change agents in the world-
A world that is destined to be redeemed as well- a creation that looks forward to the final day of the redemption of all things-
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
NOTES [corrections?]- On this video I talked ‘off the cuff’ about the Puritans- the Mayflower- etc.
Then a day or so later I watched a history special on PBS-
Sure enough- I figured I better make a few corrections-
They said the date for the Mayflower was 1630- but I just checked- I was right- I said the date was 1620- here’s a link http://www.history.com/topics/mayflower
The PBS documentary also seemed to say William Bradford was not the governor of Plymouth colony [actually- they did not mention Bradford at all- but spoke of the whole story of the founding of Plymouth colony]-
So- I thought I was wrong on Bradford too- because I mentioned him as one of the original founders- and the governor-
But as I just checked- I got that right too- http://www.history.com/topics/william-bradford
I have written on Plymouth rock in the past- and will try and find those notes and add them below.
I don’t mean to say ‘see- I was right’ – I actually was upset when I watched the PBS show- because I thought I was wrong on a lot of stuff- and that’s why I started ‘correcting’ the post right now.
Then found the above links.
It simply shows us to fact check stuff- use more than one source.
It is also frustrating because when I added one of the above links- I had to delete it and add it again- and it deleted all the notes I just wrote!
And you are now re-reading the 2nd version.
So yes- doing this takes time- takes checking- and sometimes it’s nice to see you did get it right- the first time around.
To be fair- PBS is usually a reliable source- and I didn’t watch the whole documentary- I fell asleep while watching it- thinking ‘Geez- I will have to correct my post’-
We live in a day where we talk about ‘fake news’ we see bias in all the media- whether they mean to do it or not.
On the video I talked about the Puritans to show how their faith in God was THEE determining factor to sail the Mayflower and come to the new world.
It’s also possible that some documentaries want to down play the whole aspect of God and the founding of the country.
William Bradford was brought up in a Puritan home- his faith was the key reason he- and the others- sailed to America.
If you read the founding documents [Mayflower Compact and others] you clearly see this- https://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/mayflower-and-mayflower-compact
But the whole debate about the so called ‘separation of Church and state’- the establishment clause- comes into question when you see the actual writings of the founding fathers.
And these might be reasons that good news outlets shy away from certain facts-
Not that they are ‘wrong’ on their coverage [though they are at times] but that they might simply overlook the importance that certain people played in the actual stories of history.
PAST POSTS-
Did a quick search of my past posts- here are a few where Plymouth Rock showed up in the text-
https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/04/27/stuff-2016/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/05/17/gideon/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/06/26/history-of-everything-3/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/12/28/samuel-revelation-kingdoms/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/18/kings-9/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/18/acts-9/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/22/acts-28/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/09/acts-19/
https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/
https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/
https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/23/wednesday-5/
https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/
You might find some past teaching on the Puritans in these- I obviously do not re- read my past posts- I just try and copy the ones I think are relevant to each teaching post-
[past stuff I taught]
I mentioned our Revolutionary war- below are my past teachings that relate-
I have taught in the past how some of our Founding Fathers were influenced- heavily- by Enlightenment thinking.
Thomas Jefferson is the best example.
Why is this important?
On my previous post [Plymouth Rock] I tried to show the role that religion played in the founding of our country.
Yet- at the time of the Continental congress [The first meeting was in 1774- the 2nd was in 75. The Declaration was approved in 1776] some of our founding fathers were leaning towards Deism [Ben Franklin- etc.] and the wording of the Declaration of Independence [below] was written more along the lines of Enlightenment thinking [also strong influence from the writing of John Locke].
The phrase ‘we hold these truths to be SELF EVIDENT’ was indeed a contrast from the traditional view of the church.
Believers do indeed believe in ‘self-evident’ truths [Romans1-2] but in context- this term challenged the historic thinkers of the church.
I add this to simply show that Thomas Jefferson [who wrote the Declaration- at the young age of 33] added language that was in a sense- a ‘compromise’.
John Adams- Jefferson’s colleague in the congress- would later be challenged in a presidential run by Jefferson.
The accusations flew- and Adams supporters said the beliefs of Jefferson would be the downfall of Christianity in America!
Why did they make this accusation?
Because the Enlightenment thinkers were indeed challenging some of the core beliefs of Christianity in the 18th century.
Jefferson spent 5 years in France- right at the time of French Revolution [remember the post I did recently on it?].
The French Revolution was indeed a ‘revolution’ against the church in a way.
Many Americans in the colonies were shocked by the bloodshed of the French Revolution.
Yet Jefferson sided with it- and even wrote in support of some American merchants who were rebelling against paying their debts here in America.
This outraged John Adams.
Eventually Jefferson would serve on the cabinet under President Washington- and he would conflict with Alexander Hamilton over the direction of our New Republic.
Jefferson felt that Hamilton wanted to give too much power to the Federal govt. [Federalism]
Eventually Adams and Jefferson would be on opposing sides- of just about everything!
Adams was a good friend of Jefferson during the continental congress in Philadelphia.
Jefferson was the representative from Virginia- he was not an eloquent speaker- but he gained the respect of the other representatives.
He was seen to be a hard worker-
When the drafting of the Declaration came up- Benjamin Franklin turned down the job- and it was given to Adams and Jefferson.
Jefferson wanted Adams to do it- yet Adams [Jefferson’s senior] recognized the great skills of his younger colleague-
And Jefferson went to work.
Yet their friendship was strained over the years- and at the end of their lives they became friends again.
Jefferson would become the 3rd president of the U.S.
And his legacy remains with us today.
It has been said that our country is founded upon a Creed-
We- as Americans- give our assent to a creed.
And that creed- was penned By Thomas Jefferson.
A preacher stopped at a tavern [Inn] In Virginia for the night.
The story goes that he spoke with a stranger while there- they talked about mechanics- and the minister thought the man was an engineer.
They then spoke on various subjects- and the preacher saw the stranger was knowledgeable in many fields.
They finally spoke about religion- and the minister thought ‘he must be a preacher too’.
The next day he asked who the man was- it was Thomas Jefferson.
How did Jefferson gain all this knowledge?
At the age of 6- he was reading the books from his father’s library.
He learned Latin and Greek- on his own.
His dad died when Jefferson was 14.
He eventually went to the college of William and Mary- and became a dedicated student.
It was said that 15 hours out of every 24- he was reading/studying.
Jefferson kept this up throughout his life.
He had a large library at Monticello- his home on a mountain in Virginia.
One of his slaves [yes- slaves] said whenever someone had some question- Jefferson was well able to answer the question- and refer to one of his many books.
Jefferson was the 2nd largest slave holder in his county- owning more than 200 hundred slaves at one time.
Yet- he tried to enact legislation to outlaw slavery.
He even added some language at the continental congress about it.
The other representatives from the 13 colonies rejected it.
He also tried to pass laws in Virginia against slavery.
Yet he himself had them- how could this be?
It even violated his own words in the Declaration ‘All men are created equal’.
Many historians differ on why/how this could be.
In the end- Jefferson was like all of us- he was able to articulate noble ideas- yet he himself struggled to fully live up to them.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson- Declaration of Independence.
[PARTS]
PLYMOUTH ROCK
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/1-9-16-plymouth-rock.zip
https://youtu.be/DyDv5n6U-3o Plymouth Rock
ON VIDEO-
.God’s choice
.Mayflower
.John Robinson
.Scrooby believers
.William Bradford
.Objections
.All creation waits
.John Locke
.King James [bible]
.Puritans
.Geneva bible 1st
.Virginia colony- 1607
.Plymouth- 1620
.Cape Cod
[Past posts- verses below]
NEW STUFF- As I cover some history from the 16th/17th centuries- a significant event came from the religious controversy over the Puritans [separatists] disagreement with the Church of England.
After the death of queen Elizabeth of England- she had no direct heir to the throne- and the son of Mary- queen of Scots- became the new king of England.
James the 1st took the crown- and the Puritans had hoped that he would compromise with them.
They disagreed with the role of Bishops in the church and other ‘Catholic’ beliefs.
Though England broke from Rome- it was mainly in the area of the papacy- they were in reality a ‘Catholic’ church- with no pope [or the King of England replaced the Pope].
So- the Puritans wanted more reform- sort of like what was taking place in Germany under Martin Luther.
But James rejected the appeals of the Puritans- and gave them only one request- a new English version of the bible.
The King James Version [1611] became the favorite bible for Protestants for many years [even till this day].
Yet- it was actually not the ‘original’ Protestant bible.
The first one was the Geneva bible- put together by the reformers.
So- some of the Puritans who had already started their own churches [one in Scrooby England] fled England- and went to Holland.
The pastor of the Scrooby church- John Robinson- stayed in the Netherlands for a few years, but then decided to go back to England.
In 1620- they agreed to leave England once again- and sail to the ‘new world’.
The English already established a colony in Virginia in 1607- and their goal was to arrive in Virginia and hopefully have the freedom to worship God according to their conscience.
They left on the Mayflower- with some other merchants and adventurers.
It was a daring journey to say the least.
And instead of landing in Virginia- because of bad weather- they hit Cape Cod instead.
Before coming ashore- they made a ‘deal’- called the Mayflower Compact.
It was a sort of Democratic agreement that would govern the new colony.
The new colony was founded in what is now called Plymouth Massachusetts.
William Bradford became the governor of the new colony- and was only a teen when he first left England with the Scrooby believers.
The area in England where they left from- was called Plymouth [Devon- North England].
So the new colony was named Plymouth.
PAST POSTS-
. JOHN LOCKE-
Locke taught that each man has individual rights- and he empowers government- an elected designated body- to have rule-
[parts]
AN UNJUST LAW
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/4-20-16-an-unjust-law-is-no-law-at-all.zip
https://youtu.be/oQMmaWERTYk An unjust law is no law at all
ON VIDEO-
.MLK
.Kennedy
.Andrew Snowden
.USSR
.Saudi Arabia
.911 hijackers- who were they?
.Release the 28 pages
.Dow 18,000- sell! [remember- the video was made last week]
.Iran- Yemen- Libya- Ukraine- Russia
.How did we bail out the banks again?
.NATO
.Cuban Missile crisis
.Did Russia have the right to fly over our ship in Baltic Sea?
.War Games
.Water Gate- Nixon
POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ NOVEMBER 22, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT
ACTS 28- [Conclusion of the Act’s study]
Isaiah 25:7
And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Acts 28- https://youtu.be/JNtaYP1cqEs
https://ccoutreach87.com/11-14-17-acts-28-concl/
https://ccoutreach87.com/11-14-17-acts-28-concl-2/
ON VIDEO-
.Stranded on the island
.Melita [Malta] founded by the Phoenicians around 1000 BC
.Paul gets bitten by a snake
.The ‘natives’ think he is being judged
.Then when he doesn’t fall down sick and die-
.They think he is a ‘god’ [Fickle]
.Where did these ‘natives’ get the concept of justice? [natural law theory is true]
.Paul functions in the gift of healing
.The ship he takes to Rome has the names ‘Castor and Pollux’- who were they?
.The mythical sons of Zeus
.Paul at Rome
.He makes his case to the Jews
.Some believe- some don’t
Note- when we study church history we realize there was already a church [believers] at Rome before Paul got there
.So we often teach that Paul was not responsible for the church at Rome
.Yet here we see he did introduce some Roman Jews to Jesus- so he certainly played a role
.Paul quotes from Isaiah 6- which in a way sums up the last half of the book of Acts [see my teaching below]
.Nero
After thoughts-
.Would you go to hell to save the world?
.A talk I had with a homeless friend
.Do we live with a self preservation mentality?
.Are our churches centered around this mentality?
.Your purpose is to fulfil the mission- even if it does not ‘save’ you [The Cross]
.A polarized nation- our times
.Yet- their is a redeemer- Jesus God’s own Son
NEW- As we end the Acts study- I’ll add my past teaching below- and just mention a few things.
The last few chapters was the lead up to the climax- Paul was going to Rome to appeal his case to Nero-
His accusers have been on his trail the whole time-
And as he arrives in Rome- he calls together the Jews to present his case first to them.
He figured they heard all the rumors about him- and wanted to make a defense.
As it turned out- they were not aware of all the stuff he was going thru.
So he presents the gospel to them- some believe- others do not-
Then he quotes one passage out of Isaiah 6-
Acts 28:25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
Acts 28:26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
Acts 28:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Acts 28:28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
It’s interesting- because the whole chapter of Isaiah 6 [posted below in the verses section] sort of sums up Paul’s whole experience in the last half of the book of Acts.
He has been going from city to city- desperately trying to persuade his fellow Jews that Jesus is indeed the Christ- the anointed one- the promise that they have been waiting for.
And in this excitement of the reality that they were living in the time when the promise made to their father’s thru the prophets- has now been fulfilled-
Yet- he is dumbfounded that his fellow Jewish brothers refuse to believe it!
And that sums up the chapter of Isaiah 6-
God called the prophet to go and preach to his fellow Jews-
Yet it was thru this preaching of Isaiah that their hearts would be hardened- and they would not believe-
Isaiah even asks God how long will this go on- God says until he makes a full end.
Isaiah 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isaiah 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Isaiah 6:11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Yet- there is still the promise of the remnant- which Paul himself speaks about in his letter to the Romans-
Romans 11:5
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Paul even quotes out of Isaiah again-
Romans 9:27
Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
And God also speaks about the remnant to Isaiah-
Isaiah 6:13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
Meaning there would be a period of time in the history of God’s dealings with the Jewish people- and during this period of time- there will always be a small group of Jews who believe.
And in the fullness of time- they will embrace Jesus as their messiah as a whole nation of people.
There are many verses on this- but that is indeed what the bible teaches.
So the process- in the frustration of a Paul- or Isaiah- or any one carrying the message to people who initially do not receive it-
Is the promise that there are indeed some who are listening- some who are seeing what’s going on-
and this remnant will have an impact on others as well.
The preaching of the gospel- the setting forth of the message of Christ- in the day we live in- it’s not always embraced at the start.
Sure- some have turned the message into a self help type thing- others have focused the message on material gain- https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/
These messages do gain a following- because they appeal to the base nature of man-
But the message of the Gospel- and the teachings of Jesus- are not about popularity-
The message of the Cross is about sacrificing the temporary things of this life- to fulfill a greater purpose in God.
Paul will go on to preach the gospel- the chapter [Acts 28] ends with Paul still waiting to appear before Nero.
Yet later on in the letters of Paul we see that he more than likely was released from jail- and possibly even made it all the way to Spain [There is a tradition that says this- from the writings of Clement]
Paul sat in Rome from ad 60 to 62-
Then was released- did some more missionary work- then probably rearrested and executed around ad 67.
Nero set fire to Rome in ad 64- he blamed it on the Christians- and a great persecution of the saints took place.
Paul finished his mission- he preached the gospel of Jesus and went thru much difficulty in his life-
We continue to study his letters today- and the message he spoke- and wrote about- is still going strong.
Yes- I guess you could say the small remnant has now become a multitude of people- too many to number-
Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Revelation 7:10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Revelation 7:11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
Revelation 7:12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
PAST POSTS- [Verses below]
ACTS-
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/15/tuesday-5/ %5BI made this post the same day of the Acts 28 video]
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/19/sunday-sermon-15/
https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/23/acts-5/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/31/acts-6/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/06/acts-7/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/14/acts-8/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/18/acts-9/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/07/acts-10/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/16/acts-11/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/22/acts-12/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/01/acts-13/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/14/acts-14/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/03/acts-15/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/07/acts-16/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/27/acts-17/
http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2017/08/acts-18-acts-1828-for-he-mightily.html
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/09/acts-19/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/20/acts-20/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/09/04/acts-21/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/09/20/acts-22-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/04/redo-acts-23-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/08/acts-24-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/14/acts-25-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/29/acts-26-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/06/acts-27/
(766)ACTS 28- After the shipwreck they wind up on an island called Melita. Paul meets the barbarous people and they welcome him. During a bon fire type thing, Paul is collecting wood and a poisonous snake bites him. The people think ‘surely this man is a murderer and ‘vengeance’ got him!’ Notice the fact that moral/natural law was imbedded in the consciences of these savage like people. Where in the world did they come up with such an idea of right and wrong and justice? The atheists say ‘well, all people simply come up with some type of code to live by. This is really not proof for moral law’. The Christian answers ‘so how come you never find some isolated tribe who rewards murder and punishes goodness’! Now, I realize there are distant tribes who practice violent stuff. The point is in all of these societies, there is a basic right and wrong that is honored. If the tribe is violent, they still don’t reward the cowardly killing of one of their own kids! These savages had the built in conscience of moral law that Paul teaches in Romans. Now after Paul doesn’t get sick or die from the bite, they ‘change their minds’ and say he is a god! People are fickle. Paul heals the father of the chief of the island, a small healing revival breaks out. Paul demonstrates the power of the gospel in word and deed. Even today, in many 3rd world countries you see healings and miraculous signs along with the preaching of the gospel. They launch off and land in a few more spots and finally make it to Rome! Paul calls the Jewish leaders and makes his familiar defense. He lists the accusations against him and defends himself. He thought the whole Jewish world knew about the gossip! The leaders tell him ‘we haven’t heard any stuff about you, but tell us more about this sect’. Leaders, don’t make the mistake of defending yourself over personal stuff from the pulpit! Often time’s people don’t know what you are talking about. Paul does set up a day and teaches the Jews in Rome from morning till evening showing them all the scriptures that testify of Jesus in the Law of Moses and the prophets. He ‘testified of the Kingdom of God and Christ’ [they go hand in hand!] Some Jews believe, others don’t. Paul then quotes the most quoted verse from the Old Testament in the New Testament ‘Isaiah was right about you! Having eyes you can’t see, ears you can’t hear…’ Luke ends the chapter [and book] with Paul living 2 years in a rented room and preaching the kingdom of God to all who will listen. Paul finished his days infecting the capitol city of the empire with the gospel! Church history tells us that Paul [and Peter] were martyred under Nero’s persecution. John [the apostle] writes about the beast making war against the saints and killing them. No wonder why the early church called Nero ‘the beast’. Paul writes one of his best letters to the Roman saints and the church will forever have an ‘eternal witness’ in the city of Rome. Paul got his wish.
(767)ACTS CONCLUSION- As we finish our study in Acts, I want to review a few things. The ‘church’ [ecclesia] as seen in Acts are without a doubt ‘organic’ this term describes the community of people in the various locations who believed the message of the Messiah. These people were not establishing ‘church meetings at the church on Sunday’ to compete with the Jewish meetings at the synagogues on Saturday. The transition from the old law into the new covenant was not only one of a change in message [law versus grace] but also a transition from shadows to reality. All the ways of worship and ‘liturgical’ form were part of the old law. The temple and priest and altar were important types and symbols of what was to come. But in the New Testament communities these ideas of physical worship changed. The actual praise of Gods people and doing good deeds will become the sacrifices that God is well pleased with [New Testament]. The Lords meal was actually a meal! The gathering on the first day of the week became a good tradition in memory of Christ’s resurrection. But as time went on many well meaning believers would return to the symbols and incorporate them into their worship. The church would be seen as the ‘church house’ the altar would be seen as a real place upon which the ‘bloodless sacrifice’ [Eucharist] would be re offered again for the sins of the world. The priest would be seen as having special powers given to him by Jesus, that during the mass the host becomes Jesus flesh and blood and as the people ‘eat’ him they are partaking, literally, of Jesus flesh and blood. Now, are all these believers wrong? Should we see the development of sacramental theology as pagan? I personally don’t think so. I prefer to view the changes that took place in the church as part of a process of Gods people grappling with doctrines and beliefs while at the same time struggling to maintain unity as the centuries progressed [I am not making excuses for wrong doctrine, I think well meaning church fathers grasped wrong ideas out of a fear of loosing their identity. The idea of a strong magesterium [teaching authority] gave room for wrong doctrines to become firmly entrenched in the collective mind of the early church]. For the first 1000 years of Christianity the people of God were primarily seen as Catholic. In 1054 the official split between eastern and western Christianity will take place. Another 500 years until the Catholic Church split again [1517]. The host of churches that came out of the Protestant Reformation are too innumerable to mention. Should we view all of these groups as deceived religionists? Of course not. Do we find a pattern in Acts that would allow us to trace ‘the true group’ and lay claim to being the most authentic? I don’t believe so. But as all the people of God strive for the unity that we actually posses in Christ, we have the great resource of the church fathers, the wisdom and insights of the reformers. The heritage of the outgrowth of the restorationist movements. The excitement of the Puritans as they launched out to found a new world free from religious persecution. If it weren’t for the strong institutional church we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to have even had a Luther [Wittenberg] Calvin [first Paris then Geneva] or Zwingli [Zurich]! Or the ‘pre reformers’ Wycliffe, Huss and Knox. These men were products of Catholic higher learning! It was the reality of Catholic institutional Christianity that allowed for these men to be trumpets of truth in their day! The university cities that they taught in as Catholic priests allowed for their influence to spread far and wide. In each generation of believers you have had Gods people progress so far and leave us with great treasures that were intended to be passed on to future generations If we severe ourselves from historic Christianity, then we lose the great gains that have been made in the centuries gone by! The book of Acts shows us the freedom of the people of God. ‘Where 2 or more are together in my name, I am in the midst’ isn’t some description of ‘local church’. As in if we copy the formulas of what happened in Acts [break bread, prayer, etc.] then you ‘have a church’. Jesus promise to be with us when we are together is the act of brotherhood. Surely we saw Jesus going along with the people of God all thru out Acts. The Spirit of God that indwelt them in chapter 2 was the promise that he would be with them. He legitimized them! Not some institution [‘local church’] that they were to start! So today all the people of God are striving to find a closer identity with each other as fellow believers in the Lord. I believe the book of Acts gives us a beautiful picture of the church in her infancy stage. I also believe the growth seen as we read Paul’s letters to these churches indicates the heart of God for his people to remain in grace. Paul warns the churches to not fall into the legalism of observing days and regulations and legalistic requirements. He wants them to live simply, free from sin and to be the people of God in society. Some branches of Christianity took hold of the strong ‘we are pilgrims’ view [which is true to a degree] and would separate from society. Not realizing we are pilgrims and strangers to the worlds system, but our Father is God of heaven and earth! We are here to impact this planet! So let’s run with the exciting message and revolutionary mindset that the early church possessed. They weren’t in this thing for what they could get out of it, they were really laying their lives down for the gospel. They were sharing their stuff with each other. They were loving God and their fellow man in ways that were uncommon for their time. It wasn’t only what they said that allowed them to ‘turn their world upside down’ it was who they were, the People of God.
VERSES-
Mark 16:18
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Luke 10:19
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Acts 28:1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.
Acts 28:2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
Acts 28:3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
Acts 28:4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
Acts 28:5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.
Acts 28:6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
Acts 28:7 In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.
Acts 28:8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.
Acts 28:9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:
Acts 28:10 Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.
Acts 28:11 And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux.
Acts 28:12 And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.
Acts 28:13 And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli:
Acts 28:14 Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome.
Acts 28:15 And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
Acts 28:16 And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.
Acts 28:17 And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.
Acts 28:18 Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me.
Acts 28:19 But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of.
Acts 28:20 For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.
Acts 28:21 And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee.
Acts 28:22 But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
Acts 28:23 And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.
Acts 28:24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
Acts 28:25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
Acts 28:26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
Acts 28:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Acts 28:28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
Acts 28:29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.
Acts 28:30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
Acts 28:31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
Isaiah 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isaiah 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isaiah 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
Isaiah 6:4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isaiah 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
Isaiah 6:6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
Isaiah 6:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Isaiah 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isaiah 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Isaiah 6:11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Isaiah 6:12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
Isaiah 6:13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
MY SITES
http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com %5BMain site%5D
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Acts 9
POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ APRIL 18, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT
ACTS 9 [Zechariah 1]
https://youtu.be/VBw6tOxifc4 Acts 9
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/4-13-17-acts-9-zech-1.zip
https://ccoutreach87.com/4-13-17-acts-9-zech-1/
4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.
5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.
6 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.
Zech. 8
ON VIDEO-
.Carnival
.Paul’s conversion
.Prophecy
.Spirit of poverty?
.Where do the gifts function?
.And why?
.Let’s kill Paul now!
.Solomon’s porch
.Peter heals
.And raises the dead
.Tabitha
.Resurrection
.Kingsville Record
. ‘Child says he saw the Lord’
NEW- Today I spoke on Acts 9- and at the end Zechariah chapter 1.
I’ll just copy my commentary on Acts 9 below and make a few brief notes on Zechariah.
I was reading about the 4 horns Zechariah saw in a vision- and he also saw 4 carpenters-
Zechariah 1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
Zechariah 1:20 And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.
The 4 horns- not horns you blow- but animal horns- represent kingdoms- earthly dominions that oppress the people of God.
The 4 carpenters were ‘builders’ of the kingdom- sent from God.
In the vision- these carpenters terrify the horns-
Zechariah 1:21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray [Terrify] them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
In the letter to the Ephesians we read about the ‘5-fold’ ministry-
Ephesians 4:11 [Full Chapter]
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Some see a 4-fold ministry- connecting the Pastor/Teacher as one office.
In short- the ministers of the Lord- they not only build up the people of God-
Ephesians 2:20
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
But they also have a prophetic aspect- that speaks truth to power.
In the Acts study- we actually see this play out.
If you go back and watch/read the posts on Act’s- you will see how the Apostles and believers were not only preaching Jesus- but they were telling those who crucified him ‘you are guilty of his murder’!
It seems strange for us in this day to see why they were doing this.
But the unjust death of Christ- thru the manipulation of the ‘horn’ of Rome by the Jews- was indeed an oppression carried out thru corrupt government.
And the early apostles were playing their ‘carpenter’ role as part of the 4- fold ministry.
I also noticed a dynamic I ‘accidentally’ spoke about a few weeks ago [Permanent Record post- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/26/i-did-this-one-for-your-benefit/ ]
I said there will be a day when we are dead- meaning both the messenger- and the one he is sent to give the message to-
We will all be dead someday- yet the words themselves will go on forever.
Sure enough that’s what God told the prophet-
Zechariah 1:5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
Zechariah 1:6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.
The Word of the Lord endures forever.
We still have the words of Peter- and Paul- and all the others who spoke the word of the Lord- who spoke truth to power.
Yet-Peter and Paul are not on the earth anymore- nor are the corrupt ‘horns’ they spoke to.
But the Words remain.
Yeah- just like Zechariah was told.
PAST POSTS [verses below]
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/14/moabdominions/
https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/
ACTS LINKS-
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/23/acts-5/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/31/acts-6/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/06/acts-7/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/14/acts-8/
VERSES-
1 Corinthians 9:1
Am I am not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Gal. 1
Acts 14:14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
Zechariah 1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
Zechariah 1:2 The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.
Zechariah 1:3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 1:4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.
Zechariah 1:5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
Zechariah 1:6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.
Zechariah 1:7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
Zechariah 1:8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.
Zechariah 1:9 Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.
Zechariah 1:10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
Zechariah 1:11 And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.
Zechariah 1:12 Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?
Zechariah 1:13 And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.
Zechariah 1:14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
Zechariah 1:15 And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
Zechariah 1:16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
Zechariah 1:17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
Zechariah 1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
Zechariah 1:19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
Zechariah 1:20 And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.
Zechariah 1:21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
Ephesians 4:11
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg
·1ST, 2ND CORINTHIANS
·1ST- 2ND SAMUEL
·1ST- 2ND SAMUEL [LINKS- UPDATED 3-17]
·1ST-2ND KINGS
·ABOUT
·ACTS
·ATHEISM- APOLOGETICS [LINKS ADDED]
·CHRISTIAN RECOVERY FROM ADDICTION [LONG VERSION]
·CLASSICS OF WESTERN LITERATURE
·DEUTERONOMY, JOSHUA
·EPHESIANS [HIGHLIGHTS]
·FURTHER TALKS ON CHURCH AND MINISTRY
·GALATIANS [LINKS]
·GALATIANS- JOHN’S GOSPEL
·GENESIS
·HAGGAI
·HEBREWS- UPDATED 2015
·HISTORICAL FIGURES FROM CHURCH HISTORY
·HOUSE OF PRAYER OR DEN OF THIEVES
·HURRICANE HARVEY
·INSIGHTS FROM A REVOLUTION
·ISLAM
·JAMES- 2015
·JOHN [COMPLETE- LINKS ADDED]
·JONAH [LINKS]
·JUDGES- RUTH [VIDEO LINKS INCLUDED]
·JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
·MARK [LINKS]
·MY BIBLE COMMENTARIES [OTHER LINKS]
·MY OTHER SITES
·N.J./NYC- 2017
·NEHEMIAH, ISAIAH
·NYC-NEW JERSEY TRIP- 2015
·OVERVIEW OF PHILOSOPHY
·OVERVIEW OF THE BIBLE
·PROTESTANT REFORMATION- LUTHER
·QM
·RADIO CATALOG
·RAPTURE- 2ND COMING- 2 EVENTS?
·ROMANS-UPDATED 2015
·RUSSIA- U.S.- WORLD EVENTS
·THE GREAT BUILDING OF GOD
·WESTERN INTELLECTUAL TRADITION
//
romans-updated 2015
ROMANS- 2015- VIDEO LINKS INCLUDED
ROMANS 1-3
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/2-3-15-romans-1-3.zip
.CHAPTER 8- FEW POINTS;
·Did God choose us to believe- or did we choose him?
·When Paul says ‘he makes our bodies alive’ is he only speaking about resurrection?
·Does God use difficulty- or is it to be rebuked?
·Was Paul a ‘hyper- Calvinist’?
(839)ROMAN 8:1-4 ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh [sinful nature] but after the Spirit [new nature]’. Now, having proved the reality of sin and guilt [chapter 7] Paul teaches that those who ‘are in Christ’ are free from condemnation. Why? Because they ‘walk according to the Spirit’ the ‘righteousness of the law is being fulfilled in them’. Having no condemnation isn’t simply a ‘legal function’ of declared righteousness, and Paul didn’t teach it that way! Paul is saying ‘all those who have believed in Jesus and have been legally justified [earlier arguments in chapters 3-4] are now walking [actually acting out] this new nature. Therefore [because you no longer walk according to the flesh] there is no condemnation’! This argument helps bridge the gap between Catholic and Protestant theology, part of the reason for the ongoing schism is over this understanding. After the Reformation the Catholic Church had a Counter Reformation council, the council of Trent. They dealt with a lot of the abuses of the Catholic Church, things that many Catholic leaders were complaining about before the Reformation. They did deal with some issues and reformed somewhat. To the dismay of the more ‘reform minded’ Catholics [with Protestant leanings] they still came down strong on most pre reform doctrines. This made it next to impossible for the schism to be healed. But one area of disagreement was over ‘legal’ versus ‘actual/experiential’ justification. The Catholic position was ‘God can’t declare/say a person is justified until they actually are’ [experientially]. The Protestant side [Luther] said ‘God does justify [legal declaration] a person by faith alone’. Like I taught before, both of these are true. The Catholic view of ‘justification’ is looking ahead towards a future reality [The same way James speaks of justification in a future sense- He uses the example from Genesis 22, when Abraham does a righteous act] while the Protestant view is focusing on the initial legal act of justification [Genesis 15]. Here Paul agrees with both views, he says ‘those who walk after the Spirit [actually living the changed life] have no condemnation’.

(840)ROMANS 8:5-13 Paul will teach the impossibility of the ‘carnal minds’ ability to submit to Gods law. Those who are ‘in the flesh’ [the unregenerate nature- not simply ‘in the body’. We will get into these distinctions in a minute] can’t submit to God. Society spends so much time and effort trying to get the ‘lost man’ to do what’s right. The prohibition movement [outlawing liquor], the increase in the severity of punishment for crimes dealing with drugs. Making the child kidnappers crime punishable by death. While all these laws are necessary and good [though some debate the wisdom of the kidnapper one, they think the kidnapper might just go ahead and kill the victim if the same punishment applies to both crimes] they have little effect on getting ‘the carnal man to submit’. Paul also says ‘if the Spirit of him who raised up Christ from the dead dwells in you, then he that raised up Christ from the dead shall quicken [make alive] your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you’. Let’s do a little teaching here. Most commentators see this as speaking of the promise of the resurrection ‘your mortal bodies’. I see this more in line with the context of chapter 7. The discussion of ‘mortal bodies’ [your actual body, the flesh- which is different than ‘the fleshly nature’ which refers to the sinful nature] speaks of your actual life now ‘let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies’. Also in verse 13 of this chapter the same theme is seen ‘if ye thru the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live’. I believe Paul is primarily saying ‘if you are in the Spirit [born of God] the Spirit of life will make alive your physical life in such a way that you will glorify God in your body and spirit, which are Gods’ [Corinthians]. Chapter 12 says your bodies are living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. Now later on in this chapter [8] we do see the resurrection, which is called ‘the redemption of the body’ [verse 23] so these two concepts work together. The fact that the believer is ‘training his mortal body’ for God [thru obedience] is sort of a precursor to the resurrection! Now, some believers confuse the resurrection of the body and the work of regeneration in ‘making you alive’ [Ephesians 2]. The work of regeneration brings your dead spirit back to life [born again] when you believe [which is a Divine imputation of faith at the moment of conversion, a sovereign act]. This ‘coming alive’ is purely spiritual. This qualifies you for the future physical resurrection of the body [Ephesians calls this the ‘down payment’, the ‘earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession’. The word ‘earnest’ here is used in the same way as ‘earnest money’ in a real estate transaction. The fact that we have been ‘sealed’ with the Holy Spirit is our ‘guarantee of future bodily resurrection’]. Bishop N.T. Wright, the bishop of Durham [the church of England- Durham is the 3rd most influential post in the Church of England. Canterbury is at the top] has recently written on the truths of the resurrection of the body. He is an excellent scholar, way way above my league. He has been instrumental in ‘re introducing’ the reality of Christ’s resurrection as well as our future resurrection as a very real Christian belief [and historic truth as well]. I have read some of Wrights stuff and am a little surprised at some of the ideas on ‘soul sleep’ and the immortality of the soul. Bishop Wright seems to side with some of the ideas that certain restorationist groups [7th day Adventists] espouse, that the Catholic Church kind of corrupted the ideas of heaven and the soul by being overly influenced by Greek thought. While it is possible for Bishop Wright to have come to his understanding entirely thru scripture and history, yet I felt it a little strange to see him make these arguments. For the most part I like brother Wright and totally agree with his stance on the future ‘new heavens and new earth’ as the final place of rest [as opposed to dying and going to heaven now, which is a temporary place] but there is the biblical reality of a present ‘heaven’ and this doesn’t only come from Greek thought. I have often used the Christian doctrine of the new heavens and new earth while speaking with the Jehovah’s witnesses, I always agree on the reality of a future kingdom on earth. I simply steer the conversation back to ‘who qualifies for it’ and get straight to the gospel. Well anyway we have a promise of a future resurrection, and also a ‘quickening of the body now’ [God actually using our physical life to glorify him]. These are both great truths!

(841)ROMANS 8: 14-18 ‘For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God’. Many of us are familiar with this verse [I hope!]. We often see it as saying ‘Gods direction in our lives is proof that we are Christians’ true enough. But in context ‘being led by Gods Spirit’ means living the new life thru Christ. The putting to death of the old man and being ‘made alive’ thru Christ is what this is saying. Paul agrees with John [1st John] ‘those that do what is right [led by the Spirit] are of God’. Paul says ‘we have received the Spirit and a natural result of this is crying “Abba, Father”. I don’t want to do too much here, but Paul sees the ‘confession’ and heart cry of the believer as proof, a result of being ‘a habitation of the Spirit’. A sign, if you will, of being born of God is confessing/ praying to the Father. Paul quoted David in chapter 4 ‘for this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found’ [Psalms 32- actually Paul quotes a different section from the Psalm, but this theme is consistent with Paul’s view]. Paul knew the reality of ‘the godly calling upon God’ they have an inner cry of ‘Abba, father’. ‘We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ’. For many years this has been a popular verse among many believers, often times it is used to say ‘God owns the cattle on a thousand hills’ [which he does] therefore if we are heirs ‘give me some cattle’! [stuff]. Here Paul uses this term in speaking of our identification with Christ’s sufferings. ‘If we suffer with him, we too shall share [joint heir!] in his glory’ [future glorification at the resurrection- we shall see him and be changed in a moment, at the twinkling of an eye. This mortal shall put on immortality]. It’s a symptom of modern American Christianity to view all these scriptures thru a materialistic lens, Paul held to the promise of a future reward [at the resurrection] that enabled him to go thru great difficulty and suffering in this present life. He counted the suffering as a privilege that he shared with Christ.

(843)ROMANS 8: 19-25 ‘the sufferings of this present time [are you ‘presently’ suffering?] are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us’. Paul compares the difficulty to the reward. The reward here is the future resurrection. Paul did not see suffering as ‘from the devil’ or the reward as something material [monetary stuff! The resurrection body will be ‘material’ – real]. Paul teaches that the whole creation is waiting for this day. Not only will we get a ‘makeover’ but there will be a new heaven and a new earth! The creation itself longs for this [almost as much as Al Gore!] This resurrection is called ‘the redemption of our body’. The next verse says ‘we are saved by hope’. John also says [1st John] that the future reality of the resurrection ‘causes us to be pure in this life’ [every one that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure]. Why? Because we know God has a purpose for our bodies as well as our spirits! The ‘getting saved by hope’ simply means the future hope of the resurrection ‘encourages’ us to live clean now. Once again ‘saved’ is a neutral term. In can apply to all sorts of things. I always found it funny how when you read certain commentaries, that you see the difficulty Christians have when coming across these types of verses. There’s a verse that says ‘the woman will be saved thru childbearing’ geez, you wouldn’t believe the difficulty some writers have when they come across this stuff. Some teach ‘she will be ‘saved’ thru the birth of a child [Jesus]’ and all sorts of stuff. I think if we simply changed the word ‘saved’ for ‘delivered’ [which are basically the same thing] that maybe this would help. But thank God that we have a future resurrection to look forward to, let this truth ‘deliver’ you from the temptation to think ‘what’s all this suffering worth, why even go thru it?’ Because we have a great promise at the other end!

(845)ROMANS 8:26-28 ‘Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities’ why does Paul say ‘likewise’? He is saying ‘not only does the future hope of the resurrection sustain us, but also Gods Spirit helps us’! He knows how to make intercession for us in ways that we cannot. I just finished an hour prayer time, not an ‘official’ intercession time [which I do a few times a week now]. But an ‘unofficial’ time where I try and hear what the Spirit is speaking. When you are ‘praying in the Spirit’ [which can include the charismatic expression of tongues] you are depending upon the Spirit to transcend your limited ability to articulate what needs to be said. ‘All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are ‘the called’ according to his purpose’. A very famous verse indeed. What does it mean? It means what it says! Over the years I have heard so many excuses for trying to get around difficult things. Why do the righteous suffer? Some taught it was because of their ignorance of scripture. Why did the things that happened to Job happen? Some said it was because he ‘feared’ that the things would happen [this group seems to miss the whole underlying reason for the book. Job’s friends are continually looking for a reason thru out the book. The point is, sometimes there is no reasonable explanation. I realize you can pick apart certain statements from Job and come up with ‘reasons’, but the meaning of the book is God is sovereign and we shouldn’t always think we can figure him out or ‘work the system’]. Here Paul says ‘whatever is happening to you right now [even very bad stuff!] will eventually work out for you benefit’. What about Hitler? Did he love God? I don’t believe so. This scripture says ‘to them that love God’. Your only responsibility thru the difficulty is to ‘love God’.

(846)ROMANS 8:29-30 ‘for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed into the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: whom he justified, them he also glorified’. Let’s talk a little. When I first became a Christian I began a lifelong study of scripture, where I continually read a certain amount of scripture every day for many years. Over the years I have varied on how fast I should read [that is how many chapters per day and so forth]. But during the early stages I always took these verses to teach predestination in the classical sense. Simply put, that God ‘pre chose’ me [and all whom come to him] before we ‘chose him’. The Fundamental Baptist church I began to attend [a great church with great people!] taught that ‘classic Calvinism’ [predestination] was false doctrine, and they labeled it ‘Hyper Calvinism’. I simply accepted this as fact. But I never forgot the early understanding that I first gleaned thru my own study. I also was very limited in my other readings outside of the scripture. I did study the Great awakenings and Charles Finney. I read some biographies on John Wesley and other great men of God. These men were not Calvinistic in their doctrine [which is fine], as a matter of fact Wesley would eventually disassociate from George Whitefield over this issue. Whitefield was a staunch Calvinist! Over time I came to believe the doctrine again, simply as I focused on the scriptures that teach it. Eventually I picked up some books on church history and realized that Calvinism was [and is] a mainstream belief among many great believers. I personally believe that most of the great theologians in history have accepted this doctrine. Now, for those who reject it, they honestly struggle with these portions of scripture. Just like there are portions of scripture that Calvinists struggle with. To deny this is to be less than honest. The Arminians [Those who deny classic predestination- the term comes from Jacob Arminias, a Calvinist who was writing and studying on the ‘errors’ of ‘arminianism’ and came to embrace the doctrine of free will/choice] usually approach the verses that say ‘he predestined us’ by teaching that Gods predestination speaks only of his foreknowledge of those who would choose him. This is an honest effort to come to terms with the doctrine. To be ‘more honest’ I think this doesn’t adequately deal with the issue. In the above text, as well as many other places in scripture, the idea of ‘Gods foreknowledge and pre choosing’ speak specifically about Gods choice to save us, as opposed to him simply knowing that we would ‘choose right’. The texts that teach predestination teach it in this context. Now the passage above does say ‘those whom he foreknew, he also did predestinate to be conformed into the image of Christ’ here this passage actually does say ‘God predestinated us to be like his Son’. If you left the ‘foreknowledge’ part out, you could read this passage in an Arminian way. But we do have the ‘foreknowledge’ part. So I believe Paul is saying ‘God chose us before we were born, he ‘knew’ ahead of time that he would bring us into his Kingdom. Those whom he foreknew he also predestinated to become like his Son.’ Why? So his Son would be the firstborn among many. God wanted a whole new race of ‘children of God’. Those he predestinated he ‘called’. He drew them to himself. Jesus said ‘all that the Father give to me will come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no way cast out’. Those who ‘come’ are justified, those who are justified are [present tense] glorified. Gods design and sovereignty speak of it as a ‘finished task’ like it already happened. God lives outside of the dimension of time. I believe in the doctrine of predestination. Many others do as well. You don’t have to believe it if you don’t want to, but I believe scripture teaches it.

(847)ROMANS 8: 31-39 ‘What shall we say then to these things? [what things? The fact that God predestined us and has guaranteed completion of the purpose he has designed us for!] If God be for us, who can be against us?’ Paul teaches that Christ is the only one with the ‘right’ or authority to pass judgment. If the only person in existence who can ‘officially’ condemn and pass legal judgment has actually died for us for the purpose of ‘freeing us from a state of condemnation’, then who ‘gives a rip’ about others opinions and views of us? Most of us struggle with how others view us. Paul did teach that Elders should have good character and a fine reputation in the community. But there is another type of ‘persona’ that preachers can fall into. A sort of ‘concern’ about what the critics are saying. In this context Paul says ‘If the opinion of the only person in existence whose opinion really matters, is one of “I accept you unconditionally, I declare you free from what others think, you are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Ever since I have known you, you have been pleasing in my sight” [all true scriptures by the way] Then who cares what others think! Paul also teaches that nothing can separate us from Christ’s love ‘not tribulation or distress or famine or persecution’ IN all these things we are more than conquerors thru him who loved us. Most times we view this passage from a ‘Calvinistic’ lens. I want you to see the impact of this statement thru a different lens. In the American church we have taught people ‘would a good father not pay the bills of his kids? Would a good father allow his kids to suffer? If you were really partaking of the New Covenant you would have it made’. While I do realize that many well meaning ministers have taught these viewpoints with honest and sincere hearts, I also have seen how this mindset accuses the saints. It basically tells the struggling believer ‘what kind of father do you have? If he really loved you would you be going thru these things’? In essence we are saying ‘tribulation and distress and persecution’ are all signs that ‘you have been separated from Gods love’! Paul blows this false [materialistic] mindset out of the water. He says it is thru these things that we are more than conquerors. It is the ability to look into the face of Pontius Pilate and say ‘you have no power over me, my father has permitted these things to take place. I am here to lay my life down for his glory’. Paul said all these things we are suffering are opportunities to glorify our father. To look into the face of society and say ‘nay, we are more than conqueror’s thru him that loved us’. The early church set the world on fire when they were laying their lives down for the cause, refusing to deny their Lord even at the point of death. They were ‘more than conquerors’.

ROMANS 9-
.PAUL- SPURGEON- AND DAVE HUNT- DID THEY BELIEVE IN PREDESTINATION?
.HOW DOES PAUL DEFEND AGAINST THE SEEMING ‘UNFAIRNESS’ OF IT?
.WHAT DID THAT RUSSIAN ATHIEST SAY?
ACTS 5
Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
https://youtu.be/e3_HgRrIVis Acts 5
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/3-16-17-acts-5.zip
ON VIDEO-
.Mark Scott
. Carolyn Vaughn
.Sandusky- Innocent?
.Church as community
.Some sold all
.Solomon’s porch
.Why Deacons?
.Why lie?
.CNN special- on Jesus- yeah- ‘fake news’
.Gift of miracles break forth- again
.Stop preaching Jesus!
.No way!
.Angels on assignment
.2nd Mile? [I think]
.Trump tweet
.Nixon- Watergate
.Media
.4ht estate
. ‘Judges can do no wrong’!
.Really?
.They once ruled Black people are ‘less than’ White people
NEW [past links- verses below. I also added a note at the end of the entire post- about Trump]
Just a few notes- I’ll add my commentary on this chapter below.
By this time in the early Christian movement- we have seen how Peter and the apostles have already been warned not to preach anymore in the name of Jesus.
And Peter continues to practice ‘civil disobedience’ and obeys God- rather than men.
The council throws Peter into jail- and the angel of the Lord sets him free-
Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
Acts 5:18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
Acts 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
He is told to go ‘preach the words of this life’.
Acts 5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.
And sure enough- Peter goes back to the temple and preaches Christ-
Acts 5:25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
When the religious leaders get word- they go and bring Peter- gently- before their court-
Acts 5:26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
Peter once again preaches strongly ‘Jesus has been ordained of God- he is the Messiah- and you killed him’-
Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Yes- Peter’s pattern is rough.
But in previous experiences- the people ask ‘what shall we do’?
This time they want to kill him-
Acts 5:33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
Why the difference now?
They also say ‘are you trying to hold us accountable for this man’s Blood’-
Acts 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.
The Sadducees were the ruling sect at this time- the high priest was a Sadducee-
Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
Despite the miracles and wonders still being done in the name of Jesus- they are now worried about the actual injustice itself- done in the criminal proceeding- that executed Christ.
We must remember that from the simple standpoint of the law- there was corruption and criminality in the execution of Christ on the Cross.
We read in the gospels how they had false witnesses- and even Pilate himself said Jesus was an innocent man-
59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
Matt. 26
Now- imagine the pressure on those who were a part of this.
The Sadducees are actually worried about this preacher- this simple fisherman- going around in the power of the Spirt- healing the sick- raising the dead [later on in Acts] and then telling everyone ‘you killed an innocent man’.
Yes- we as believers understand why this happened- he died for us.
But from the religious leaders standpoint- they are thinking ‘yeah- we killed an innocent man- unjustly- and we hoped it would fade from the scene- but if Peter keeps bringing it up- we too might be held accountable’.
I think that might be why these ‘hearers’ wanted to kill Peter.
As the chapter closes- Gamaliel- a respected teacher of the law- and having a famous student under him by the name of Saul- stands up and saves the lives of Peter and his men.
The Pharisees did believe in the supernatural elements of God.
The Sadducees did not.
And in the midst of this whole debate- they are not too willing to side with the Sadducees- in the attack against this new sect-
Especially being this ‘new sect’ seems to be operating in all of these supernatural gifts- which the Pharisees themselves believe in.
So yes- just like in our day- there are bias’s involved.
So Gamaliel tells the council ‘wait- before we do something to these men that we might later regret- remember- there have been other movements- and followers of those men.
Yet- they came to nothing in the end’-
Acts 5:34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;
Acts 5:35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
Acts 5:36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.
Acts 5:37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.
‘Therefore- if we simply leave this new movement alone- if it’s not of God- it too will fail.
But if it is of God- well we don’t want to find ourselves fighting against God- do we’?
Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
Wise advice indeed.
At the end of the chapter- they beat them- and let them go-
Acts 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
And the apostles praise God that they were found ‘worthy to suffer shame for his name’-
Acts 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
Ok- Those are some of the high points I hit on in today’s video.
My old commentary on this chapter will cover the rest [Below]
I encourage you to read thru the book of Acts- as well as the other studies I’m currently doing.
And mediate on the Word of God.
Try and enter into the context of the time- see how there were real dynamics going on- things that people today also deal with.
There were many things at play- that caused people to not want to admit that Jesus was alive- and his disciples were going around proving it by the miraculous signs that were being done.
Do we too have ulterior motives for why we- in our day- also look for reasons to deny the message of Christ?
Are all atheists sincere in their unbelief?
Or are there other reasons why the deniers of Jesus- actually deny him?
Is it because they also do want to give an account for their actions? [sins]
Yes- for the Sadducees- if this Jesus was really alive- then indeed- Peter was ‘bringing upon them the Blood of this innocent man’-
In more ways than one.
PAST LINKS [verses below]
Here are my past teachings that relate to today’s video ‘Acts 5’.
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/14/mark-4/
https://ccoutreach87.com/acts/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/
News link [stuff I mentioned about local politics]
http://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2017/02/28/council-votes-disqualify-scott-mayoral-candidate/98479374/
(739) ACTS 5 – As the word spreads rapidly, all the surrounding towns bring the sick and vexed to lie in the streets. Even the possibility of Peters shadow passing over them for healing is hoped for. Notice the charismatic reality of this early church. I do realize the many reasoning’s that intelligent people use to explain the miracles as limited to the Apostolic period, but for the most part we see a supernatural church in Acts as well as thru out the epistles and well into the first few centuries of Christianity. The 20th century story of Pentecostalism and the awakenings just prior, seem to show the reality of a supernatural church existing alongside a theological one! There is much proof to the orthodoxy and giftings of the church all thru out scripture and church history. Peters shadow healed people, how can we explain this away? [p.s. Phillip, who is not an Apostle, will also perform miracles. Just thru this in for those who teach the Apostles were the only miracle workers!] Now, the immediate response of the high priest and religious leaders was ‘if we don’t do something about this, their movement will gain momentum’. They imprison Peter and the Apostles. An angel appears and frees them and tells them ‘go back to the temple and speak the words of this life’. When the authorities realize what has happened they once again warn them about using Jesus name in their ministry. They even say ‘do you intend to bring this mans blood upon us’. Basically Peter says ‘yes’. Peter has been ‘putting it in their face’ ever since Pentecost. He has blamed BOTH the nation of Israel and her leadership for the death of Christ. He does not worry about offending them! During this time some priests become believers. The majority of them do not. Why? What has happened is common among movements. When an initial movement starts up, there is always the question of ‘is it from God or not’? A few years back the church went thru a renewal movement. Some referred to it as ‘the Toronto blessing’ ‘the laughing revival’ and other names. You had those who were 100 % against it and those 100 % for it. Who was right? Well, to a degree both of them! The point is there were some things that were needing rebuke, but to throw it all out was wrong. The defenders appealed to Jonathan Edwards’s writings and how during the first great awakening he experienced many of the same manifestations as the Toronto movement. Edwards left quite a bit of room for God being present in the religious emotions of the people. The critics were offended that the revival guys were appealing to Edwards and they would appeal to other stuff Edwards wrote in concern over the religious affections. You also had the same manifestations a century later under the second great awakening. The revivals in Kentucky had laughter and ‘strange barking’ and other weird stuff. The point is you always have a response to a religious movement. Once the battle lines are drawn, it is very hard to switch sides. In this chapter we see Gamaliel, a very respected Pharisee, stand up for the Apostles and say ‘lets give them some room, others before them rose up and gained a following, they all passed on. If this work is of God you can’t stop it, if it’s of men it will fail’. There was some breaking thru to the religious mind that was taking place in the elite religious thinkers of the day. After all, Peter has been quoting Psalms and Joel in ways that were confounding the religious thinkers. Don’t forget, Peter is an uneducated fisherman. Jesus deposited some stuff in his men that was way beyond the basic understanding of the day. Some ‘thinkers’ and intellectuals were humble enough to listen, most were not!
[parts]
SUNDAY- 2-19-17
Fatima [2nd mile]
https://youtu.be/YcfnxpqOOo4 Fatima %5B2nd mile]
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/2-19-17-fatima-2nd-mile.zip
NOTE- I’m not sure if I will keep doing a daily journal type post. As of today I hit most of the spots I wanted to catch on video. I hope to do at least one more post walking over the G.W. bridge. But I did journal every day for one week- and I’ll see how it goes from here.
ON VIDEO-
.Herodians
.2nd mile
.Sin unto death
I went to the Mass at Our Lady of Fatima- The church I went to as a kid.
Turned the camera on right at the end- then walked down Kennedy Blvd. – a walk I did many times as a kid.
I talked about some of the verses that the Priest shared- and elaborated a bit on ‘the 2nd mile’.
I always liked that scripture- and compared it to the law versus grace.
I also mentioned the passage from Corinthians about the body being the temple of the Holy Spirit. All stuff I taught before- but felt it was good to mention them again [past teaching- verses below]
PAST TEACHING [Stuff I taught before that relates- verses below]
https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/
. The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times.
Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered.
They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule.
Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community.
This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century.
A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls.
The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes-
Now- when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along.
I did read up this week- and basically had it right.
The earliest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament we had previously dated back to around 900- 1000 A.D.
These manuscripts went back about 1000 years earlier- and they contained portions from almost every book of the Old testament- and some complete books.
The only book missing was Esther.
So- this was indeed a very significant find for scholars.
But the Scrolls also contain some of the writings from the Essenes themselves- things we never had before- so this too was significant.
There were Jews at the time of the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of Christ].
These are referred to as Herodian’s in the bible.
Some wanted a revolution to rid Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this group].
Some thought if they returned to a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the Pharisees.
And some took more of a political compromise- these were the Sadducees.
Eventually a war with Rome would be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he went to Rome and wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are very valuable to scholars].
NOTE- In time I’ll try and cover how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement].
Frankly- there is a lot of confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church had some type of plot to keep certain books out].
Or stories about how the Church taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her.
Actually- we read in the gospels that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of life-
And Jesus had a ministry to the down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women-
And if true- it would not demean her in any way-
That’s how this tradition more than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure.
So a few years back the Church officially said ‘we don’t know’.
Ok- Plot?
[parts]
VERSES-
Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
Acts 5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Acts 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Acts 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
Acts 5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
Acts 5:6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
Acts 5:7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
Acts 5:8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
Acts 5:9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
Acts 5:10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
Acts 5:11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
Acts 5:12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.
Acts 5:13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
Acts 5:14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
Acts 5:15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
Acts 5:16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
Acts 5:18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
Acts 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
Acts 5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.
Acts 5:21 And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
Acts 5:22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and told,
Acts 5:23 Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.
Acts 5:24 Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.
Acts 5:25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
Acts 5:26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
Acts 5:27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
Acts 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.
Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Acts 5:33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
Acts 5:34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;
Acts 5:35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
Acts 5:36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.
Acts 5:37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.
Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
Acts 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Acts 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
Matthew 10:37
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Luke 12:1
In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
LATE NOTE-
I made the video- post- the other day. As I type this- the news broke that there were indeed trump associates [campaign folk] who were ‘tapped’. Now- to some this is a surprise- even in the media [though they are now saying ‘But Obama did not do it’!]. Why should it no be a surprise?
Because the media already ‘leaked’ this fact. How? The reason General Flynn stepped down- was because the media reported on an actual fact- that he had contact with the Russians- and they knew this because our intelligence agencies leaked the fact that they had actual surveillance on it. Which is simply the fact they did it- at least with Flynn. It’s also possible that they actually ‘surveilled’ Trump. Ok- if this is true [which today some reports in the media say it is] then Trump was partiality right. I only get into this issue to simply show how we are manipulated. For instance- if the congressional committee now has actual evidence that Trump- an/or- his team were ‘surveilled’ then that’s the opposite of what the media has been reporting. When director Comey [FBI] says ‘I have not seen any evidence’ that’s actually political speak- meaning- it might be there- but I personally have not ‘seen it’. Now- I actually do not care about it- but this is a classic example of media manipulation. Months ago- the media told us themselves- that Trump associates were picked up thru surveillance [Flynn]. Probably thru FISA warrants on Russians. But the head of the committee looking at it [Nunes] said today that some of what he has now seen seems to show that some of the surveillance had nothing to do with Russia- and it ‘puzzles’ him. Why should it ‘puzzle’ anyone to think that intelligence people [CIA- FBI] could ‘do wrong’? Why should it puzzle anyone that judges could do ‘wrong things’? Why should anyone that reads/watches the news be surprised that Trump associates were possibly ‘wire tapped’? Because the media themselves broke the story- when they reported the leaks from the intelligence agencies months ago- that told us this.
The New York Times ran an article a few weeks ago that said people who work for the intelligence agencies gathered- and purposefully leaked information about this. Yes- the New York Times reported this.
The main story is this- if in fact former intelligence people both gathered- and leaked information on American citizens- info they obtained- even if it was ‘incidental’- that is a crime.
There are now questions about ‘incidental’- meaning- did people basically target Trump and his campaign – because they had the power to do so?
It’s possible that they did.
Do our intelligence people ever lie about this?
Yes- James Clapper lied to congress- in public about NSA data collection.
Yes- he lied- to congress- under oath.
How do we know this?
Because he later admitted it.
Part of ‘intelligence’ involves the collecting of data- secretly.
And part of those who collect it- lie.
Because that’s part of so called ‘intelligence’ [I’m referring to our agencies].
We find corruption in all humans- whether they be presidents- media- Republicans- Democrats- it’s in ‘their nature’.
I see the ‘spin’- I just heard Susan Rice say ‘to my knowledge no ORDERS were ever given to do this’ [ break the law].
Of course- no ORDERS are ever given [officially]. In the end- there probably were indeed former ‘Obama’ people- working for the agencies- that did wrong- illegal stuff.
That’s what trump said at the start.
Politics is brutal- and to think that intelligence officials would never lie about it-
Well just ask James Clapper- he was the ‘head’- and he lied- to congress.
As I watch the evening news [3-22-17] The ‘new spin’ is ‘How dare the chairman [Nunes] reveal this to Trump’- Huh?
Yes- the story is not ‘wow- we found out that Trump- and his people were surveilled’.
No- the story is ‘Trump is in collusion with the republican chairman of the committee- yes- because the chairman told Trump about the surveillance that was collected on him- incidentally’.
The spin never stops.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/22/trump-team-communications-captured-by-intelligence-community-surveillance-nunes-says.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/22/politics/devin-nunes-trump-communications/
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/devin-nunes-donald-trump-surveillance-obama-236366
http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks
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·Romans 5:1-9 ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God thru our Lord Jesus Christ’. There are certain benefits ‘results’ of being ‘made righteous by faith’, peace being one of them. Paul goes on and says we glory in hope and also trials, because we realize that thru the difficulties we gain experience and patience. Things that are needed for the journey, we can’t substitute talent and motivation and ‘success principles’ for them. We need maturity and God produces it this way. Those who teach otherwise have a ‘self inflicted wound’ their teachings are very immature! That is there was a ‘strain’ of teaching in the church that said ‘we don’t learn thru difficulty and suffering, we learn only thru Gods word!’ [that is reading it]. Those who grasped onto this false idea have produced some of the most unbalanced teaching in the church, stuff that even the younger generation is saying ‘what in the heck are these guys preaching’? If you by pass the difficult road, you will be shallow. Now Paul says ‘God commended his love toward us, that when we were sinners Christ died for us’ ‘being now justified by his death, we shall be saved thru his life’ [saved from wrath thru him]. Once again this theme pops up; ‘since we are justified, made righteous by believing with the heart, we shall be saved [continual, future deliverance] from wrath thru him’. I don’t know if you ever realized what a major theme this is in Romans? The ongoing, future ‘being saved’ is a result of ‘being made righteous’. Later on in chapter 10, when we read that the righteous call for salvation, we need to understand this context. Remember, when the two are linked together in the same verse, it is not saying ‘saved’ in the sense of some sinner’s prayer. It is speaking of the ongoing, promised deliverance [from many things, not just wrath!] to the ‘justified caller’. We have access ‘by faith into this grace wherein we stand’. Wow! That’s some good stuff, Jesus ever lives so that those who come to him are ‘being saved’ to the uttermost. This grace we are in is available to us all of the time, are we availing ourselves of it?

·ROMANS 5:10-21 ‘For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to him by the death of his Son… much more we shall be saved by his life’. Now, some have ‘divided’ the role of Jesus death and resurrection in salvation. I heard a radio preacher teach that all the people who think they are ‘saved’ because Jesus died for them were deceived. He used this verse to say they need to believe in his ‘life’ [resurrection] to ‘be saved by his life’. Well I get the point, but he was missing the meaning of the verse. Why? Because once again we see ‘saved’ as initially ‘getting saved’ while here it is in a continual sense. Paul is saying ‘if God reconciled us [justification] while we were deadly enemies, how much more shall the actual ministry and life of Jesus at Gods right hand do for us!’ The New Testament teachers that we have actually entered into an eternal covenant with God thru his Son. Jesus ‘ever lives’ to make intercession for us [Hebrews]. Therefore he is able to ‘save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him’. The bible teaches an ongoing ‘saving’ relationship that believers have with the Messiah. This ‘relationship’ would not be possible if he were dead. Now we ‘joy in God thru Jesus Christ from whom we have received the atonement’ good stuff! Isaiah says God will meet with those who ‘rejoice and do what is right’. We have both of these ‘abilities’ because of the atonement. The rest of the chapter teaches the Pauline doctrine of original sin. That because Adam sinned, death and sin passed to all men. So likewise the ‘righteousness’ of one man [Jesus- the last Adam] has passed upon all men [those who receive of the abundance of grace and the gift of life]. This is an interesting angle that Paul uses to teach redemption. He shows the reality that there are only 2 ‘federal heads’ of mankind. You are either in the first or last Adam. The ‘righteous act’ is speaking of the Cross [Philippians says Jesus was ‘obedient unto death’. The singular act of obedience that allows this righteousness to pass to all who believe is the Cross. Some have misunderstood this chapter to teach that the obedient life of Christ, his sinless life, saves us. I feel this is a wrong reading of the chapter. The sinless life of Jesus, pre Cross, made him the true candidate to be the substitute for man. He was able to die in our place [obedience unto death] because he was the sinless Son of God. We are now ‘saved by his life’ because he ever lives to make intercession for us]. All who believe in Jesus can now trace their lineage to the ‘last Adam’ [Jesus] and be free from ‘original sin’.

·ROMANS 6- Lets talk about baptism. To start off I believe that the baptism spoken about in this chapter is primarily referring to ‘the baptism of the Spirit’, that is the work of the Holy Spirit placing a believer in the Body of Christ. The Catholic and Orthodox [and Reformed!] brothers believe that Paul is speaking about water baptism. The MAJORITY VIEW of Christians today believe this chapter is referring to water baptism. Why? First, the text itself does not indicate either way. You could take this baptism and see it either way! You are not a heretic if you believe in it referring to Spirit or water. You are not a heretic if you believe in Paedo baptism [infant baptism]. ‘What are you saying? Now you lost me.’ Infant baptism developed as a Christian rite over the course of church history. The church struggled with how to ‘dedicate’ new babies to Christ. Though the scriptures give no examples of infant baptism, some felt that the reason was because the scriptures primarily show us the conversion of the first century believers. There really aren’t a whole lot of stories of ‘generations’ of believers passing on the faith to other generations. So some felt that the idea of dedicating babies to the Lord through infant baptism was all right. The examples they used were the circumcision of babies in the Old Testament. Infants were circumcised [a rite that placed you under the terms of the Old Covenant] though they weren’t old enough to really understand what they were doing! This example was carried over into the Christian church and applied to infant baptism. Now, I do not believe in infant baptism. But I can certainly understand this line of reasoning. As Christian theology developed thru the early centuries, particularly thru the patristic period, you had very intellectual scholars grapple with many different themes and ideas. Some that we just studied in chapter 5. Some theologians came to see infant baptism as dealing with original sin. They applied the concept of infant baptism as a rite that washes away original sin. The church did not teach that this meant you did not have to later believe and follow Christ. They simply developed a way of seeing baptism as ‘sanctifying’ the new members of Christian households. This basic belief made it all the way to the Reformation. The Reformers themselves still practiced infant baptism. It was the Anabaptists [re-baptizers] who saw the truth of adult baptism and suffered for it, at the hands of the reformers! Ulrich Zwingli, the Swiss reformer, would have them drowned for their belief. Some Protestants stuck with the infant rite, while others [the Restorationists] would reject it. Today most Evangelicals do not practice infant baptism, the majority of Christians world wide do. Now, the reason I did a little history is because Evangelicals [of which I am one] have a tendency to simply look at other believers who practice this rite as ‘deceived’. Many are unaware of the history I just showed you. The reasons the historic church developed this doctrine are not heretical! They used scripture and tradition to pass it down to future generations. I do not believe or practice infant baptism, many good believers do.

·ROMANS 6: 1-11 ‘shall we continue to sin, so grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer therein?’ Now begins the ‘actual part’ the result, if you will, of being ‘made righteous by faith’. One of the main accusations against Paul, by the Jewish believers, was that he taught ‘sin a lot, because you are no longer under the law’. Paul spends time defending himself against this accusation thru out the New Testament. Here Paul teaches that the believer has been joined unto Christ [baptized, immersed into him] and this ‘joining’ identifies him with Christ’s death. So how can ‘we, who are dead to sin, live any longer in sin’? Paul’s argument for righteous living comes from the fact that we have died with Christ unto sin. ‘We have died with him, and we have also been raised with him to new life’. In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul says we who were dead in sins have been made alive in Christ. Now, we live a new life, free from sin [practically speaking- not absolute sinless-ness!] because we are identified with Jesus in his new life, we are ‘alive with and in him’. ‘Since we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection’! Jesus died once, and now he lives forever unto God ‘likewise count yourselves dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God thru Jesus Christ our Lord’. Paul’s basis for the transformed life is Grace and being ‘in him’. Paul does not appeal to the law to try and effect holiness in the believer, he appeals to Christ ‘in him you have died to legalistic practices, trying to earn salvation and acceptance; and now because of this new position [placement] you too have died to the old man [lifestyle] and are alive unto God’. Paul obviously did not teach ‘sin hardily’ to the contrary he taught ‘live unto God’.

(834)Romans 6:12-23 ‘Let not sin therefore rule in your mortal body’ if we have died with Jesus, we are ‘dead with him to sin’. If we are risen with Jesus ‘we are alive unto God thru him’ for this reason don’t sin! Paul makes sure his readers understand him, he in no way was teaching a sinful gospel. He encourages the believers to renew their minds to this truth. ‘For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace’ Paul clearly saw the dangers of legalism [living under strict ‘do this, don’t do this’ guidelines] he saw that the law actually quickens the fleshly nature and brings to the surface mans sin. Now, because we are under grace, does this mean we get to keep on sinning? ‘God forbid!’ Paul launches into the explanation of sin and bondage. Remember, sin was in the world before the law. Men were dying ever since Adam sinned. So for Paul, this means even though we are not under the restraints of law, yet the reality of sin, bondage and punishment still exist. Paul says ‘if you yield to sin and allow it to rule you, you will become its slave’. There will be a penalty and price to pay ‘the wages of sin is death’. But because you are identified with Jesus ‘sin shall not have dominion over you… you have been made free from sin’. Paul teaches the victorious Christian life. He does not deny the struggle [next chapter!] but he shows the reality of redemption. He obviously never taught the concept of ‘sin more, so grace can abound’. He understood the dangers of preaching ‘we are not under the law’ but he also understood the reality of ‘being under grace’ he figured it was worth the risk of being misunderstood if he could truly imbed the gospel into the believing community.
Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Romans 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Romans 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Romans 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Romans 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Romans 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Romans 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Romans 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Romans 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Romans 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Romans 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[1768] LUTHER- THE TOWER EXPERIENCE
Let’s start with some church history. In the last post I covered the early years of Martin Luther- probably the most significant figure of the Protestant Reformation.
Luther studied for the priesthood in Erfurt, Germany. He would eventually wind up in Wittenberg- one of the major university cities of the Reformation. Wittenberg was actually a small insignificant town- but the political leader over the region- Frederick the Wise- sought to put it on the map.
He wanted to turn Wittenberg into a German ‘Rome’. He wanted it to become a major Pilgrimage city where Christians would see Wittenberg as a destination- just like they saw Rome.
So Frederick embarked on this plan and he searched thru all the Catholic learning centers of the time and finally recruited 3 top scholars to teach out of the university at Wittenberg- Luther was one of the 3.
Just as a side note- Frederick would succeed at making Wittenberg a major catholic center. He would eventually obtain over 19,000 Relics for the Cathedral church there [Relics were used in the ancient system of buying indulgences and making special pilgrimage trips to important Churches. If the church/city that your making the Pilgrimage to has a lot of Relics- bones or other famous material objects from church history- then the value of the Pilgrimage was high. In theory Frederick collected so many that if you added up all the ‘time off’ from Purgatory- you would get 1 million, 900 thousand years off! Some of the famous relics at Wittenberg were a hair from the beard of Jesus- straw from the manger Jesus was born in- and even a branch from the famous burning bush of Moses! As you can see- there was a lot of commercializing going on- even back then].
When Luther arrived in Wittenberg- he made a name for himself as a top scholar. Many protestants- who revere Luther- usually are not aware that he was a master Linguist [sort of like Rick Perry!]
Yes Luther mastered language- and he showed it in his teaching on the book of Psalms.
In 1515 he began his famous study on the book of Romans and as he went thru the very first chapter- something shook him. He came across the passage that says the Just shall live by faith. This verse first appears in the O.T. book of Habakkuk- and is quoted 3 more times in the N.T.
Luther was very aware of the concept of the righteousness of God- he struggled for many years trying to reconcile his own sinful nature with Gods holiness- but he never really ‘saw’ the biblical concept of righteousness as a free gift that God ‘imputes’ to the sinner.
Yes- for the 1st time in Luther’s life- after his years training for the priesthood- the pilgrimage he made to Rome- the thousands of hours he spent confessing his sins while a monk in Erfurt- he never really understood that the righteousness of God was a free gift given to those who have faith.
It was a giant weight lifted from his shoulders- Luther did not need to try any more to live up to the standards of God- in a way that would earn for him forgiveness- but he would simply believe- and the righteousness of God would be counted to him as a gift.
Luther would go on to call this an Alien Righteousness- that is it is not found within the person who tries to do all the church works he can- or buying all the indulgences- or any other of the many religious actions he was practicing- but this free gift of being right with God- it came to those who had faith- the Just shall live by Faith- this was indeed good news for the scholar.
As time went on- Germany would get embroiled in the political machinations of the day- Luther’s top political cover was Frederick the Wise- hardly a Protestant Reformer! He spent lots of time trying to make Wittenberg the major Catholic center in Germany.
But at the time there was a political fight raging between Rome and some of the other nation/states. There was a figure head office called the Holy Roman Emperor. This office was really in name only- but it rose up during the first Millennium of Christian history and sought to replace the influence that Rome was losing.
So you had France, Spain and England all vying for the title. Eventually it would go to King Charles of Spain- but the Pope- who played a major role in nominating the person- he did not want any of these top 3 to get the position. Henry the Eighth was the king of England at the time- and these ‘3 kings’ were sort of in competition with Rome- so the Pope tried to get Fredrick the Wise to throw his hat into the ring.
Frederick just happened to be one of the Electors of this position.
His actual title was The Elector of Saxony.
So Fredrick had lots of influence- and as Rome would eventually but heads with the stubborn bull of Wittenberg [Luther] Frederick would become the major protector of Luther.
Okay- I think we’ll stop here for today. The experience that Luther had- the enlightenment that came to him while teaching the book of Romans- this is often called The Tower experience of Luther- it took place in the year 1515.
http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com
Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John
VERSES-
Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Ephesians 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Ephesians 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Ephesians 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Ephesians 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Ephesians 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
Ephesians 1:16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
Ephesians 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Ephesians 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Ephesians 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Ephesians 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Ephesians 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Ephesians 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
John 6:37
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
John 6:39
And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Proverbs 3:21
My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Jeremiah 10:12
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Hebrews 11:10
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Hebrews 11:16
But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

(562) John:1[radio # 584] Jesus is called the Word of God, he comes into the earth as the incarnation, the ‘fleshed out’ fulfillment of Gods Word. John the Baptist is asked who he is. The Jewish leaders ask ‘are you that prophet?’ he says ‘no’. What prophet? The one Moses said would come ‘the Lord God will raise up a prophet unto you, like me. Whoever doesn’t listen to him will be destroyed’. We covered this in Deuteronomy. They ask him ‘are you Elijah’ he says ‘no’. John was the fulfillment of the Malachi prophecy that said before the Lord comes he will send Elijah the prophet. Jesus says this about John. Why did John deny it? I am not sure, but it might be because he really didn’t know. Sort of like the thorn in Paul’s side, God allowed things to happen to Paul so he would not get puffed up in pride and side track his mission. Maybe the Lord never let John see how truly effective he was. John does say ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness’ John does see himself thru the prophet Isaiah. I like this. I have personally had many words from Isaiah that I felt the Lord had given me, John saw himself in this book too. John was ‘the voice’ just like Jesus is ‘the Word’ John is ‘the voice’. John was a voice before he was a man. God had predestined John to carry a message before he was born. He had this word in his DNA at birth. His body was simply a carrier, an ‘incarnation’ of the voice that he was to have. God has predestined all of us with a purpose before we were born. Our appearing on the planet is for the sole purpose of carrying out this destiny. You are not here to be happy, have a nice income, go to a nice church. You are here to fulfill Gods will, you can have the other things or not, that is irrelevant. You must first fulfill the mission! John testifies of Christ by the Spirit descending on Jesus. John says ‘I knew him not, but by the Spirit’ John knew Jesus, he was his cousin! But John was only going to recognize the gifts and callings on people. He would follow Paul’s admonition ‘know no man after the flesh’. It is incumbent upon us to recognize the gifts in others and to operate accordingly. Don’t make alliances and pacts with people based on friendship and personal affiliations. It’s good to have friends and all, but the Kingdom is built upon recognizing and receiving those who have come with a mandate from God. John saw Jesus in this light. Scripture says ‘the world was made by him, he was in the world, yet they knew him not’ Jesus was creating a divine atmosphere of grace for people to access. They didn’t even know or recognize him, yet this didn’t side track him from his purpose. Understand that God has placed you in a geographical location with a pre planned destiny in mind. God has chosen you to be where you are and for this season. You will fulfill your calling whether people ‘know’ you or not. God requires us to see the gifts in each other, but many will not appreciate what you are doing, do it any way, you have come with a destiny to fulfill, so fulfill it!
(563) John 2[radio # 585]- Jesus does his first miracle, changes water into wine. They say ‘most people put the good wine out first, but you have saved the best for last’. This is a type of the new covenant of his blood [wine], Jesus will introduce a better covenant thru his blood. Many will not accept this new way because they have been ‘drinking’ old wine for so long, they are not willing to change. We often see this in Christian circles, people who have functioned in a limited way for years, God might bring to them new ways of seeing things, they will often reject the new wine on the basis of being comfortable with the old way, we don’t want to shake the apple cart. God wants us to shake it! Jesus finds the money changers in the temple and drives them out with a whip, turns the tables over and gets mad. He didn’t take the ecumenical approach! There are times for radical transition, I feel we are at that place now as the people of God. The gospel is not about us increasing our portfolio, it’s about laying our goals down for the kingdom. These money changers lost their influence in the ‘temple’ after Jesus got thru with them, I think it was prophetic. Jesus says ‘destroy this temple and in 3 days I will raise it up’ those hearing this mistake his Body [temple] with the building [temple in Jerusalem]. Evangelicals [some of them] make the same mistake today. They are looking to the natural events in natural Jerusalem, they should be looking at the real temple! [Both Jesus and the Body of Christ]. Jesus goes to the Passover, the people hail him and Jesus says he will not commit himself to them, because he knew what was in man. What was in man? These same people will be asking for his death not long from now. Jesus did not seek commitment from men, contrary to the way we see ministry today. Modern ministry seeks to increase man’s commitment to them ‘pledge so much money, join this or that’ Jesus knew he had a destiny, he would fulfill it without the help of man!
(565) John 3[radio # 586]- Nicodemus comes secretly to Jesus, he is one of the few in leadership that is having doubts. The others with one voice reject Jesus, Nicodemus is wondering. Jesus rebukes him for being a ‘ruler’ of the Jews and not being able to comprehend the most basic stuff. I have found it disheartening over the years to talk with Pastors who heard someone teach that because Jesus had an expensive coat, that he must have been rich. Despite all the evidence in the New Testament how Jesus was the son of a carpenter and lived an average life. The tons of verses where Jesus is reproving rich people. The whole historical and biblical truth of Jesus being a man of humble means. The fact that he had an expensive coat can more than likely be explained by the custom of people doing extravagant acts of worship towards him. The woman and the expensive perfume poured on him. Things like this. Someone probably gave him the coat. But for Pastors, who are good men, to fall for this stuff was unbelievable. Sort of like Jesus telling Nicodemus ‘you are a leader and can’t discern the most basic stuff’! Jesus teaches the reality of the new birth. All people must be born of God thru belief in Jesus, or they will not be saved. We must stand strong for Jesus as the only way to God. John the Baptist will be told that all men are going to Jesus. John says ‘great, he must increase and I must decrease’ John understood that the role of leadership [prophets] was to point to the fame and persona of Jesus. Not to go down the common road of pointing people towards us. In modern ministry we draw people to our gifts and abilities. We structure modern churches around the gift of the Pastor. We allow leadership to become preeminent in our minds and thoughts. John knew better. We also see that the wrath of God abides on all who do not believe in Jesus. If you believe in Jesus you escape Gods wrath. It can’t touch you. Whether you are in heaven or earth, or like David said ‘in hell you are there’. That is you can’t escape Gods presence anywhere. So if you are in Christ, wrath can’t get you. If you are not in Christ, it continually abides on you. You do not escape wrath by leaving the planet during the tribulation. If an unbeliever was on a rocket ship right before the tribulation started, and wound up on the moon during the 7 years of wrath, he wouldn’t escape Gods wrath. You don’t escape judgment by being in the right geographical location, you escape it by being IN HIM! John also says a man can receive nothing unless it is given to him. Why be jealous if all of our gifts and abilities are free gifts? We act like we earned them! John says no man receives his testimony, then he says ‘to those who have received it’. What’s this mean? Paul told the Corinthians that we have received the Spirit of God so we might know the things that are freely given to us from God. God gives us his Spirit first, so we can receive his testimony. This goes back to the early centuries of the church and hits all the major doctrines on sovereignty. Augustine, Calvin, Luther [Yes Luther was a strong believer in predestination, it was no accident that he was an Augustinian monk!] Paul tells the Ephesians that were are dead in sins and completely incapable of receiving spiritual truth until God pours his Spirit into us and we become alive. Thank God that even though no man [in the natural] can receive his testimony, that God gives us his Spirit and births us so we can know the things that he has freely given to us in Christ!
Mark 2 [North Bergen]
POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ MARCH 2, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT
WEDNESDAY 3-1-17
Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
https://youtu.be/_SRevM8Tcs4 MARK 2
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/3-1-17-mark-2-north-bergen.zip
https://youtu.be/4S5YHb2hea8 BURGER KING [Glenn]
https://youtu.be/mij6WkuCllE MONKEY WITH 3 TAILS [Rick]
ON VIDEO [Mark 2]-
.91st. st. to park [Fairview- North Bergen]
.Who can forgive sins but God?
.Man healed
.Why was Jesus with sinners?
.Culture shock
.New Wine [and skins]
.Don’t pick the corn
.Don’t you remember what David did?
.The Sabbath was made for man- not the other way around
.David and his men a type of Jesus and his men
NEW- I taught on the first video [Mark 2] and spent a few hours with some of my friends. Glenn is homeless- and we have had some good talks. I share a little of his story on the short videos. On the teaching video I’ll try and add my past teaching on this chapter. I haven’t done a commentary on Mark’s gospel- and when I get back to Texas I might pick up on where I left off and make a complete study out of it. When I left the guys I thought of possibly doing a NYC video at midnight type of a thing- I’ve done those before- and you can see how the streets are always crowded in the ‘city that never sleeps’. But I’ll put that off for now.
On today’s post/video I walked past the spot where I made some of my first teaching videos- in 2014- below are those videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSwvNQlFyuY %5BNorth Bergen- 2014]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SxYy2p1OX4 %5BNorth Bergen- 2014]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4VF0gOYw_k %5BNorth Bergen- 2015]
PAST TEACHING- [verses below]
Jesus talks about the story of king David found in Samuel- I taught that chapter before- 1st Samuel 21- here’s the link to my study [below I’ll paste the text to my commentary on the chapter]
https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-samuel/
I mentioned these bible books on today’s video [Mark 2]- here are my studies on them-
https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/
https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/
(905)SAMUEL 21- David is fleeing from Saul and he goes to the priest at Nob. The priest wonders what’s up. David tells him he is on a special assignment from the king and he and his men need food. The priest tells him the only food available is the consecrated bread that is only for God and the priesthood. David convinces the priest to let them eat and David asks ‘do you have any weapons here’. The priest says ‘I have the sword you used to kill the giant’ David says ‘great, that will work just fine’. Jesus used this story to describe himself and the disciples [Mark 2]. One day Jesus and the disciples were going thru the grain fields and the disciples picked the grain and ate it on the Sabbath. The Pharisees said ‘your disciples are breaking Gods law by picking it on the Sabbath’. Now, to be honest they were breaking the over extended ideas that the religious Pharisees came up with thru their legalism. But Jesus still used this example as a defense. He says ‘have you not read what David and his men did? They ate the ceremonial showbread that was not lawful, only the priests could eat it’. David and his men are a symbol of Jesus and his men. While it is true that the bread was only lawful for the priests, David is a king/priest who gets away with doing ‘priestly things’ because of his picture of Christ. Scripture says he put on an ephod [priestly garment] which only priests could do. David functioned before the open Ark in Jerusalem. He did things that other kings were punished for [Saul, Uzziah]. Jesus in essence was saying to the Pharisees ‘I am the new priest/king from which all future law and worship will be measured by. Me and my followers are not under the law, the law serves us’! In Christ we are free from the guilt of the law, we live above legalism and follow the master. David and his men were acting like priests and kings contrary to the economy of their day. David was a type of Jesus whose future priestly ministry would ‘out trump’ the law.
[parts]
https://youtu.be/psCMQgX_7v4 Samuel 21
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/10-6-16-samuel-21.zip
ON VIDEO-
[Yes- I ‘Backslid’. I promised no more political stuff- but for the first 20 minutes of the video- I get into it. The last 10 minutes I do teach- and have some new notes below on that. I made this video a few days ago- before the latest ‘controversies’- the Hillary WikiLeaks and the Trump video. It really makes no difference- I’m simply dealing with media bias. Trying to show how the media decides what to focus on. Yet- the real important issues of our time are put on the back burner- and we do politics like a sport].
.Debates
.Media bias
.Clinton Foundation
.Why no taxes?
.Clintons health is a real issue
.Why is she off the trail?
.How did the Clintons get rich?
.What about the server?
.Why did CNN fire the doctor?
.Google even manipulated the search results
.Russia
.Abortion
.The sword came back
NEW-
David is on the run from King Saul.
He shows up at the house of God and asks the priest for food.
The priest is nervous- David is alone [not a full military back up] and something just doesn’t seem right.
David assures the priest ‘look- I’m on a special mission for the king- it’s so secret I left quickly- didn’t even have time to take food or weapons’.
Wow- this must be some mission?
How about some lie.
Yes- David is good at lots of stuff- and he lied great here.
So- the priest gives David and his few men the Holy bread- which is only for the priests.
Now- David is not from the priestly tribe- Levi- but from Judah.
Ok- David takes the food and asks ‘do you have any weapons’?
The priest says ‘only the sword- I mean it’s wrapped up in the back- we treat the thing like it’s holy’.
Yes- the sword David used to cut the giants head off.
I think David must have felt a little remorse here.
The whole nation had that sword as a memento of David’s great victory over Goliath.
He used the sword only one time- the day he cut the giants head off.
After all- it was the giant’s sword.
Now- he’s on the run from Saul- already made up some great lies- and the priest gives him the weapon he used in the past.
When he trusted in the living God- against all odds- and was a righteous warrior.
David takes the sword- goes to the Philistines-
Huh?
Yes- he flees to the enemy camp- and the king of Gath says ‘why did you bring this guy to me- isn’t he David the great warrior who killed us in the past’.
Now- David seems to have been trying to get a job- you know- as a mercenary.
He couldn’t fight for Saul-and that’s his greatest paying skill.
But when the philistines recognize him-
Well- what do you think David did?
Maybe yelled out ‘yes- I’m the one who took the giants head off- and I still come to you in the name of the living God- and…’
Yeah- did he do that John?
Well actually not.
Instead- he started drooling at the mouth- and scribbling on the doors- you know- like he was nuts.
‘John- you shouldn’t joke about stuff like that’.
I’m not!
Go read it [below].
Yes- the great man after ‘God’s own heart’ was so afraid- he pretended he was nuts- and yes- the scheme worked-
The king says ‘this guy’s not David- that great man of honor- he’s a nut’!
Ahh- we see what fear can do to a man- even a great man.
Yes- David is in a tough spot-
His own king- Saul- is out to get him.
His only option was to go work for the enemy-
At least that’s what he thought.
And then he not only acted like a nut-
He lied to the priest too.
He ate the bread that Jesus himself said was only for the priests
25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? Jesus.
And he schemed his way into a corner.
Does anything good come out of this at all?
Yes- Jesus used this story- when defending himself and his disciples when they were accused of violating the law.
23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
And Jesus- who too was from the tribe of Judah-
Superseded the Old Covenant law-
He never broke it- but he ushered in a better covenant.
By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
Hebrews
So David- on his bad day- actually glorified Jesus on his good day.
And even in his failure- gave Jesus one of the greatest stories he could use to show his superiority over the Levitical priests.
Yes- that Jesus and his men- just like David and his- did indeed have the right to do what they did.
Because they were from a better tribe-
The one that our Lord ‘sprang from’.
For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. Heb. 7:14
Amen.
[this is a chapter from one of my little books- talked about wineskins]
CHAPTER 8
ARE CHURCH BUILDINGS EVIL? [OR THE GUY WHO WANTED TO CAST DEMONS OUT OF ME!]
Many years ago before I really understood the truths of ecclesia and the communal aspect of the church, I was introduced to the belief that the ‘church building’ itself was wrong. I don’t personally adhere to this belief, but let me share the story. While ministering as a new believer in Christ and learning ‘the ropes’ of ministry, I remember driving past a brother who was a street minister from Mexico. It was unusual in the way he was conducting his street meetings. He would get permission to use an empty lot and then set up actual church pews in the lot without walls or any type of cover over it [even if it rained!]. Well one day on my daily rounds of visiting people and witnessing for Jesus [because this is what ministers are supposed to do, right?] I stopped by this brother’s lot and figured I would bless him with some lunch and listen to him preach [I felt sorry for the brother because no one else was attending his meetings]. After he spoke I had a chance to fellowship with him. After hearing his thoughts I realized it was on purpose for him to have no walls or cover over the pews [these were actual church pews that were out there in the open!].
He shared with me the verse in Hebrews [13:10] where it says that those who worship at the sanctuary have no right to partake of the altar of Christ [the cross]. He saw this as meaning that all Christians who meet in buildings [the sanctuary] were lost! Well, even as a young believer in the lord I was smart enough to know that this verse had nothing to do with ‘church buildings’. I showed the brother that in context the verse simply meant that those Jews [remember who the book of Hebrews was written to] who were not willing to leave the old covenant system [the sanctuary] could not move on with the new covenant truth of Christ and his cross. The sanctuary represented the whole concept of law and Judaism. This verse had nothing to do about the inherent nature of church buildings! Buildings themselves are neutral ground; it’s the style of one person functioning [the pastor] at the expense of the rest of the body that I see as less than ideal.
Well after seeing the obvious error of the way this brother was reading this verse, I began to ‘expound unto him the way of God more perfectly’. When he finally understood what I was saying [you could tell by the look in his eyes that he saw the truth] instead of repenting of his distorted view, he became irate and began to cast demons out of me [hey, I didn’t think there were any in me!]. The reason I share this example is because there are those in the house church movement, while not as extreme, seem to view the church building itself as an evil thing.
My personal view is the church building can become a hindrance when we view it as part of a system that makes up ‘church’. We seem to see the whole concept of the church building and the pastor as the weekly speaker and all the other things associated around this structure [like tithing to the storehouse] as ‘the system’ that God instituted to carry out his work in the earth. Remember Gods inherent authority resides in no human system or mode of religious worship. His authority resides in the church, the actual people of God in any given community on earth. So if there are believers carrying out Gods purpose, whether they have the whole system that we deem ‘local church’ or not, is irrelevant. Remember what we said about Jesus and the 1st century religious mind? They were finding fault with Jesus and his disciples because they were not following the religious protocol of the day. When we embrace certain mindsets that see ‘local church’ as the limited system of Sunday worship and all the other usual things associated with it, what we’re unconsciously doing is vesting authority in a style, or form of religious worship while by-passing the true legitimacy of Gods people. Its not to say that Gods people who function in the whole system of Sunday church are illegitimate [that would be making the same mistake as the brother who wanted to cast the demons out of me!] but this shows us how we unconsciously make the same mistake as the 1st century Pharisee by seeing as illegitimate those who don’t follow certain protocols.
It was a common thing during the 90’s to speak about the ‘changing of the wineskin’ in order to receive the new wine [the new move of God]. Many of theses thoughts were helpful in causing us to re-think the way we ‘do’ church. I also remember a common theme being ‘God wants to pour out his Spirit, but the wineskins are not ready’ in some of these examples the ministers actually meant that we don’t have big enough buildings to put all these new converts so God is ‘withholding the new wine until the new buildings go up’. At this point you should begin seeing how once again this is confusing the reality of Christian community with ‘the church building’. I find it interesting that the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost was not delayed because of the lack of facilities to put all the new converts in.
Also the great missionary journeys of Paul were not delayed ‘until the new wineskins were in place’. This shows us how we’ve come to view the people of God as being dependent on the present system. Could it be that God withholds His Spirit because the ‘new wineskin’ could refer more to believers seeing themselves as the actual church that God wants to fill? If we are not rightly discerning Christ’s community as a self-sustaining society of people then the church really isn’t able to contain the new wine. If we are so limited in our thinking to view the new wineskin as larger facilities, as opposed to a rethinking of what it means to truly be Christ’s body, then maybe the holdup has more to do with a change in the way we view ‘church’ then it has to do with bigger church buildings!
CHAPTER 9
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS ‘THE LOCAL CHURCH’?
Growing up as a catholic boy [though not a good one] I remember when I came to know the lord I started reading through the bible and found how the bible contradicted many of the religious beliefs I held to as a boy [this is not to say Catholics are not Christian]. Later while attending a good Baptist church I naively believed that good Baptists must have it right because they do read the bible![parts]
Here’s the whole book- https://ccoutreach87.com/further-talks-on-church-and-ministry/
[parts]
There were Jews at the time of the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of Christ].
These are referred to as Herodian’s in the bible.
Some wanted a revolution to rid Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this group].
Some thought if they returned to a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the Pharisees.
And some took more of a political compromise- these were the Sadducees.
Eventually a war with Rome would be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he went to Rome and wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are very valuable to scholars].
NOTE- In time I’ll try and cover how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement].
Frankly- there is a lot of confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church had some type of plot to keep certain books out].
Or stories about how the Church taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her.
Actually- we read in the gospels that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of life-
And Jesus had a ministry to the down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women-
And if true- it would not demean her in any way-
That’s how this tradition more than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure.
So a few years back the Church officially said ‘we don’t know’.
Ok- Plot?
[parts]
Ok- the ruling empire at the time of Christ was Rome- just prior to the appearance of Jesus- the Roman Emperor- Caesar Augustus- consolidated the Roman Empire under his rule-
Rome was ruled by a senate- some famous names from history were in it- Cicero being one.
Caesar Augustus was the nephew of Julius Caesar- his real name was Octavian [Octavius].
After the death of Julius Caesar- there were some power struggles that took place- between some other famous people.
Marc Antony being one of them [Cleopatra too- he was in love with the girl for sure].
Now- we read about Augustus in the New Testament- and we read in the book of Revelation about the Mark of the Beast- and that those who don’t worship- give homage to the Beast- they will be killed.
So- Many Christians would be killed because they would refuse to give homage to Caesar Augustus [meaning son of the Divine].
‘Wow- how did he get a name like that’ [there was more than one Caesar by the way- as well as more than one Herod- who did play a part in these power struggles- it can get confusing- even to me].
When Octavian defeated Marc Antony at Actium [32 BC].
Herod [The Great] had a problem- he had previously sided with Antony and found himself on the losing side.
Yet he was smart- did some ‘brown nosing’ as we say-and patched things up.
Herod had 3 sons- who would eventually take positions of authority in the Roman government at the time of Christ.
Herod Antipas was over the region that we read about in the New Testament where Jesus did most of his ministry- Galilee.
Ok- Octavian claimed deity because of a heavenly sign associated with his rise to power- and this is how he became called ‘Caesar Augustus’.
He sort of saw himself as a ‘re-incarnate’- of his great uncle Julius Caesar.
‘John- what in the heck does this have to do with the Dead Sea Scrolls’.
Ok- good question.
The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times.
Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered.
They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule.
Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community.
This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century.
A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls.
The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes-
Now- when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along.
I did read up this week- and basically had it right.
The earliest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament we had previously dated back to around 900- 1000 A.D.
These manuscripts went back about 1000 years earlier- and they contained portions from almost every book of the Old testament- and some complete books.
The only book missing was Esther.
So- this was indeed a very significant find for scholars.
But the Scrolls also contain some of the writings from the Essenes themselves- things we never had before- so this too was significant.
There were Jews at the time of the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of Christ].
These are referred to as Herodian’s in the bible.
Some wanted a revolution to rid Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this group].
Some thought if they returned to a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the Pharisees.
And some took more of a political compromise- these were the Sadducees.
Eventually a war with Rome would be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he went to Rome and wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are very valuable to scholars].
NOTE- In time I’ll try and cover how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement].
Frankly- there is a lot of confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church had some type of plot to keep certain books out].
Or stories about how the Church taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her.
Actually- we read in the gospels that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of life-
And Jesus had a ministry to the down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women-
And if true- it would not demean her in any way-
That’s how this tradition more than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure.
So a few years back the Church officially said ‘we don’t know’.
Ok- Plot?
No- just being careful.
So there are other misguided beliefs like this- that sincere people have- and over time I hope to get to them.
I’ll do one more in keeping with this post.
I mentioned above that Caesar Augustus did indeed take the title of ‘son of God’.
And some critics of the Church say ‘see- there were all types of religions that had Sons of God’.
I watched one show a few years back- and it stated that these religions had ’12 disciples- a leader named Lord and Savior- and he healed and claimed to be God’s Son- and rose from the dead’.
Ok- that show was ‘fibbing’ to put it lightly- they went too far [historically speaking] in trying to diminish the Christians claim of Christ by doing this.
Now- is there some truth to this at all?
Yes- like I just mentioned above- Octavian did indeed claim deity- a ‘son of god’.
So- how do we explain this?
In the book of Galatians the bible says ‘in the FULLNESS of times God sent forth his Son’.
Jesus came at a set time in history- in fulfilment of the Jewish Prophets- to be who he was- and to do what he did.
Now- this is not special pleading here- but I find it a masterpiece that God’s Son came at a time when the Roman Empire had one sitting on the throne- who too claimed deity.
Yet Jesus was in a region of the lower class- his men were not highly educated- and his followers were people under oppression.
Augustus lived in the wealthy and influential capital of ‘the world’- he had all you could ever ask for- he was worshiped as a god.
Yet in 3 short centuries- one of the heirs of the empire- Constantine- would have an experience – not with a former Caesar- but with a vison of a Cross-
He would convert to Christianity- and declare Christianity to be the religion of the realm.
VERSES-
Mark 2:1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
Mark 2:2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
Mark 2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
Mark 2:4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Mark 2:6 But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
Mark 2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
Mark 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
Mark 2:9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
Mark 2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
Mark 2:11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
Mark 2:12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
Mark 2:13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.
Mark 2:14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
Mark 2:15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.
Mark 2:16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Mark 2:18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?
Mark 2:19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
Mark 2:20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
Mark 2:21 No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.
Mark 2:22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
Mark 2:23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
Mark 2:24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
Mark 2:25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
Mark 2:26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
Mark 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Mark 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
1Samuel 21:1 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?
1Samuel 21:2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.
1Samuel 21:3 Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.
1Samuel 21:4 And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.
1Samuel 21:5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.
1Samuel 21:6 So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
1Samuel 21:7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.
1Samuel 21:8 And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.
1Samuel 21:9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.
1Samuel 21:10 And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.
1Samuel 21:11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
1Samuel 21:12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
1Samuel 21:13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.
1Samuel 21:14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?
1Samuel 21:15 Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?
________________________________________
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
James
30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
John 20
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Matt.
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I mentioned Bart Ehrman on today’s post- Sunday sermon- below are some past teachings I did where his name showed up-
A few years back I did an on-line teaching about the other books that never made it into the bible.

Many years ago I bought some of these- and when you study church history and theology- well- these are an aspect of that type of teaching.

So I commented on them- gave the reasons why we don’t have them in our bibles.

But I also said that when I read some of them- I have found some are actually quite good.

One of my favorites is called the Epistle of Barnabus.

But there are others as well.

Some in the early church actually had a couple of these that were included in some of the early bibles- others were never given a 2nd thought.

By the way- in this field of study- I come down of the conservative side.

That is I don’t hold to the ideas of men like Bart Ehrman- the more liberal scholars.

They seem to give more credence to the books that never made it into the canon- and cast too much doubt on the bible we have today.

Anyway- the few that I do lile- when I re-read them as the years go by- there have been times when God did speak to me.

Here’s one.

As my prayer time developed into this inclusion of dead folk [above].

I felt much more awareness of my friends who have died- as being amongst us during prayer.

Now- I don’t ‘pray to them’ but I have a greater sense of praying ‘with them’. I mention their kids and all- because these guys- some- were actually friends of mine- who came to my church meetings I started years ago.

So- I painted a spot on my wall- it was dedicated to this group.

I simply wrote a few things- stuff that reminded me that these were those who have gone on- and are yet ‘here’.

Sort of like my ‘friends in prison’ type of thing.

Prison represents those who have died- and we are not so sure where they are- to be honest.

I’ll explain it in a moment.

So- right after I painted this little altar area- I read in one of the ‘lost books of the bible’ [I think it was in the Revelation of St. Peter?].

It said ‘have you preached to the spirits in prison yet’.

Meaning- have you included those who have died yet- have you yet ‘learned this’ son?

That was the type of sense I got.

As I read the verse- I simply said ‘yes’.

Now- I do know the source is from one of the early books that is not in the bible.

But this reference- even if it is a copy- or a fake- does come from our bibles as well.

It’s in the letter of Peter [I think 1st Peter 3?]

And it’s one those texts that scholars haggle over.

But Peter is speaking about some who died before the days of the world wide flood [Genesis 6].

And he refers to these dead people hearing the gospel- by Christ himself- after he died and rose again.

And they are called ‘the spirits in prison’.

So- that’s the same thing I felt/understood as I began seeing those who have gone on- well- they are still with us in a way.

Yeah- in a few minutes I will post little Niko’s picture up on my wall.

I’ll look at it as time goes by- as I see all my friends- both living and dead- and I will read his words.

‘Today I have to go- don’t worry’.

Yes- Jesus said out of the mouths of babies thou hast perfected praise.

You think?

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Here; some stuff on Calvin and the reformation-

[1773] LUTHER CLASHES WITH ROME

Let’s do another post on the Protestant Reformation. I’ll probably only do a few more before I transition into another study.

By the way- all the studies I do thru out the year are posted in the February posts of the following year.

Okay- last we left off Luther was just beginning to butt heads with the church [Tetzel] over the abuse of the sale of indulgences that was going on in Germany.

In a previous post I mentioned how the priest- Tetzel- was selling these ‘get out of Purgatory’ type coupons in the area where Luther operated out- Saxony.

Actually- Tetzel never entered Saxony itself- but was selling these out of a bordering city- and many of Luther’s students/parishioners were being hoodwinked into spending their money to rescue a loved one out of Purgatory.

Tetzel is known for a jingle he started in connection with the sale of the indulgence- it goes ‘as soon as a coin in the coffer rings- a soul in Purgatory springs’- ouch!

Like I said before- the church never taught this- they did teach the Treasury of Merit [previous post] but the way Tetzel used it was a real abuse of the teaching of the church at the time.

Now- Luther responds to the abuse by writing the famous 95 thesis. This is the act that is often associated with the launching of the Reformation- the act that got the ball rolling.

The 95 thesis were simply 95 questions challenging the whole practice of the sale of indulgences- there was no mention of the doctrine of Justification by Faith- which will become the trumpet sound that springs out of the Protestant Reformation.

Luther takes these questions- written in Latin- and nails them to the university church door at Wittenberg. Sometimes while reading church history this ‘nailing to the door’ is seen as a sort of vandalism – you know- ‘he nailed them to the door!’

In actuality Luther was simply using the system of the day that one scholar would use in order to bring up an official point of contention with the church- Luther wrote the Thesis in Latin- which was the scholars language- not the language of the common man.

But Luther’s students quickly translated the Thesis into the vernacular [German] and it was said that in 2 weeks the paper made it into every village of Germany.

The challenge was a spark in the lives of many Christians who also believed the church was off track and that someone needed to rebuke her- and they picked Luther as the man for the job.

Now- the Catholic church wanted Luther to go to Rome and discuss the situation there- Luther’s friends warned him not to go- so they agreed to meet- a few times- in Germany.

The first meeting was in 1518 at Heidelberg- Luther actually gave a great defense of his argument and convinced some other top Catholic scholars that he was right [as a side note- the church had already scheduled this meeting because of a controversy that rose up between the Augustinian order of monks and the Dominicans. They were debating over which philosophy was more consistent with church teaching- Nominalism or Realism- for those of you who have read the posts this past year- I taught this when doing our posts on philosophy].

One man- Martin Bucer- wrote a stirring account of Luther- Bucer would later influence another young Swiss priest with Reformation teachings- his name is John Calvin.

As a side not Calvin will become one of the 3 big heavy hitters of the 16th century Reformation [Ulrich Zwingli is the 3rd].

Luther will meet again in Augsburg- and debate the leading Catholic scholar of the day- Cardinal Cajetan.

Then he goes to the city of Leipzig- and debates the leading German scholar- Johann Eck.

And his last meeting with the church will be at the famous Diet of Worms [pronounced- Vurmtz] and it will be here that Luther makes his last stand and officially will break with the church and launch the Protestant Reformation.

It should be noted that Luther held what we call a High Church position for most of this time- he still saw the church at Rome- and the Pope- as a legitimate expression of true Christianity- his beef was what he saw as an abuse of the system- by the priest Tetzel.

As time progressed- the other beliefs of Luther- founded upon the bible- did come into contention with Rome.

The main disagreement eventually became the teaching in the bible called Justification by faith. I have written a study on the topic on the blog- I have also written a bible study on the book of Romans and Galatians.

For those of you who can- try and read Romans chapters 2-4 and Galatians 2-3- these are the key chapters that cover the teaching.

Down the road I will cover the official teaching of both the Protestants and the Catholics on the doctrine of justification- the Catholic Council of Trent- referred to as the Counter Reformation- spells out the official teaching of Rome- and there are a few papers put out by the Reformers that explain their belief.

Since the 16th century Reformation there have been efforts made by Protestants and Catholics to bridge the gap as much as possible- to try to come to some common language since the historic split.

I like some of the efforts that have been made- and recently both groups put out a statement that jointly said we all believe that we are saved by Gods grace thru Christ- that’s good.

But as we get into some of the actual discussion- you will see the points at which the 2 sides disagreed- and the main one was on the act- the actual thing that happens- when a person is declared just- the Reformers said it takes place when a person has faith- believes- the Catholic church said it takes place at baptism- water baptism.

This- as well as a few other things- will be a defining distinction between the 2.

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Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John

1775- WHAT DID HE SAY?

Let’s do a little review today. I know the history posts go a little long sometimes- and many Christians do not see the value in studying church history.

But I have found over the years that a lot of independent type churches- good men- good people- but cut off from the broader church- well these churches have a tendency to get off in a rut- a particular doctrine or style of teaching- and after a while it becomes impossible to get these good church folk back on the balanced course.

A few examples. Many years ago- as a young Pastor- I had lots of good Pastor friends who too were doing their best to do what they felt God wanted.

At the time- I began having difficulty with many of the most popular interpretations of the bible that these good men were using.

After a while I realized that some of the stuff was so off course- that if they didn’t make some major course corrections at the time- that they were going to end up spending their entire Pastorate teaching stuff that is out right false.

I have talked a lot about this over the years- and the examples are too numerous to cover them all- but a good example is the ‘Camel going thru the eye of a Needle’ verse.

One time Jesus and his men were going thru town and a young rich guy asks Jesus what he must do to be saved.

A pretty straight forward question- right to the point.

Jesus tells the guy to keep the law- the guy asks which ones.

Ah- now you’re digging yourself in brother.

So Jesus says to love God and his neighbor- these are the top ones.

He asks ‘and who is my neighbor’?

Jesus goes on and gives an explanation- and he also tells the guy to go and sell all he has and give it to the poor- and follow him.

The guy goes away sad because he was rich.

Then Jesus says ‘it’s harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a Camel to go thru the Eye of a Needle’.

What?

The disciples [I think Peter?] say ‘then who can be saved’?

Jesus says with men it is impossible- but not with God- with God all things are possible.

[just a quick side note- I haven’t read all these stories in a while- trust me- they are all in the bible- but I might have mixed a few together- but the main point stays the same]

Okay- in context- what could Jesus be saying about the camel and the needle?

It sure seems like he’s using a figure of speech that would mean ‘look- the guy is too attached to his money to fully give himself over to being a follower of me- maybe down the road he will change- but he’s not ready yet’.

Seems reasonable to me- don’t you think?

But wait- in the group of pastors/teachers that were popular at the time- one of the main teachings was how to get rich- and they saw financial increase as the main thing- I mean that’s what they focused on all the time.

So what do you do with verses like these?

You simply change them- you make them say what you want.

So the ‘true’ explanation for the Camel and the Needle became ‘the Eye of the Needle is the name of a low passage way thru the wall into the city- and the merchants- if they have lots of stuff- well the Camel has to stoop low to get thru’.

Aha- so what seems to mean ‘rich folk will have a hard time making the kingdom’ really means something else- as a matter of fact- it means the opposite- because the Camels that have to ‘scooch’ belong to the owners who have a lot of goods- thus the Camel has to get low.

Okay- maybe as rank amateurs this stuff was not the unpardonable sin- but many of these men are still teaching this type of stuff- and this one example is the tip of the iceberg- I could go on for a long time quoting all them but that’s not the point for now.

The main point is- if Christians separate themselves from the broader church- not just talking about ‘going to church’ but talking about the broad understanding that the people of God have- the books and teachings of those who have gone before us- not just one small group- but the whole community- then we will avoid these kinds of pitfalls.

As we do a few more posts in the coming weeks on church history- we will see this was one of the things restored by the Protestants Reformers during the 16th century.

Luther restored what’s referred to as the Literal Sense- that when you read the bible- you should be able to take it at face value- as much as possible.

Sure- you also want to ‘hear God’ speak in a personal way- but if what your hearing is the exact opposite of what the text is saying- well then we do have a problem.

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Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John

1782- PROTESTANT REFORMATION CONCLUSION

Today let’s finish up the study on the Protestant Reformation. We left off on Luther disputing with the church over the doctrine of how a person becomes just in the sight of God- is it by works or faith?

Now- to the surprise of many Protestants [and Catholics!] both sides agreed that a person cannot be justified by works.

Yes- the Catholic Church rejected what was known as Pelagianism. In the early centuries of the church there was a Catholic priest- named Pelagius- who taught that people had the ability within themselves to obey Gods law and become saved that way.

He rejected the doctrine of original sin and another famous bishop- Saint Augustine- would refute Pelagius and teach salvation comes by the Grace of God. The official Catholic position was to reject Pelagius and accept Augustine.

Okay- then where’s the difference?

The church council that spells it out is the Council of Trent [named after the Italian city where the council took place in the 1500’s- Trento].

This council is often referred to as the Counter Reformation. The church rejected the Protestant line- but also acknowledged the need for reform and made some changes.

This is the council where the church rejects Pelagianism- and also says the position of Luther [Justification by Faith ALONE] was flawed.

The church appealed to the New Testament letter of Saint James- where James uses an example from the life of Abraham [found in Genesis 22] where Abraham obeys God and is willing to sacrifice his son Isaac on an altar.

Of course this never happens- God was simply testing Abraham- but James says this act of obedience justified him in Gods sight.

James says ‘see how a man is justified by works- and not by faith ALONE’.

The argument from Rome was Faith played THE major role in justification- but was not sufficient by itself- there had to be righteous works eventually associated with it in order for God to say ‘you are just’ [saved].

Luther disagreed and said God justified Abraham before he had good works- we find this in Genesis 15. God says to Abraham ‘look- count all the stars- so shall your offspring be’ and Walla- the bible also says Abraham was justified in God’s eyes the moment he believed the promise.

Who’s right?

Actually they both are.

I have taught this a few times over the years- and it would take too much time to re-do right now.

But I believe James and Paul [the 2 who debate this in the bible] are simply looking at different aspects of salvation/justification.

Paul emphasized faith- and James showed us how true faith always has works with it.

When you read the statements that came out from the council of Trent- some of them do seem to indicate that both sides might have been talking past each other at some points.

In the heat of the day they were too quick to condemn the other side- without really trying hard to achieve unity [like politics!].

The 6th session of Trent was the one where the church dealt with justification [how we become saved in Gods sight].

Rome made a distinction between mortal and Venial sin in the council- the church said that Baptism is the INSTRUMENTAL CAUSE of justification. Yet faith is the Root- Foundation and Initial act that justifies.

Rome also taught that Mortal sin kills the grace in the soul that brings justification- and when a person commits a mortal sin- they need the ‘2nd plank of justification’ in order to be brought back into a state of Grace.

This 2nd Plank is the Sacrament of Penance [confession]. Catholic Moral Theologians use an example to show the difference between Mortal and Venial sin.

Drinking- if you take a drink [alcohol] not a sin. If you get tipsy- Venial- and if you get flat drunk- mortal.

This is a true teaching by the way- not making this up.

Catholic scholars are not in total agreement on all the Mortal/Venial sins.

Some teach that missing Mass on Sunday is a Mortal sin.

I just threw this in to show you the debates that take place.

The teachings from Trent are referred to as Tridentine.

The Protestants [early on] rejected the belief that a person can lose Gods grace once he has it- later on the Protestants would divide- severely- over this teaching- Predestination and the Perseverance of the Saints.

But early on all the major Reformers did indeed teach this.

Luther believed in the doctrine of Predestination just as much- if not more- than John Calvin.

But sometimes in these history shows they get this wrong and say Luther and Calvin disagreed on it- that’s a common mistake that you hear every so often.

Luther actually wrote a book dedicated to the subject [The Bondage of the Will] Calvin never wrote a book solely on the subject.

Okay- as we end this brief study of the Protestant Reformation- you could also call it a primer on Catholic doctrine [short one].

Why is it important that we study this?

In John chapter 17 Jesus said that he desired unity for all of Gods people- and many of these divisions- which date back 500 years- are commonly misunderstood on both sides.

It is common in our day to run across an ex Catholic who might say ‘you know- I left the church because I don’t believe I need to confess to a priest’ or ‘the Catholic church teaches you are saved by works’.

The original Reformers did not have a problem with confession- the Lutherans carried the practice over into their communion.

And like I just showed you- the Catholic church rejected the doctrine of being saved ‘by works’ [Pelagianism] and simply emphasized the teaching found in the bible- the book of James- and focused more on James than Paul [who the protestants focus on].

So yes- there are still differences- but if we are not informed- then it makes it harder to strive for unity- and at the end of the day God does desire unity for all his people.

The other day I quoted the great Civil rights leader- MLK. In one of his famous speeches that’s played when we celebrate his life- you hear Martin say that not only was he seeking unity among the races- but also in the church.

He said he wanted to see Catholics and Protestants- as well as Blacks and Whites- sit down together- he referred to us all as Gods kids.

I think we should strive to achieve the desire of Martin- and Jesus.

Amen.