We're All Sinners!

 You want to know why the world is in the mess it is in? Because of the above truth. It is in our fallen nature to sin. Guess what? We are ALL STARS – WORLD CHAMPIONS when it comes to sin. We would all need our own galaxy just to store all of our sinful rewards and trophies. That still would not be enough room. I realize I am writing in what some of you may regard as exaggerated language, but I think it is important we discuss this matter for a minute.

We sin so often that we have become desensitized to it. We laugh at it. We enjoy it (John 3:19). We’re no longer grieved by our evil. “After all, I’m just being me right? God knows my heart so stop trippin and don’t judge me!”

The prophet Isaiah said this in chapter five of his book, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever and shrewd in their own sight” (Isaiah 5:20-21).

When the world is celebrating Homosexuality, Lesbianism, Transgenderism, Gender Identity, Bi-Sexuality, Critical Race Theory/Neo-Marxism as virtues, this makes the current pandemic seem like the sniffles.

Do we have a vaccine for mankind’s sins? If there is one who’s going to take it to receive healing? More on that later in the article.

I understand why God destroyed the earth with a flood during the time of Noah. This is what it says in Genesis 6:5, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thought of his heart were only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. And the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air; for it repented Me that I have made them.”’

 Why would God create mankind knowing they would rebel? Some think that God is capricious; meaning God created man just to will his misery. Creating man was very good God said (Genesis 1:26). What grieves God is the wickedness of man.

One of the reasons I believe God permitted man to rebel was so that He could display His sorrow over mankind’s wickedness. I believe it was essential for man to see (or in our case read about) how much God is grieved and angered by our sins. God wants us to feel the same way He feels toward sin. It grieved Him so much that He destroyed the antediluvian world and saved only eight souls and animals in the ark.

[1]Another reason God allowed the rebellion of man is so that He could display the wonders of His grace toward him. There is no way we could understand or appreciate the grace of God without contrasting that against the backdrop God’s justice and wrath toward our sins and the forgiveness of our sins in Christ. [2]Understand that just because God allows sin does not mean He approves it. God permits sin for now, because it (sin) has to run its course. God allowing man to rebel is an ongoing act of mercy although God hates it. God allows sinners to live longer than they deserve because He desires that all repent (2 Peter 3:9). Those who continue to frustrate the patience of God are storing wrath against themselves for the day of wrath (Rom 2:5). God is loving in that He tells us in His Word why He hates our sins and why He must punish us for them. No false worldly ideology can ever explain that to us.

[3]At the end of the day, no one can say to God, “I don’t know why you punished me!” God’s Word clearly reveals to us the consequences of our sin, “For the wages of sin is death, but eternal life is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 6:23).

As my wife would say, “This is a teachable moment.” What is? The reaction we should have toward sin. Just like God we should be grieved and angered by our sins and that of others. What should be the next step? We need go to God and confess our sins to be cleansed of our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

God has commanded us to be a holy people (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:16).

What does that mean? We must live right in a world that is wrong – wrong and as wicked as it can be.

In this postmodern and godless society, this is neither easy nor popular.

My purpose in this article is for us to re-focus on what we need to do as children of God. We have the only solution to all the world’s problems – The Lord Jesus Christ. The government can never create enough legislation to solve our problems. Nor can they create enough vaccines to get rid of SARS-COV-2.

Sin is an internal spiritual dis-ease. It is residential wickedness living on the inside of us. The only vaccine available is the blood of Christ which removes our sins from us forever (Hebrews 9:22).

How do you want your life to end? Once again, we are all sinners because we are infected with sin inwardly. Trusting in the completed work of Christ cures us from sin which is death eternal. Thank God He saw fit to cure me, so I do not have to suffer His just wrath.

So, one may be vaccinated against COVID-19, but there is a far worse disease all people suffer from – SIN! The disease of the soul. Have you been inoculated yet? If not, what are you waiting for? It amazes me how we’ll take man’s word over God’s! Doctors, celebrities, and government tell us, “Take the vaccine” and we do it – no questions asked. God commands everyone to repent for the forgiveness of sins; most refuse. Why? Because most of the deceived world loves their sin disease.

This is not a popular subject. I realize that. As a matter of fact, it is the least popular of all subjects. After all, who wants to hear about their sin? We’re tired of fire and brimstone messages. We would rather hear a message that makes us feel good. Sorry, I am not a Televangelist. As a servant of the Lord, I must give a clarion call to those who are lost, and/or those who have lost their way. It is hard matter to discuss, but love must tell the truth – especially God’s love which is able to save the soul.

 

Originally written August 4, 2021

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[1] Paragraph added to article 5/23/2024

[2] Paragraph added to article 5/23/2024

[3] Paragraph added to article 5/23/2024

How Are We To Treat Our Enemies?

 

The best person to imitate when dealing with our enemies is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that when He was reviled, He did not revile back, but committed Himself to Him (The Father) that judges righteously (1 Peter 2:23). Jesus said in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” That will never be easy to do due to the corruption of our minds and flesh. We want to quote the words of the “Godfather of Soul” James Brown. We want our BIG PAYBACK!

Waiting on the Lord to settle the score against our enemies takes much prayer, patience, faith, and endurance. Many will fail their fiery trial and take matters into their own hands and exact their own revenge. I want to explain Biblically why this is tragic.

Proverbs 24:17-18 tells us, “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice, or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath from them.”

If we rejoice in our enemies’ destruction, we prove we are no better than they are. Secondly, the just punishment God would have executed against them, He may withdraw due to our sinful decision to exact our own revenge. Deuteronomy 32:35 says that vengeance is mine says the Lord; I will repay. To pay back our enemies’ evil with evil is sin (Rom 12:19). It also robs God of the glory of repaying our enemies Himself – a person who does so usurps the Lord’s authority and at that time of rage does not fear God.

God commands we repay our enemies’ evil with good, “If your enemy is hungry feed them; if they are thirsty give them something to drink. In doing this, you heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you (Pro 25:21-22). Now understand this, just because you show kindness to your enemies does not mean they will reciprocate it back to you. Your aim is to obey and please God above all else. Hopefully the kindness you have shown them will crush their pride and open the way for you to share the gospel to them so that they can repent of their sins and receive the gift of eternal life.

The unregenerate who are God’s enemies are on their way to hell. The best thing they can do for themselves is to encounter a true believer who is not afraid to share the gospel truth so that despite God’s wrath that abides on them, He at the same time loves them and desires they repent. God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked. God does not rejoice in His enemies’ destruction; we are not to either (Ezekiel 18:32; 33:11). Why? A person who dies in sin is lost forever. They will live in a Christless eternity.

Let’s pray for one another that we love and forgive our enemies just like Christ love and forgave us (Eph 4:32).

 

Are We to obey any of the Old Testament Law?

 

Old Testament legislation was better known as the Law of Moses or the Mosaic Law. God started instituting the Law on the day the Hebrews exited Egypt during the inaugural Passover.

Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel saying, ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for the household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You make take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire – its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.

And thus, you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.

‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike the firstborn in the land of Egypt on that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you when I strike the land of Egypt.

‘So, this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat – that only may be prepared by you. So, you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt.

Therefore, you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land’” (Ex 12;1-20).

The Passover along with the Feast of Unleavened Bread were the first feasts instituted in Israel. To read about the other Mosaic feasts go to Leviticus chapter twenty-three.

The first five books of the Bible are called the Torah which means instruction. In Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy is where Moses reveals all of God’s laws and customs to His people. This consisted of ceremonial laws, dietary laws, religious festivals, and civil and moral laws.

The ten commandments or decalogue where some of earliest laws given to Israel. There are some perhaps many people who wonder if the ten commandments are applicable to us today. Yes, they are apart from the fourth commandment which says, “Remember the Sabbath Day, keep it holy” (Ex 20:8). There may be some Christians who disagree with me regarding the Sabbath; they may believe that we should observe it like the Seventh Day Adventists. The Bible gives us latitude regarding days. Romans 14:5 tells us this, “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems everyday alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.” The Sabbath was the day of rest for the nation Israel. They were to do no work on that day because the Lord rested after He was done creating the world and everything in it. He blessed and sanctified the seventh day which on our calendar is Saturday (Gen 2:2-3; Ex 20:8).

The only part of the Mosaic Law we are to observe and obey today is the moral part of the law. We are not subject to their dietary restrictions or their religious ceremonies. We are not bound by their religious festivals; e.g. The Feast of Trumpets (Rosha Hashanah), The Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth), Passover, Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), et al. Neither are we subject to their sacrificial system. Their sacrificial system was made obsolete once Jesus sacrificed himself as the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world (John 1:29; Heb 9:12,26).

 

 

 

 

 

The Meaning of Mark 11:23-24

 “For assuredly whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and cast into the sea’, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you have received them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:23-24).

These verses have been used like a magic formula in the Charismatic-Neo-Pentecostal-Name-it-and-claim-it movement. They have been used to write a blank check type of prayer to get whatever you desire from God. Of course, these verses like so many others, have been aborted from their original context so that a pretext has been created around them – to make them mean other than what Jesus said it means.

So, let’s go back to verse twelve to get the context and flow of thought, Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He (Jesus) was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said it to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it (Mark 11:12-14).

Skipping to verse twenty of Mark 11, Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away.”

So, Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:20-22). Word of Faith teachers misinterpret this verse to say Jesus said, “have the faith of God or the God kind of faith.” God does not need faith to do anything. Who would He trust in?

We arrive at Jesus talking about moving mountains because of the cursing of the fig tree back in verse fourteen. The point Jesus is driving home is have faith in God when you pray. The phrase regarding the mountain, being removed and cast into the sea is hyperbole. Hyperbolic language is intentionally exaggerated speech to prove a point. Obviously, Jesus is not talking about us literally moving mountains. But rather, with trust in God, we can overcome insurmountable odds in life. The mountain simply represents a colossal challenge in our lives.

Verse twenty-four Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (vs. 24).

This verse has been a staple for the Word of Faith movement. This is where they use the power-of-positive-confession to say things like: I believe am healed. I believe I have that new home. I claim that new job. I bind the devil and demons over my finances, etc. If you confess things which are currently in the spiritual realm over and over again, they will by the force of faith, manifest in the natural realm. How do I know this? Because I was part of this environment for years. This is not what Jesus meant when He said when you pray believe you receive the things you prayed for, and you shall have them – that you keep confessing what you want over and over again. Jesus was simply teaching us to trust Him. In due season we will reap if we do not give up (Gal 6:9).

Now according to verse twenty-four of Mark 11, is Jesus saying we can have whatever we want? No. But that is what the verse clearly appears to imply right? Yes, it does.

That is why it is so important to be well versed in your Bible. What we desire is not always the will of God. Ultimately God’s will be done (not ours) on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10). The Lord gives His children the privilege of praying to Him to fulfill His will in their lives here on earth. Prayer is not about us getting solely what we want. God is not a Cosmic Jeanie in a name-it-and-claim-it bottle.

In John 5:14 we read, “This is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will (italics mine), He hears us. And if we know He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we have asked of Him.”

Jesus also commanded us to seek first His kingdom and righteousness and everything that we need will be added to us (Matt 6:33). It is a matter of priority when we pray. If we are seeking our own desires over the Lord’s will, we will not receive what we desire from the Lord (James 4:3). Also, if we doubt, do not expect to receive from the Lord either (James 1:6). All prayer to God MUST be in faith realizing our God can do the impossible. God’s sovereignly through the prayer of His saints fulfills His master plan in the earth. When we understand that our wills have to be subordinate to His, only then can we have confidence that our desires can be met. Why? Because we are to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not lean to our own understanding. In all our ways we are to acknowledge Him so that He can direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

 

 

Is God Providing New Revelation – Private Interpretations?

 I often wonder if God speaks to people audibly today. Many Christians’ replies are, “Yes! Of course He does!” Many evangelical leaders claim God is telling them specific details about someone’s life; like they are going to get a financial breakthrough in 10 days. Or their prodigal son and daughter will come home in the next 30 days. What happens when these predictions do not come to pass because most of them do not happen as the preacher “prophesied” they would? Some of them have and will blame the person they prophesied to that they lacked faith in the “word of the Lord” they heard so it neutralized the prophecy. No. What actually happened is the preacher either presumed they heard from God (some inner unction?) like several false teachers did when they claimed the Lord told them Donald Trump would be re-elected in 2020, or they willingly lied and put Jesus’ name on their false prophecy to give it “divine authority.”

It has and will be continually argued that modern day prophecies are not Biblical because the canon is closed. God has said all He needed to say to humanity in the pages of scripture. Any supposed new revelation means God is not finished speaking to us and the Bible is being added to. While many know they cannot add to holy writ, they are convinced God has spoken to them perhaps audibly, in a dream, a vision or an inner voice. They believe God is speaking to them just like He spoke to the prophets and apostles of old. Proverbs 30:6 says, “Add not to His word lest He reprove you and you be found a liar.” Deuteronomy 4:2 says, “Do not add to what I command you and not subtract from it but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”

Revelation 22:18-19, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll; if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”

If you are claiming to speak in the name of the Lord, make absolutely sure you heard from Him. Because if what you say does not come to pass, you are a false teacher. In the writer’s view, that person is disqualified from ministry until they repent, sit down, and receive counsel from holy men of God.

What about private interpretations?

We can define private interpretations as explanations of men. Sadly, many false teachers and prophets today claim to have a personal revelation from the Lord; and because they play fast and loose with the Biblical text, they eisegete scripture to their own destruction. The apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:19-21 these words, “We also have a surer word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirt (emphasis added).  

The word interpretation is the Greek word epilusis. It literally means to loose, solve or explain. So, the Narcigete[1] who’s puffed up and anemic when handling Bible truth always sees themselves in the text of scripture and applies Bible passages that have nothing to do with them thus butchering the text. This results in them putting a private interpretation on God’s word rendering it of no effect. The fallout from this reckless handling of the word is catastrophic! How many people in congregations have been misled and destroyed emotionally by godless sermons? What is the net of result this? That person has delivered a demonic doctrine (1Tim 4:1). Many turn away from God and the truth. Their only experience with the Church was one of deception and hypocrisy. Any wonder why Paul commanded that we study to show ourselves approved unto God a worker who does not have to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15)?

A loving warning to all: Be very discriminate who you listen to and articles you read – including this writer. Be like the Bereans who received the word with all readiness of mind and search the scriptures daily to determine what they were hearing was so (Acts 17:11). Test the spirits to see if they are of God. Why? Because many false prophets are in the world (1 John 4:1). That means we have to wait for it…..JUDGE their fruit (Matt 7:15-20)! Those that do not teach the truth we are to mark and avoid them (Rom 16:17). That is a command from the Lord.

Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them – Ephesians 5:11.

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[1] A Narcigete is a person who is selfish and eisegetes scripture. The word is a combination of Narcissism and Eisegesis. The word probably has not made its way into the dictionary yet.

The Tragedy Of Giving Up

When we are going through the trials of life, it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I realize that is cliché. The stress is often so painful we want to give up. Quitting should never be an option. Those that quit have guaranteed their failure to see what their endurance would have shown them. Tough times are designed to test us for sure, but the pain of our trials if we endure them is building us up and making us stronger. The gospel group Commissioned captured this well in one of their songs, “One Step After Another”

Trials of life can be a teacher for us if we do not just look at them negatively although the trial itself is negative. Trials come to us from the Lord, and trials can come from the devil. We suffer trials due to our own sins, and we can suffer trials from the sins of others. We are not responsible for the sins of others, but unfortunately we can become collateral damage because of their sins. Remember, be careful who you keep company with. Bad company corrupts good morals (1 Cor 15:33).

In 1 Peter 1:1-9 we read:

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood;

Grace and peace be yours in abundance. Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Wow! What glorious revelation Peter gives to his readers! These nine verses sum up the Christian life from beginning to end. God called us according to His foreknowledge (Click on the link for an understanding  of God’s foreknowledge in another article). Because we are saved, the scripture says we have a living hope. The word hope means an earnest expectation. Biblical Hope is something that is guaranteed to happen – nothing can thwart it. Our salvation is under lock and key in heaven. No one can steal it nor can we lose it.

Jesus gave this encouragement to His disciples and by extension all believers, “Men are to always pray and never give up” (Luke 18:1). In Galatians we read, “Let us not be weary in doing good. For at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9).

Do you see the key to our success here in Galatians 6:9? Paul said that we MUST endure in doing what is good. It is important that I quote verse eight, “Whoever sows to please the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. This verse leads into verse nine which again tells us not to be weary in doing what is good – sowing to the Spirit and not the flesh.

The Israelites die in the wilderness due to unbelief

In the book of Numbers chapter 13 Moses sends out twelve spies to check out the land of Canaan. For forty days they survey the land and bring back a report to Moses. They reported to Moses the land is indeed a land of milk and honey. They brought some of its rich fruit. Caleb one of the spies said that they should take possession of the land immediately for they were capable of doing so (vs 30). Ten of the spies out of fear deliver an evil report to the people; because of the sons of Anak dwelt in the land. The Anakim were giants (vs 33).

The people ignored Caleb’s report and listened to the fearful spies. They cried and complained and said they should return to bondage in Egypt. The other faithful spy Joshua warned the people not to rebel against the Lord since He is with us. Be courageous and let’s take the land. The result of this is that none of the older generation would enter the land but would die in the wilderness. For the forty days the spies were in the land of Canaan, God made a year; 40 years they would spend in the wilderness until all of them died. Only their children along with Joshua and Caleb would enter (Num 14:31-44).

Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested Me. They tried Me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation. I said, they are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways. So I declared on oath in my anger, they shall never enter My rest (Psalm 95: 7b-11).

 

 

Because the children of Israel were fearful of their enemies, they refused to take possession of God’s blessing, sinned by disobeying the Lord and said they would return to Egypt. At the end of the day, they could not return to Egypt, and they could not enter Canaan. Since they rebelled against the Lord by giving up, He pronounced death.

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n the book of Revelation the Resurrected Lord Jesus commands John to write to seven Churches in Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Rev 1:11). This is what John wrote to the angel at the second Church Smyrna:

 These are the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. “I know your afflictions and your poverty – yet you are rich (rich in faith, parenthesis mine)! I know the slander of those who say they’re Jews are not but are of the synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are to suffer. I tell you; the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you life as a victor’s crown” (some versions say, and I will give you a crown of life). Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the Churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt by the second death (Rev 2:8-11).

John has been banished to a small Island called Patmos when he wrote the seven letters to the seven Churches is Asia (Now modern Turkey). John wrote these letters at the end of the first century. The reason that I focused on the Church at Smyrna was because they were the persecuted Church. To one degree or another we as believers can relate. The key words John used were, “Be faithful unto death and you receive the crown of life.” Our reliance and trust in God have to be all or nothing! We cannot give up on God. We have to be faithful – even if it kills us!

This was Job’s resolve when enduring his trials, “Though He (the Lord) slay me, yet I will trust Him” (Job 13:15).

It’s all good anyway, right? To live is Christ. To die is gain (Phil 1:21).

Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:2-3).

 

What Is a Saint - Who Can Be a Saint?

 

Who determines sainthood; does God or man? Many people throughout history have been given the illustrious title of saint: Saint Peter the apostle, Saint Nicholas (i.e. Santa Claus), Saint John the apostle, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Patrick of Ireland. Mother Teresa (1910-1997) was canonized as a Saint by the Roman Catholic Church on September 4, 2016 – nineteen years after her death.

The word saint is the Greek word hagios. Saint is connected to the word holy. A saint is one that is holy, sanctified and separated to God. A saint is anyone who is a Christian (Eph 1:1; Jude 3; Rev 13:7) or in the Old Testament those whom God chose as His own (Psalm 116:15; Dan 7:22,25). A saint is a position that God confers upon those He saves. Jude 1:14b says the Lord comes with ten thousand of His saints. The New International Version (NIV) uses the words holy ones instead of saints. Both versions are correct.

Contrary to popular belief, sainthood is conferred on believers in Jesus Christ during life. No one can become a saint posthumously. Like I mentioned above, the Catholic Church gave Mother Teresa the name of Saint Teresa nineteen years after death. What was the determining decision to do this? The Catholic Church claimed she healed two people by interceding for them from the grave when they “prayed” to her.

An Indian woman named Monica Besra said she was cured of an abdominal tumor through the intercession of Mother Teresa on the one-year anniversary of her death in 1998. A man from Brazil named Marcilio Andrino was diagnosed with a brain infection. He fell into a coma. His wife, family and friends prayed to Mother Teresa. As the doctors brought him to the operating room for surgery, he supposedly woke up with no pain. Because of these two “miracles” that are attributed to a dead woman, she (Mother Teresa) was canonized as a saint which she was already beatified[1]  (i.e. declared in heaven) by the Catholic Church.

Three things I need to point out. 1) The dead cannot intercede on behalf of the living or heal them because they are dead. 2) Prayers to the dead are forbidden (1 Sam 28:7-19). It is called necromancy. It is a Satanic practice. 3) If Mother Teresa could heal, why didn’t she heal herself? She had heart, lung and kidney ailments. It is utter absurdity to believe a dead woman could heal the living, but she cannot heal her own body. These are the lengths that pagans will go through to receive answers to prayer – they will pray to the dead.

Mother Teresa’s accomplishments, which were many and praiseworthy (click the above link for a biop of her life), will not automatically get her into heaven. For by grace we have been saved through faith. It is the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast (Eph 2:8-9). The Pope cannot make anyone a saint – whether they are alive or dead. To do so is to stand in the place of God which is blasphemous.

If the two people mentioned above were actually healed, they were healed by God, not Mother Teresa. Also, even if she was alive and healed them, that would not make her a saint. No amount of work can sanctify an unrepentant sinner. The writer does not know if Mother Teresa was truly a child of God, but I want to make a clear distinction between who is a saint and who isn’t. A saint is based on who you are in Christ, not based on what a person does.

 

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[1] Beatification is a recognition afforded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person’s

entrance into heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their

name