Defining Some "isms"

What is Atheism?

Atheism is the belief that God does not exist. In Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1 it says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God!’ “

Atheists also would have to believe in evolution since they do not believe God exists. There has to be a reason for the existence of the universe so the theory of evolution is their “drug” of choice. Atheism contradicts itself in that it does not believe in the existence of God, but they have enough “faith” to believe in another god – the god that is evolution. This of course is in direct violation of Exodus 20 verse 3 where Moses says, “You shall have no other gods before me.”

It is illogical for anyone to believe in evolution because it means we are believing in randomness, chance happenings for the causality of our universe. An effect always has to have a cause. The Bible tells us in Genesis 1:1 in the beginning God (the cause) created the heavens and the earth (the effect).

What is Theism?

Theism is the belief that a god exists. Here’s the catch though, a Theist is not necessarily a Christian. There are Theists in false religions also – like for instance Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons. The Jesus in those religions is not the Jesus of Holy Scripture. For an explanation of who they worship see my article on, “Do all roads lead to God?” http://gospelofrepentance.blogspot.com/2014/07/do-all-roads-lead-to-god.html.

We want to be Theists according to the Bible and nothing else.

What is Pantheism?

Pantheism is the belief that God is everything, and in everyone. In another words, God is a rock, a shoe, a dog, a tree, you get the idea. No doubt a misinterpretation of Psalm 139:7-8 has contributed to a Pantheistic worldview. These verses read, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in hell you are there.”  These verses do not mean that God is in everything. Rather they mean God is omnipresent – He is everywhere. God is not one with his creation, he is separate from his creation. Think it about logically, if God is his creation, then he had to create himself which of course is impossible. No being can self-create. A couple of huge problems is that (1) if God self-created himself, then he is not eternal – which means he had a beginning. Micah 5:2 makes reference to Jesus Christ as being everlasting so that means God is eternal, and self-existing, not self-creating. And (2) the other problem with God being one with his creation is that if one chooses to believe God is eternal, then the creation is eternal too which is unbiblical also. This view prohibits God from being the creator of the universe. Hinduism and Buddhism are religions that are Pantheistic and Polytheistic. They both have over 300 million gods in their system, and Hindus in particular main goal is to become one with their man deistic force – Brahman.

What is Monotheism?

Monotheism is a compound word. Mono means one or only, and Theism comes from the Greek Theos meaning God. Monotheism is the belief in one God, or that God is one. In Deuteronomy 6:4 we read, “Hear O Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one.” In James 2:19 we read, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble.” Contrary to the criticism of some that believe that Christians worship three gods due to God being triune, the Bible makes it clear that we serve one God manifested in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three are God; Co-equal, Co-eternal, and Co-powerful.

The Muslims also regard themselves as Monotheists. For they only worship Allah.

Monotheism is only viable if one is worshipping the one and only true God, the God of the Bible.

What is Polytheism?

Polytheism is the opposite of Monotheism. It is also a compound word. Poly meaning many, and once again Theism meaning God. A Polytheist is one who worships multiple gods. A cult called Baha’i Faith is a false religion that incorporates many belief systems into its worldview. A synonym for Polytheism would be Pluralism. The Bible condemns Polytheism. As a matter of fact, it was punishable by death.

In Deuteronomy 13:1-5 says, “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods which you have not known, and let us serve them’, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet of dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord Your God and fear him, and keep his commandments and obey his voice; you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So shall put away the evil from your midst.”

What is Fundamentalism?

Fundamentalism developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries because of the infiltration of liberalism entering the Church. Men from Princeton Theological Seminary were commissioned to write articles on the core doctrines of the Christian Faith. The result was they produced a twelve volume series titled, “The Fundamentals”. Reportedly over 300,000 copies were published and distributed for free to various church leaders.

The fundamentals doctrines of the Faith include, the Bible being the inspired Word of God – free from error. Jesus Christ being born of the Virgin Mary. The sinless life of Jesus Christ, his deity, his miracles, his crucifixion, burial and resurrection. His ascension, and return to earth to destroy his enemies, and set up his eternal earthly kingdom. Justification by faith alone, by grace alone, through Christ alone, and not by works.

When fundamentalism declined, it took on a derogatory character. Now a Fundamentalist is considered someone who is a legalistic extremist boycotting abortion clinics and telling women they cannot wear pants or makeup in Church or they are going to hell for being too worldly.

Fundamentalism was a positive force about 100 years ago that fought against the tolerance of liberalism – which is a view that is not a stickler for staunch Biblical truth, but rather a mixed bag of beliefs; a religious pluralism.

We as believers should endeavor to be classic Fundamentalists who were defenders of the faith like the Reformers were in Europe in fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Remember the eternal words of Jude 3b, “Contend earnestly for the faith once and for all delivered unto the saints.”

That is true and classic Fundamentalism.

Christ humbled, Christ Exalted

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and given him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

-          Philippians 2:5-11

Christ’s humiliation

When Jesus Christ came to earth as a man, we call that his humiliation. Why? Because he descended to earth to become like mankind without sin. Christ humility was not just his coming into the earth, but his entire life was one of humility.

In Matthew 11:28-30 we read, “Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Notice Jesus never paraded or aggrandized himself. Jesus came to serve, not to be served (Matthew 20:28).

Even when Jesus represented himself as Messiah during Passion Week he humbly rode on a donkey on Palm Sunday. This was done to fulfill scripture, “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey. A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ “[1]

An extraordinary act of humble servitude is when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet during the Last Supper. He was showing them how they are to be humble servants and wash one another’s feet. Jesus led by example (John 13:3-17).

I see another of act humility was during Christ’s arrest. He declares that he could have prayed to the Father, and 12 legions of angels (around 72,000 of them) would have been dispatched at his disposal, but he relented so that scripture could be fulfilled.

Jesus ultimate humiliation, of course, was his crucifixion. This universal shattering act of God also was ultimate triumph. For through Christ shed blood, all those who truly believe they could be forgiven of their sins would be set free. Jesus had to die and shed his blood for it is the only way sins could be remitted (Hebrews 9:22).

Christ’s Exaltation

Oddly, Jesus declared he was glorified when Judas betrayed him (John 13:31b). Why would he declare he was glorified before the humiliation of the cross still ahead of him? I believe because scripture was unfolding just as it was written. Also, Jesus’ work on earth was nearly finished, and he would receive his pre-incarnate glory back with the Father once he was raised from the dead (John 17:5).

Jesus’ exaltation was evident when his disciples worshiped him prior to his ascension (Luke 24:52).

A tremendous expression of Christ’s deity is delivered by God the Father Himself when He calls his Son God. Hebrews 1:8-9 says, “Your throne O God is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore, God, Your God has anointed you the oil of gladness more than your companions.”

This lets us know that Jesus the Son of God is also God, the second one in the Holy Trinity or Godhead. If God the Father calls His Son God, it is foolish to debate the matter.

When Jesus is dying in agony on the cross, one of the thieves crucified with him says, “Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied to him, “This day (italics mine) you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Do we get the gravity of this affirmation by Jesus? To the majority of the eyewitnesses of Jesus’ impending death, he is a common criminal, and insurrectionist, a blasphemer against Caesar who deserves to die. But to the thief on the cross he is the Lord who knows Jesus can save him. And you know what? Jesus grants the man eternal life in the darkest hour of both their lives; while they are both suffocating to death!

This account is one of the boldest affirmations of Christ’s deity. While he is suffering the most horrific death in human history, he is at the same placing his Holy Spirit into a dying man next to him! The thief unbeknownst to him is being resurrected spiritually by the God-Man. Remember while this is occurring Jesus has been made a curse for us and made sin by God because the weight of all mankind sins he is currently bearing (2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13).

We will never be able to fully grasp this transcendent love for us. Praise God for it though!

This type of love blows my mind! How could a man love another man that complete unless one of them is God?

We read in John 20:28 where the disciple Thomas calls Jesus his Lord and his God. The Greeks words for Lord and God are Kurios and Theos. Kurios describes majestic titles of Jesus such as Master, Owner, Emperor, King. The Alpha and Omega.  The First and the Last. These describe his position. Theos describes his attributes such as The One True God, monism, self-existence, immutability, infinite knowledge, creative power, absolute holiness, et al.

So when we say Jesus is Lord and God, we are saying he is everything to us. He is life itself. The apostle John said in John 3:36 and in I John 5:12. “He that has the Son has life. He does not have the Son does not have life.

Jesus in his humiliation was misunderstood, mocked, despised, threatened, betrayed, arrested, beaten, spit upon, cursed and crucified.

Jesus in his exaltation was raised from the dead, worshipped, praised, loved, and ascended into heaven, is making intercession for his own, will destroy his enemies at the battle of Armageddon, will return to set up his eternal kingdom, throw Satan, the beast and false prophet along with all unrepentant sinners into the lake of fire to burn forever.

Jesus humiliation is over. Only his eternal glorification remains.

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[1] Originally prophesied in Zechariah 9:9

The Temptation of Jesus

The word temptation in the Greek language is peirasmos. The word has several meanings. It means trials with a beneficial purpose and effect. It means temptations divinely permitted or sent. It also means tests that can lead to sin do to our internal evil desires (or lusts).

I want to examine the temptation of Jesus by the devil in the wilderness.

First temptation - Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward he was hungry. Now when the tempter came to him, he said, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matt 4:1-3). But he answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but from every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’’ (Deuteronomy 8:3).

Do you see what the devil is trying to do here? He is attempting and tempting Jesus to get off his course, and abandon the will of God and seek physical satisfaction by eating. Yes Jesus was tired and hungry, and no doubt weakened having not eaten for forty days and nights. Yet the Lord was focused and used his best offensive weapon to defeat the enemy – the Word of God. Jesus told Satan, “It is written…”

But Satan is not done.

Second temptation – Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “’He will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ “Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, You shall not put your Lord God to the test’ “(Matt 4:5-7).

Here we see the devil intensifies the temptation. How? By quoting scripture to convince Jesus to do what he is proposing – throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple-the southeast corner. Historians have said the drop from the pinnacle of the temple to the ground could have been as high as 450 feet which would led into the Kedron Valley. This is what the Jewish Historian Josephus (37-100 AD) said about the temple:

               

… and this cloister deserves to be mentioned better than any other under the sun; for while the valley was very deep, and its bottom could not be seen, if you looked from above into the depth, this further vastly high elevation of the cloister stood upon that height, insomuch, that if anyone looked down from the top of the battlements, or down both those heights, he would be giddy, while his sight could not reach to such an immense depth. (Ant. 15:412)

  

A couple of things we need to examine in this temptation. 1. By Satan tempting Jesus to hurl himself off the temple mount, what the devil is hoping is that Jesus would kill himself. That way he is rid of his most dreaded enemy, and the plan of God is defeated. 2. The devil uses scripture out of context. Why? Because he is the father of all false religious systems. The passage Satan uses is out Psalm 91. In context it reads, “Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place – the Most High, who is my refuge, no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.

On their hands they shall bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:9-11).

The Psalmist is saying those who trust in the Lord will have the protection and refuge of God Almighty.

The devil misquoted the text of Psalm 91 to convince Jesus to presume on the power of God and throw himself off of the temple so that the angels could catch him lest he strike his foot on the rocks below. Satan butchered this text of scripture. But when people are unsuspecting, and cannot discern truth from error, you can make the Bible say whatever you want it to say to manipulate the gullible and naïve. False teachers like the devil do this every day. Know your Bible children of God!

We cannot play “Evil Knievel” with our lives and presume God will rescue us. That is putting God to the test which Jesus commanded Satan not to do. We are not to do it either. What the devil tempted Jesus to do would not have been an act of faith, but foolishness. Jesus knew that and again used the word of God to counter attack the enemy.

Third temptation – Again, the devil took him on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these things I will give you if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him shall only you shall serve’ “(Matt 4:8-10).

Here, Jesus defeats Satan again with the Word of God. Satan’s ego is now exposed as he wants Jesus to worship him instead of God. In exchange Satan would give Jesus the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Could we even imagine owning the entire world? Everywhere you set your foot would belong to you. That is untold power. That is what Satan had and notice Jesus didn’t deny Satan’s ownership.

The Bible says the devil is the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), and the ruler of this world system (John 12:31).

Also, the world is under his power (I John 5:19).

In Matthew 4:11 it says the devil left Jesus and angels ministered to him. In Luke 4:13 it says, “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.”

When the devil has ended tempting us, he will leave, but rest assured he will return.

  

It is important to realize that the temptations Jesus experienced were orchestrated by the Spirit of God. Why? So Jesus could prove to the devil that he is God? Was it to prove that Jesus was superior to the devil? Was it to show us how to defeat the devil when we are attacked by him? Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit of God because Jesus was displaying his obedience and trust in the Father to preserve him in this initial temptation as a human being.

God was testing Jesus for his good and edification, whereas Satan was tempting Jesus to sin and his destruction.

How do we reconcile Jesus’ temptation by the devil and the text in James 1:13-14? Wasn’t Jesus tempted to do evil?

James 1:13-14 reads, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.

These verses here appear to contradict what we just discussed in Matthew 4, but they do not. Let me explain.

Remember the temptation of Jesus was unique in that Satan was tempting the sinless Son of God. As a reminder, Jesus temptation experience was planned by God. Every temptation Jesus experienced was without – meaning on the outside. Since he never had any internal lust, he couldn’t be drawn away by it unlike us who are sinful. Jesus has a divine nature, not a sinful one. We have no capacity to comprehend anyone like that. Now James is talking about mankind in particular, not “divinekind” (if one permits the expression). James is also discussing mankind being tempted by his own ungodly lust. The devil is not even in the picture here. Yes we know he is the tempter, but I believe James is specifically talking about being drawn away, and being tempted because of our own evil desires.

Regarding the devil tempting Jesus; yes he tempted Jesus to sin. We read the three temptations in Matthew 4. Jesus had to be tempted in his humanity. Why? So that he could feel what we feel.

Hebrews 4:15 speaking of the Lord Jesus says this, “We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

What are the all points?

·       

     The lust of the flesh – turn these stones into bread and satisfy your hunger. You have suffered enough Son of God.

·         The lust of the eyes –  I’ll give all of the kingdoms of the world and their glory if you worship me the devil said.  Satan wanted to be the Lord of his Lord. Just like in Isaiah 14 the devil still wanted to dethrone God.

·     The pride of life – Throw yourself off the temple since you are the Son of God.  Do something spectacular to gain fame from the crowds and a great following! God loves you and will protect you from all harm.  Bear in mind Jesus never performed a miracle for someone’s amusement. When he was on trial before King Herod, he hoped Jesus would perform a miracle for him but he did not (Luke 23:8).

These are the lying fiery darts the devil throws at the believer to get him or her off course to; discourage us in this warfare. Ultimately the devil wants to kill us just like he wanted to kill Jesus (John 10:10).

The devil lost to Jesus ultimately when he died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for mankind’s sins. Jesus ultimate humiliation was also his greatest triumph. He had given the devil a vicious blow to the head as described way back in Genesis 3:15. The devil has never recovered from this blow and is losing his grip as time marches on.

Jesus showed us in his temptation how to wage a perfect warfare against our enemy Satan. Each time Satan attacked Jesus he used the greatest of all weapons, the Word of God. This is what neutralizes the enemy’s attacks.

Ephesians 6:17b refers to the Sword of the Spirit as the Word of God. For the Roman soldier this blade was his only offensive weapon in battle. For the spiritual soldier the Word is our only weapon in battle and it is enough. Jesus showed us how to use it in his temptation, we can gain victory in battle with it too!

How do we get the devil off our back? What causes him to cower and hide for a season? Here’s our answer: “Submit yourselves to therefore God. Resist the devil and he will flee” (James 4:7).

Saints of God, continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and wage a formidable warfare in the Spirit for “IT IS WRITTEN” is our battle cry.

Generational Curses

"You shall not make for yourself a carved image-any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, of that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a Jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those that hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.”

-          Exodus 20:4-6

What does it mean when God through Moses said that he will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations? Does it mean the children may have to suffer for the sins of their fathers? Yes. But everyone is responsible for their own sin.

In the book of Ezekiel we read, “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20).

The passage is clear. Everyone pays for their own sins. So, what about the generational curse that is described in Exodus 20? It seems to contradict Ezekiel 18. I believe the best way to understand the curse is to go back to the beginning with, Adam and Eve.

When Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God in the garden, that act of original sin was so systemic that it affected the entire universe. The result of that original sin brought the curse of death to man and the curse of the earth (Genesis 3:16-19).

The reverberating effects of the curse have affected mankind up until the present day. We suffer as a result of the disobedience of our original parents, and the sins we commit ourselves proving our sinful solidarity with them.

Similarly, in Exodus 20 notice what Moses says; God will visit (italics mine) the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those that hate me.   For those children that disobey the Lord like their fathers did before them, the curse will abide on them and their descendants for three and four generations. Now in the Bible a generation is around forty years. So for those who are worshipping false gods in the land of Israel, they could expect the curse to last for about 120-160 years.[i]

The wonderful contrast is that God would bless those that love him and keep his commandments (Exodus 20:6).

Also, understand that the curse being described here is not making reference to genetics. For instance, if a family has a history of battling diabetes or cancer, there may be a likelihood that some of their descendants may suffer with it because of a genetic predisposition, not because of a generational curse.

God did not assign every family with a specific generational curse.

There are those that believe that if their Father or Mother is a alcoholic, then they will become one. That is not always true. Being around someone that is always drunk may compel the children to despise it because of the damage it does to the person who’s always drunk, and to the family they are destroying. Some make the wise decision to have nothing to do with liquor. Being an alcoholic is not a result of a generational curse, nor is anyone predisposed to it. It is an individual choice one makes to escape the pain of their reality in the bottle. There are others that love to drink to get drunk on purpose.

How to reverse the curse of your soul

Jesus came to give all men life for those who are willing to repent of their sins and believe in his completed work on the cross. All believers are eternally blessed. There is absolutely no curse on God’s church. Now we are all still subject to the curse the Lord placed in the earth due to Adam’s sin-means death to all of creation, but for the person that is in Christ Jesus, there is everlasting blessings.

In Galatians 3:13 we read, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing may become upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

Anyone who is not a Hebrew or Jew is a Gentile. Jesus Christ destroyed the curse when he died on the cross. When we believed in what he did, we received the blessing of eternal life through the Holy Spirit by faith. One cannot be blessed and cursed by God at the same time can they?

I asked this rhetorical question because either you are blessed by God or cursed by him. The ultimate cursing by God are those who die in sin. Jesus said to them, “Depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt 7:23; 25:41).

We are not generationally cursed. Some may disagree because of the horrific things they have endured in their family, or someone they know has endured. It is true that some decisions we make can affect our children negatively, but they are not culpable for our sins. Neither are we responsible for the sins of our parents.

In Moses day, God declared that as long as people committed the sin of idolatry-worshipping false gods, it would incite the ire of God to the degree that he would remember the sins of those idolaters and punish them to the third and fourth generations because the descendants of the fathers perpetuated the same sin.

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[i] The generational curse amount is debatable. Some have said 30 years. Others have said

40 and 50 years make up a generation.