Grief

What is grief from the Christian perspective?  In order to answer that question we must first understand what grief is.

Grief is defined as:

Keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret or a cause or occasion of keen distress or sorrow. –Dictionary.com

Grief is an emotion that expresses distress from an affliction or loss.  Grief therefore, can be experienced in various different ways. For believers in Christ, there are some things we have to bear the grief of and there are other things we should not be grievous about.  Therefore, I am not going to tell you that you dear reader should never experience grief in your Christian walk, that would be unrealistic and impractical.  Instead what I hope to achieve through this article is to provide you with some guidance on how to deal with the emotion of grief.  More importantly, I hope to share with you how God deals with grief and how Jesus deals with grief, that hopefully it will shed some light on this topic that all of us can glean some strength from.

How does God deal with Grief?

Many believers, many people are surprised that God can even experience grief. He does and has experienced grief.  Here is a scripture when God became grievous of His creation of mankind:

“And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”-Genesis 6:6

What does this mean? It means that God was very distressed about losing mankind to the ways of sin and disobedience.  It does not mean he was angry.  Here we see the word “repented” used with the emotions of the Lord.  The word “repented” in this verse, as it applies to God, our creator, does not mean that God made an error and was upset about it.  It means that God changed his mind about how he created mankind and He decided to judge the entire human race at that point of time. Before he executed His judgment upon all mankind, He searched and found one righteous and peace-loving man, who did not use violence to justify the ends of his means in life. That man was Noah, and God saved him and his family as He cleansed and restarted the world via the great deluge, the flood. He did so because Mankind had gotten so out of control with vengeance killing and the Sons of God (the line of Shem) committing unholy marriages with the daughters of men (of the line Cain, the murderer of his brother Abel) [Read Genesis 5 and 6].  Before the earth became consumed with violence and unholy marital relations, He wiped out all but 8 souls from that generation.

So how does this tell us how God deals with grief?  It tells us that when God is grieved enough he options to find one man and through him save the human race and the planet.  Before you begin to believe that all those souls are eternally lost or have the become evil spirits that now plague mankind, believe me the Bible does not teach any such thing about them.  What the Bible does teach is that Jesus, after his death and during his burial in the earth, during those 3 days and 3 nights, went down to Sheol, the holding place of the condemned and preached to them redemption (1 Peter 3:19, 4:6; Matthew 27:52+53). Those souls of the spirits of men, who anticipated the redemption of God accepted Jesus and rose from the dead and entered into the heavenly Jerusalem and many in Jerusalem saw it.  Those people who rose from those graves, were the ones who never heard Jesus preach on the earth they died before Jesus was born, they all heard the message of redemption in Sheol,  many believed and received salvation, then the arose from the dead before Jesus did and went on before him into the New Jerusalem which appeared in Heaven. I therefore, submit to you that all the saints of the former dispensations who knew of the forth coming of God’s redemption for them, through Christ, was of those who accepted the message and rose from the dead.  

So how does God deal with grief? He takes corrective action to relieve Himself of the loss he has experienced.  What did God lose?  He lost the cream of his creation, the apple of his eye, the love of his life, His companions, His friends, He lost the many souls of Mankind to sin, disobedience and death.  How did he choose to relieve himself of such a loss? The Apostle John tells us how:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”-John 3:16

For the members of Mankind were not able to save themselves as a whole, entrapped by the sinful nature and the spirit of disobedience through the fear of (Hebrews 2:14+15) death and were on the path to eternal condemnation, that He sent Jesus, his only begotten Son, his image, born of a virgin, pure and without sin to become the sacrificial lamb for the sin of the world.  This illustrates that to overcome grief, God chose to love us and redeem us all, even those who died in the flood and those yet unborn.  Showing that what the Apostle Peter wrote about the Lord and his promises is true.

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”- 2 Peter 3:9

For those who were asleep before the Lord Jesus appeared on the earth, believed in hope of redemption promised by God and because of that faith in that hope, God through Christ, raised them up redeemed.  Giving all of us hope that are suffering grief that whatsoever God has promised he will accomplish.   All we have to do is keep believing in his promises.

How does Jesus deal with Grief?

Jesus being fully man, experienced grief during his ministry. Here are some scriptures illustrating when Jesus experienced grief and how he dealt with it.

Mark 3:1-6 [vs 5]-The Healing of the Man with the withered Hand on the Sabath

“And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.”

The passage we just read shows Jesus was grieved and angry, that  He experienced two separate emotions at the same time.  He was angry because of their silence, their lack of response to his question.  According to the Pharisees interpretation of the Law, if a cow or a lamb fell into a pit on the sabbath day, they couldn’t pull the cow or lamb out until the sabbath had passed.  However, the Pharisees overlooked this and allowed people to pull their livestock out of a pit on the Sabbath day because the livestock would be offered to them for atonement for breaking the Law.  What Jesus was saying since the religious leaders allowed the livestock to be saved on the Sabbath day, how much more should healing a man’s withered hand be allowed to be done on the sabbath day?  Isn’t a man of more value than livestock?  When the people did not respond to Jesus’ question he was angry that they would allow a man to suffer on the Sabbath day in comparison to saving their own livestock on the Sabbath from danger.  He was grieved because they were lost in their unbelief.  Remember this act was done inside of a synagogue, a place where the Pharisees have taught the people that Jesus was a law breaker because he performed miracles on the Sabbath day and among other things.  Jesus was angry because they did not respond. He was grieved because the people of the synagogue did not believe.  Now the man with the withered hand believed and did as Jesus bid him and he was healed as a result.

This shows that Jesus grieves when there is no faith in the people in his acts to heal and deliver.  It is because that they are lost without having faith in Christ. So how does Jesus deal with grief?  He finds one with faith in his ability to heal and performs a miracle.  Miracles can make unbelievers into believers all by one witnessed act. Yet it takes faith in Jesus to make miracles happen.  He performs miracles right in front of unbelievers in the hopes to turn them into believers.

Luke 7:11-17 The revival to life of a widow’s dead son.

And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

In this passage of scripture we find Jesus dealing with the grieve of a widow who lost her only son.  The economic impact of such a lost upon the widow was such that she would not be able to provide a living for herself.  Let me clarify,  back then women were provided and protected by the men in their families.  When a wife loses her husband due to death, she becomes a widow. The Law stipulates that if a woman becomes a widow, must have her eldest Son take care of her.  In this case the man that was being carried out of the city dead was her only son. She had no other relatives, herself being a widow she had no one to provide for her.  The woman was grieving over the lost of her son because there was no provision in the law for her care, unless a kinsman marries her.  I repeat, the story does not tell us if there were surviving relatives, but she was weeping concerning her loss. This story does not lend to us the extent of her plight, but her weeping tells us that see was not a young widow because her son was not a boy, but a full grown man. Who would desire, to care for an old woman with no surviving relatives?   What did Jesus do? Jesus stopped the procession, comforted the widow in her grief, and raised her son back to life.  Jesus restored her provision to her, he returned her son to her, she did not need to worry about being cared for anymore and see had her son back

So how does Jesus deal with grief? If there is faith present he performs miracles and restores hope to the hopeless.  This teaches us that we must retain hope when suffer loss.

I remember when I lost my job, my family, my first wife, my car and my home all in single year.  I suffered grief for many days. Grief is very painful emotion, It can drive a man to do harmful and destructive things if not handled properly and kept in perspective. Yet it is good for a man to grieve,  For It makes a man appreciate what he once had, that which may have taken for granted.  It can make a man reset his values and bring his life into perspective.  Sometimes grief is experienced everyday a man remembers his loss. Sometimes it goes away, being something or someone he does not grieve over anymore, for whichever which way a man deals with his grief he must confront it with hope and purpose.  Hope of a better tomorrow, hope of a better life.  In my despair, in my grief over losing all that I held dear and to an extent still do, I found hope.  I simply told God through Christ,”…If you are real you will raise me up out of this place. I have faith that you are God and nothing is impossible to you, if I believe. Here is where the rubber meets the road, either you’re God or you are not God. If you are not God I will remain homeless and I will not live for you anymore, but if you prove that you are God I will continue to live for you and your glory…”  Well, long story short, God did raise me out of homelessness.  I now have a new wife, a new family, a new home and a new job and now I am serving God in whatsoever capacity I can.  I will preach his Gospel, I will teach his people and I will glorify his name forever.  Do I still grieve over that which I have lost? I would be lying if I said that I didn’t grieve each and every day, because sometimes pain of loss does not go away, but I meet it with hope and the promise that one day everything will change and I believe that God can make that happen, through Christ.  I learned that I cannot go on living grieving about what was.  I can make a new life with God’s help, and with his help I did. So that one day  when I draw my last breath of life, my family , both past and present, can look at my life and say that I was good man, that I was a real Christian.

The Power of Praise, The Power of Joy

Grief can not only be overcome with hope and purpose, it can be subdued by finding new joys. The power of praise should also not be underestimated for the bible states:

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.-Isaiah 61-3

This scripture shows what God provides when we are grieving, we mourn when we grieve, but God provide us with these things: Beauty, Joy and the Garment of Praise. It is amazing that your really don’t see the beauty of life until you suffer some sort of loss.  When I saw the beautiful life I had before I became homeless, I thanked God, not for the loss, but rather for the opportunity of enjoying the life he had given me and repented from not appreciating it more. I take nothing for granted today because I experienced the loss, it has made me a better person. I did not allow my grief to cause me to do harmful things in the name of vengeance.  In my loss, I learned the true power of forgiveness and the freedom it gave to my soul and I praise God for it. When grief is properly dealt with, a believer in Christ, matures, he grows up and is taken to another level in his relationship with God.  I began to thank God for the little things, before long I was praising him for the great things he has done in my life.  So whenever I feel the pain of grief, I remember those things He has done for me and I praise him the more. 

The moral of this lesson is you do not have to stay in a grievous condition, which left unchecked can lead you into doing very harmful and vengeful things.  Things you will regret doing.  Or even prevent having the things that have been causing you grief, give you pain all your life.  Once you tap into the hope and purpose of your life and couple that with gratefulness and praise, you can experience new joys and joy can subdue your grief. Follow it up with the power of forgiveness and you can live again. 

You also can experience the joy of life everlasting with God. How? You can choose to accept the free gift of salvation provided by a loving God through the shed blood of Jesus. How?  Just recite the following prayer with all your heart:

Dear heavenly Father,

In Jesus’ name, I come to you now as a repentant sinner.  I confess all of my sinfulness to you and ask you to forgive all of my sins for Jesus’ sake. Wash away all of my sins by the blood of your Son Jesus.  For I now believe that Jesus died for my sins according to your Holy Word, the Bible and that he was raised from the death according to the Bible.  I now invite your Holy Spirit to come and live inside of me and make me your child. I promise to strive to live holy everyday with the Help of your Holy Spirit and by studying the Bible every day. I thank you Lord for saving me.

If you have recited the above prayer with all sincerity, I welcome you the Family of God! Right now the Angels of heaven are rejoicing because you have repented and believed in the hope of all men’s salvation.  Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God.

The next thing you need to do is find a bible believing church, so that you can grow up in Christ and in God. To become what God designed you to be.  Isn’t that exciting!?!

The Bible Changed?

There has been the idea that the Bible has been changed, in that the original scriptures now reads differently in message and purpose. The reason for this change, as claimed by the opponents of Bible credibility, was due to the repetitious manual duplication of Holy writ over time.  In that, words were changed, exchanged , re-arranged and replaced during this repetitive copying. This is the challenge we will address in this article and prove that no such thing happened.

Now Some of the opponents of Bible credibility have presented extracted passages of various portions of the Bible from various translations in order to prove their point.  Once again  under further investigation, like in many previous cases, the opponents of Bible credibility used either a false English translation in comparison to a true and accurate translation or used an older English translation of a original Greek or Hebrew word in comparison to an updated English translation of the same original Greek or Hebrew word. For example:  In an very old King James Version English translation of the Bible that I read when I was 8 years old, there is a passage in the book of Exodus that speaks about when Moses descended from the mountain where God's presence was. The passage read that Moses descended from the presence of God with "horns" poking out from his head. (Exodus 34:29) Now in the more up to date translation of the same passage it reads:

 "..when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.  And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him."  

What happened? Why was there a change from the older English translation of the King James version of the Bible?  Why was it changed from the way it was originally written?  I was 14 years old when I got a hold of a modern King James Version of the Bible and read the updated version of the passage.  I was determined to find out why it was changed.  So I investigated why there was change between the two King James English Versions of the Bible. What I found out was that there was no change in the words of the original languages of the scriptures from whence the two passages were translated into English.  No, rather it was human error in the translation of the older King James Version English translation of the scriptures. When the older translation of the original languages of the scriptures were translated into English, they did not know what those words actually could be properly translated in the English of their day, so they translated the words according to the sentiment of the day. I did some research and discovered that found that the time when the older English King James Bible was translated, there was great feelings of antisemitism, that is, there was a deep hatred for the Jews. Why? There was this idea that was propagated that the Jews killed Jesus, the Christ.  So  I concluded that the translator back then translated the text according to the sentiment of day.  Was it a correct translation? No, it wasn't. This translation of the phrase and those like it was proved as a wrong translation eventually by some scholarly work done by some fair minded, truth seeking Christians.  The Christian scholars proved that the Jews did not directly kill Jesus, even though the Jews solicited and persuaded the Pagan  Roman authority at the time to have it done.   Now there is a lot less antisemitism because of these corrections in the English translation of the original copies of the scriptures..  This also proves that just because a translation is older, does not mean that it is more correctly translated than a more modern translation. It also proves that a change the original languages of the Bible was not the cause of the change in the passages of the English King James Bible.   What cause the changes? In brief: Cultural perception and understand of a word. You see, American English is very different for the English of the King Jame Bible.  Even though they are related as American English is an off shoot of 16th Century English, some words have changed in concept and meaning between the two cultures.  For instance, the word "Let" in the Bible  doesn't mean the same today as it did when the King James Bible was first translated.  In the 16th century world of England, the word "let" meant to prohibit or to prevent, but in American English the word "let" means to allow or permit.  Why don't we take a look of a passage in the new testament  that uses the word "let" and apply the two different cultural definitions and perceptions:

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 2 Thessalonians 2:7

At first glance, this verse would appear to be saying according to the American concept and definition of the word "let" that the mystery of sin is already at work and only he who now permits sin will continue to permit it until he is stopped and taken out of the way.  

Now the King James English is not 21st century English, it is 16th Century English and the the passage above reads according to 16th century English definition and concept that the mystery of sin do already work: Only he who hinders and prohibits sin, will do so until he is stopped and taken out of the way. 

This is the reason for up to date English translations of the original language of the Bible, to prevent the misunderstanding of the intent of the Biblical author. This shows that what was written is not necessarily what the text means.  For modern English readers of the verse under discussion to understand it properly, they would  have to look at how a 16th century Englishman would have understood the verse.  This also proves that the original languages from whence this verse is translated did not cause nor do not cause the miss-understanding of the text, neither did the translation, rather it was the reader of the text being no careful to evaluate the verse read it according to his current understanding of the 16th century English words used in the verse. The problem is that many Americans read the scriptures according to their own cultural understanding  and not the according to the culture of the translation. I feel that this is one of the reasons why there is many denominations of Christianity in America.

How do we know then with any assurance that the modern English translations of the copies of  the original scriptures were not translated with some sort of prejudice of the translators?  This is a fair and honest question, a question that I myself had. So I went on another investigation into the Bible translation process, and this is what I have found out, Looking through some Bible translation history documents and just recently videos.  I discovered that  the King James version is not a word for word translation. The website http:\\www.christian.stackexchange.com,  a theologian  named Richard provides us the following information:

The King James Version or Authorized Version as it was originally known, was translated by a group of 47 scholars.

It was actually a thought-for-thought translation, rather than word-for-word translation. The idea is that they tried to take the original meaning of the text (not just the individual word) and translate that into the (then) common language.

Compared to modern paraphrase translations, the King James version is almost a word-for-word translation. However, there were places where the scholars explicitly rejected the word-for-word translation in favor of wording that would make more sense to the contemporary English reader of the day.

Here's an example in Romans 5:2-3

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

The words "rejoice" (in verse 2) and "glory" (in verse 3) are the same word in the original text. A word-for-word translation would have given the same word for those in both cases.

Having said all of this and in light of today's translations, it's commonly accepted as a word-for-word translation. If you compare this, for example, to a thought-for-thought translation or a paraphrase, this translation is much closer to the original text (dramatically so in the case of a paraphrase).

While the original text scholars intentionally rejected word-for-word translations, it's commonly accepted as a word-for-word translation when compared to thought-for-thought or paraphrase translations.

This information provided by  the post of  Richard the theologian at the Christianstackexchange.com website,  shows that the intent of the translators was not to change what the original scriptures stated or insert words that did not exist in the original scriptures, rather they attempted to capture the concept of the original scriptural passage and translate that concept into the English of their day in the 16th Century, in order get as near to the meaning and ideas of the original scriptures as possible.  There was no intention to mar or to distort the original scriptures.   

 A very long time ago, when I had the opportunity I kept a vigil watch over the production of  the New International Version  English Bible,  also known as the N.I.V. English version of the Bible.  I saw that the Bible publisher used committees of theologians from the Jewish faith and the Christian faith for each book of the new Bible they intended to translate and to publish.  They would release one book at a time to see if the public would accept the new translation or would there be outrage from the pulpits of American churches and synagogues.  With each release there was an explanation for why they translated a word or a phrase differently than that of other Modern English translations,  however that did not stop the criticisms from the religious communities. There were a great many accusations laid at the translators feet, one of which was changing the scriptures from their original meaning.   To see if there accusations were true, I would go out and purchase a book of the new translated  Bible every time one was published and compared it to the King James Bible I had in my possession.  I asked myself this same question concerning each of them: What changes to the text did this Publisher allow the translator to make and on what grounds? I read  that part which came with each release  which was an explanation of the text, why certain words were translated  differently and why was it better than what the King James translation of the Bible presented in this new version of the scriptures.  

Not at one time did the issue of changing a concept or a word because of the translator's perception, perspective or prejudice was used.   The cited reason was always, what best presented the scriptures to the understanding of the common people was their goal in translating the original scriptures.  I was also comforted from the fact that each translator signed an oath to the readers of their intent and purpose in bringing in a new translation into the American culture was without bias or prejudice with each release of a portion of the new translation.  Therefore,  I have great confidence in the N.I.V. English Bible today, that it is one of the most up to date Bible readable and understandable translations ever assembled.  Now we also have the English  New King James Version Bible, also known as the N.K.J.V. Bible, which combined the readability of the N.I.V. English Bible with the authoritative style of the English K.J.V Bible.  I have all three bibles in my possession and is very confident that the concepts are consistent between all three of them and they  with the original copies of the scriptures.  

In a previous Facebook post, some time ago,  I responded to an opponent of the English King James Bible who deliberately changed the words of a English Bible text to make it say what he wanted it to say and claim it came from the K.J.V. of the Bible.  I pulled up my English K.J.V. Bible and found that he was miss-representing the K.J.V. Bible at a particular verse.   What I did was posted the actual K.J.V. verse in question and corrected his miss-quote.   Bible credibility opponents love to fool Christians with a good sounding self-paraphrased quote from the Bible.   I was not fooled by the person and demonstrated how the concept and the ideas of the original translated scripture was not changed through all 3 different  Bible English translations by posting all three English versions in my possession of the particular verse. Then he used a false translation and claimed that the Bible was in fact changed.  I pointed out to him that the translation he used was a false translation of the Bible because it did not follow the testimony of the Apostles and early church fathers.

A false translation is a Bible that is translated into English but the original concept of the original scriptures is not preserved in the translation. Instead, another alternative translation is inserted according to the beliefs and prejudices of those who published it or altered it.  For example: The New World Translation is a false Bible translation, in that the concept of Jesus as the only begotten Son of God is removed and the concept as Jesus being a separate God  is propagated through its texts. The Book of Mormon, which presented as another testament of Jesus Christ,  is a false testament, even though it is not a direct translation of the established original scriptures, it is written in the King James Bible translation style.  This was done to give it a "king James" kind of feel  to the readers of its contents. All in all it is a fabrication that tells of Jesus coming to the Americas, just before his ascension to bring the good news to the native Americans.  This all sounds good and plausible because after his crucifixion and resurrection  he appeared to the disciples while they were locked inside a closed and secured room. So why couldn't Jesus have appeared to the native Americans and preached the Gospel to them?  The reason Jesus did not come to the Americas to preach the Gospel  to the native Americans is because he did not need to come to the Americas to preach the Kingdom of God to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Jesus assigned all believers with  the task of spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom to all nations starting from Jerusalem.  This concept that the book of Mormon presents makes it seem that Jesus believed that his disciples would fail in bringing the Gospels to the native Americans and had to do it himself. We all know that isn't the truth and there were countless Christian Missionaries that successfully preached the Gospel to the native Americans. Think about it,  if Jesus believed  that his disciples would fail in carrying out his great commission, why did he commissioned the Apostles with the task of preaching to the world the Gospel?  Also there are no archaeological discoveries to  confirm the contents of  the Book of Mormon when it speaks of people, places and events. The point is,  because there is so many accurate reproductions of the English translations of the original scriptures  that a false bible is real easy to identify. 

What also makes me so confident that the English King James Bible is accurate in its translation from the original scriptures?  I was made confident because when a English bible is published, each book is translated by a separate and distinct committee from another.  After each committee is finished translating the particular book of scripture into English,  the books are assembled together without regard to cross textual consistency.  Which means without changing the contents of one book to correlate to the contents of another book. This creates the appearance of a discrepancy when a New Testament character quotes Old Testament scripture, for example: In Isaiah 53:5  there is a phrase that says "...and with his stripes we are healed...." This phrase  of scripture is quoted by the Apostle Peter, but in his letter it reads, ".. by whose stripes ye were healed...." (1 Peter  2 :24 ) Is this a miss-translated verse in the Old Testament or is it a miss-quoted verse in the New Testament? The answer is that it is neither. Both English translations are true to its expression in the language it was translated from.  What this supposed variation shows is the revelation that the Apostle Peter had concerning the Isaiah 53 prophecy.  He looks at the prophecy as being fulfilled in Christ and quotes it according to that revelation. He quotes it in the past tense, looking back at the Cross where Jesus was crucified. With this understanding, the supposed discrepancy disappears.  This is also true with many other New Testament quotes of Old Testament scriptures.

Finding all this stuff out about the King James Bible translation and other modern English translations that are consistent with the testimonies of the early church and the Apostles of Christ. I was impressed with the thoroughness of the various bible committees  and concluded that no malicious attempt to change the bible was possible.  As explained before, if someone attempted to change any of the original concepts, without justifiable explanation,  of the English Bible it would be quickly identified as a fake bible and by and large rejected by many Churches and Christians.  

The only question that is left is this: Have the original copies of the scriptures been changed through the repetitive copying of them?  The logical answer is yes, but the factual answer is no.  Why is it logical to believe that the original copies of the scriptures have been changed due the repetitive copying of them.  It is logical to think that as those who copied the first document, also known as the autograph,  and then repeatedly copied the copy of the copy, that over time as they became more removed from the autograph, the first original document composed, that some words could have been changed, re-arranged and replaced.  The fact of the matter, that is not what happened at all concerning the reproduction of the holy scriptures. What did happen was exact replicas of the autographs were reproduced.  How could this be?  First, please understand that there were no copying machines when the first copies were produced. What they had were men that were trained as scribes. Their job was to produce an exact replica of the autograph or the exact copy of the autograph for people who were willing to pay a good price for it if they were a foreigner, it was free if they were an Jewish leader or a Christian.  In order for them to properly do this they had to adhere to strict copying policies and techniques. If a error was made and discovered, the document produced by the scribe was destroyed and he had to start all over. There was no tolerance for error in copying the autographs of Holy writ. No incorrect copies of any authorized  Old Testament and New Testament scriptures were allowed to survive. Add to this the popular demand for exact copies of the autographs of  the original scriptures and you find that thousands were reproduced, the ones that were not distributed were stored in various places on papyrus paper scrolls.  These copies were generated during the first two centuries of the Church and circulated throughout the known Roman world.  Even though all these exact copies were reproduced, the papyrus that they were written on began to decay and rot away. So more vigilant efforts were performed to preserve the copies of the autographs as time moved on.   I must state here that the original copies of the holy scriptures are among the most well preserved set of books in the world.  This why we have exact copies of the autographs dating from the first and second centuries of the church still with us today.  It is from these exact copies of the autographs, which have long since decayed away, that modern English translations including the King James Bible are translated from.  

Now the icing on the cake is that one of the oldest complete Bibles discovered, Codex Sinaiticus, which was written in one of the original languages and dates back to the early 4th century, when it was translated into modern English, it confirmed that no changes were made in concept or purpose in the words  bible since that time.  If that wasn't enough, a theologian took up the challenge that the bible was changed and did something completely different.  He took the 800 plus pieces of literature which were  the autograph copies of the early church fathers and using only their quotes of the New Testament reassembled the entire New Testament to the letter. He didn't even use the known Codexes of the Bible and was able to produce an accurate copy.  The Old testament, on the other hand  has had a incredible record of authenticity and accuracy over the centuries, insomuch that the ancient city of Nineveh was found just using the geographical references provided within its pages.  The Kingdom of the Hittites  was discovered just where the Bible said they would be.  Archaeology has confirmed the the Bible many times and has given us reason to believe its contents as accurate and authentic. Think about it,  if a story in the bible was just made up and presented as fact, it would never be confirmed by archaeology . So has the Bible changed since its inception?  Many have tried and failed to change its contents to suit their beliefs.  Just remember in order for a fake Bible to be created there must be an authentic one to emulate. 

The last evidence is the Apostles and the many disciples who died to preserve the original scriptures.  If they died for false scriptures, then they were all fools, because they died for what they did not know was false. Even worse If they knew it was false and persisted in the propagation of that which is false, they are guilty of being co-conspirators in a mass con scheme of the likes the world have never seen and willingly died for it.  Or they just lost their minds and gave up their lives preserving that which is not authentic or accurate.  Regardless of any of those possibilities they never recanted their testimony  and preserved the holy scriptures until the day of their death. They left a standing testimony of scriptural accuracy and authenticity that still effects us today  and all who believe because of their sacrifices and testimonies preserved in the holy scriptures have the assurance that what is in the Bible is true when responsibly translated into whatsoever language it needs to be in order that the Great commission of our Lord would be accomplished.

Triune Man in Two Dominions Part 2: Man, the Spirit

I. Introduction

A. This  is a continuation of the the Triune Man in Two Dominion Bible Study, introduced by my last blog.  This blog will focus upon the spiritual nature of mankind. We will discuss certain Bible passages that deal with the creation of mankind as a spiritual being.

For too long,  we have allowed the concept that Adam, both male and female was created solely in some physical form. We are reminded by the scriptures that state that when God breathed the spirit of life into the body of Adam, it was then he was created as a living soul.  (Genesis 2:7)  Therefore with out the Creators breath  of life, no living soul can exist. (Job 12:10) .  Also God when he chose to create mankind he decided to be by these parameters:

        a) The first Man would be created after His Image
        b) The first Man would be created after His likeness.
           (Genesis 1:26)

From these two parameters God proceeded to create the first being of Mankind.  So the questions are: What is the image of God and what is the likeness of God?  Let us look up the word "image" from a English dictionary and from  the word in the Hebrew dictionary that was translated into the English word "image":

        a) Dictionary.com's definition of the word "image": (noun); a physical likeness or representation of a 
          person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise made visible.

        b) James Strong's Hebrew Bible Dictionary definition of the word "image": translated from the Hebrew             word  "tslem", pronounced "tsch'-lem": to shade in resemblance as a representation of a figure.

With these two corresponding definitions we now understand that God created the first man as a physical representation of Himself. The first man therefore was made physically in the "god class"  in that the first man looked like God. So what does the word likeness mean?

         a) Dictionary.com's definition of the word "likeness": (noun); a representation, picture, or image

         b) James Strong's Hebrew Bible Dictionary definition of the word "likeness" translated from the
         Hebrew word "dmuwth" pronounced "dem-ooth'":  a resemblance, a model,  derived from the
         Hebrew root word "damah" pronounced "daw-maw" : to behave like.

Again with these two corresponding definitions we further understand that God created the first man to be like Him.  The first Man created was made to look like God and act like God.  This tells us that whatever constitution the first man was, it was a direct reflection of what God looks like and acts like.  Now the Bible also states that a man has a spirit, a soul and  a body. (1 Thessalonians 5:23). In other words, a man is triune in his constitution, his make up.  Since each man is a direct reflection of God, God is also triune in his constitution.

So what happened? What transpired in the Garden of Eden can now be seen in a new completely light, For God did not originally create mankind  as a fallen and sinful being, a sub-citizen of creation. He created the first man after his shape and form and gave him his attitudes and behaviors. He made the first man guardian and caretaker of Eden and gave him dominion over creation. God made the first man as a direct reflection of Himself and expected the first man to behave as such. God named the first man, Adam and the first privilege he gave Adam, the first man was an identification test,  God presented Adam with all the animals of creation and Adam named them all. God looked at the Man he created and desired to give to Adam what he gave to Himself, a companion. So from the rib of  Adam came the woman, made in the image and reflection of the first man,  a companion suitable and fit for him (Genesis 2) God gave Adam, the first man who was asexual, that  is that Adam was both male and female a commandment to obey. However, due to the deception of Satan, they failed to obey and became sinners. In that day, Adam and his wife spiritually died. God went looking for them in the Garden, being afraid they hid themselves.  The male Adam came forth  after the voice of God called for them.  Immediately God saw that they were exposed, and spiritually dead and had disobeyed his commandment. (Genesis 3) God wanted to know why did Adam disobey his commandment. When the reasons were given, God immediately doled out upon Adam and Satan the punishments for their actions.  After the fall the male Adam named the female Adam, Eve so that we would know until this very day that Eve is the mother of all living souls. From that time until the arrival of Jesus, the Christ. Mankind  has been spiritually dead, yet were still living souls because of the breathe of the Spirit was still in them. Adam had become a naturally oriented being, ignorant of the spiritualness that he once possessed, until Jesus.

Now Jesus is the most direct reflection of God that was ever born among men, for Jesus is the Son of God. (Hebrew 1: 1-4; 1 John 1:1; John 1:1-3,14).  It is Jesus that disclosed the fact that God is Spirit, not a Spirit, but  the Spirit of Creation (John 4:24). To which it was revealed to the Apostle Paul that Jesus was also, the second male Adam, whose orientation was not of the physically and natural world but of the power of the life giving creation  ability of the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 15:45-49).  It is now that all mankind can bear the image of the Son of God and be restored to that position of spiritual power and authority once lost In the Garden of Eden by the first man, Adam. This only makes us conclude that if God is a Spirit, then those who have chosen Christ as Lord and Savior are also life giving Spirits of creation.(Roman 8:18-23; John 1:12+13; 1 John 3:2) This is why I say that if Jesus's blood atoned for every souls sins all the way back to the first sin ever committed, then every soul that accepts Jesus's death on the cross as the atonement of their sins is therefore restored to the place of spiritual power and authority once given to to the first man, Adam. Mankind has been restored because of Christ's sacrifice and reconciled us back to communion with the Creator.(2 Corinthians 5:17)  The problem is that no one has ever figured out what this restored man is supposed to do, as a result we have our modern world. spiritually ignorant of what God wants them to do, going their own ways like lost sheep.  Be of good cheer, God has not left us directionless, he has allowed the recording of his words and deeds in a book. The Bible. Therein we find the actions of Jesus, the Son of God while he was yet on the earth.  It is this Jesus that tells us to follow him, to believe on him and bear all our hopes of entering heaven upon him.  For there is no other way to the Father, God in heaven, except by him, the Son of God.

B. Man, the Spirit as revealed by Christ's actions and words on the earth gives every believer in Christ the basis of their spiritual power and authority. There are a few things that we as believers in Christ, who has accepted the power of the life giving creative Spirit of God, have to be aware of.  For a baby playing with a loaded gun is not only a danger to himself but all nearby.  That is the plight of many believers, they have the power and authority but don't know how to use it. Many times causing injury, even death unto themselves and those near to them.(1 Timothy 1:19+20; 2 Peter 3:16+17).  So it is important that we observe the following listed behaviours exhibited by our Lord and instructed by the Apostles so that we may not find our spiritual lives distinguished.

1. One of the things a spiritual man does is maintain his communion with God. Jesus did this often. He either prayed in private or publicly but one thing is clear he always communed with God.

2. The choice of words we speak.  Our articulation is that to reflect the honor and the majesty of God

      a. Words possess spiritual power.  With them we can bring life and with them we can cause death.
          (Proverbs 18:21; Matthew 12:36; James 3:1-12)  So we have to be judicious with the words we
          choose to speak and be aware of the quality of them.  For with words we loose  and bind the powers
          of the spiritual world. (Matthew 16:18, 18:19).  In short, we just can not say anything to anybody
          without it coming back to us in different and brutal ways. We reap what we sow and eat the fruit of
           what our lips speak.(Galatians 6:8-10)

      b. Our words are waited upon by the Angels of heaven and Darkness, to do our biding according to the
          will of God. (Matthew 26:53; Hebrews 1:13+14) Remember whatever Christ possessed we too now
          possess in him. (Romans 8:16+17).  If he could call forth legions of angels, could not we also under
          the will and power of God?  This is precisely the point.  Many believers have called many angels of
          God and of Satan to do things without knowing it, all because they do not know what spirit they are
           of.(Luke 9:51-56; Galatians 5:13-18)

3. A spiritual man must possess the compassion of God. Now this is not just compassion for compassion sake. This is compassion based upon the realization of the the spiritual condition of the soul of which the compassion is being directed to.  Jesus's compassion toward others was reflected in his kindness toward children, widows and those left destitute by the religious community. He did so because they were applying the letter of the law of God to the lives of the people and not the spirit of the Law. What was the spirit of the Law?  In a word, reconciliation.  The law wasn't just given to Israel to obey.  It was God showing them that they could not reconcile themselves to Him.  The Law represented the righteousness and holiness of God and for someone to be able to keep them and be sinless was a great accomplishment. Why? Because all men since the Garden of Eden were spiritually dead and full of disobedience.  This is why Jesus challenged the young rich man who claimed that he had observed the law since his youth and was blessed financially for doing so, to give away all that he possessed and come and follow him, because the young rich man was possessed by his wealth and was selfish.  God is not selfish, he shares his abundance with us each an everyday, if the young rich man did as the Lord Jesus had bidden him he would have discovered what Zacchaeus discovered. The true riches of life. (Matthew 19:16-22, 29; Luke 19:2-10) So a spiritual man in Christ directs his compassion toward those who are without and if he has the resources, does something about it (Proverbs 3:27,  Luke 6:38). The point is that, Zacchaeus was following the instructions of Jesus and he was just as blessed as the young rich ruler that "kept" the Law from his youth.  (Matthew 16:25) Zaccheaeus wealth was obtained through his compassion and generosity, the young rich ruler obtained his wealth by obedience to the Law, not by the compassion of God.

4. A spiritual sensitive man knows the spiritual landscape he finds himself in.  Jesus knew that he was in a world full of dead spirits with living souls. Today, thankfully because of Christ and what he provided to those who desire to obtain salvation, that has changed a bit. A spiritual man today must be aware that he lives in a world full of  dead and living spirits with living souls  Living souls that are reckless with the spiritual power that has been restored to them.  He also lives in a world full of devils and angels all running around doing whatever these living souls bid them by the will of God.

         a. Devils, demons and fallen angels do what ever it takes to get a believer to give them power to
             destroy his own life and abdicate his authority over them.  They will do whatever it takes to lure a
             believer into doubt and unbelief and ultimately back into a sins conscious life.  Why because they
             hate believers in God, particularly those who are Christians. They hope that the believer will fall for
             their deceptions and temptations and cast off their hope of salvation.  So that they will end up in Hell              and the lake of fire with them, being tormented for all eternity. Their hope is fruitless for Jesus has
             guaranteed salvation for the most moral of sinners to the least and the worst of sinners that believe in              Christ will still be saved.

         b. Angels are ministers of God who serve those who are to inherit salvation in Christ. They will do                    everything within the will of God for the benefit of the believer and the glory of God. They carry the                hope of the Creator of  eternal reconciliation with his his creation. Their hope is not wasted, for
             Christ has won redemption for all of mankind through the sacrifice of himself upon the cross and
            whosoever believes in Christ and submits to him as lord and savior will become a new spiritual man,
            a new Adam.

         c.  Living Souls are the human members of the earth. they are divided into two groups. Christians and
             non-christians.  Because of what Christ has done, all living souls have the power to speak things into              existence, build new societies and do all sorts of things to satisfy their own lusts and desires or the
            will of God. It is therefore the challenge of every believer to convey in word and deed as wells as in                 the proclamation of the Gospel to every non-believer about the thing that Jesus has done for us. Or               each living soul that has not accepted the Gospel message will spend an eternity in Hell and the                    Lake of fire.

This is what, man, the spirit has to contend with and he can deal with it if remains in communion with God, through prayer, humility and compassion.  In doing so, a Christian spiritually sensitive man must protect and establish four areas in his life in order to survive: 1)  The fellowship of the saints; 2) The ministry of the word; 3) The Knowledge of God and his Kingdom; 4) His prayer life.  It is with these four areas, pillars a believer in Christ will live to his fullest in the obedience to the will God.






"

Triune Man in Two Dominions part 1: Introduction and Background

I. Introduction:

A.  What we are about to embark upon is very complicated and is still being learned by many.  It is the illustration  and hopefully demonstration of what a human being, a man's, constitution is in relation to the two dominions in which he interacts with each day.  What follows in this section is the background information.  I must encourage you to study out whatever back ground information I share in this bible study as I go through various related issues. So that you the reader will know the direction of the study and lay a good foundation for understanding the points conveyed in this series.  This study will consist of five separate blogs, each covering a specific area of the subject matter. These separate blog titles are:  Part 1: Introduction and Background; Part 2: Man, the Spirit; Part 3: Man, the Soul; Part 4: Man, the Body; Part 5: The Two Dominions.  Again I must stress this study is quite extensive and any part can stand on its own as a Bible study. So take your time, read enjoy and if there is any part you disagree with, that is fine, like I said in the first line, this subject is still being learned by many, which also includes me.  Now why am I teaching something I haven't completely learned about.  It is because this subject matter is developing and no one person on earth completely understands the human condition, which is fickle and complex at best. The closest we will come to understand about it is the fact that God created mankind and has dealt with his creation for thousands of years and have documented his dealings with mankind in the Bible.  From which we learn about God and about ourselves.

B. Before we dive into the the first part that deals with spiritual side of mankind, it would be prudent for me to supply some background information about the subject matter.  Get ready, we are going on a trip through various biblical concepts and teaching that is the foundation of this whole study.  There are some points and concepts that will not have scriptural sources,  but many points will have biblical sources, it is here that I challenge the reader to study to show thyself approved and determine if it is agreeable or disagreeable. If it is disagreeable to you, you can cite your reason in your comments to this blog.  I go through my blogs every month to see what feed back I receive from it.  I do not shy away from criticism as long as its constructive. Prejudice and ignorance will be addressed and confronted all in the name of christian love. Enough about that lets get on with it.

C. We must start at the beginning to have a good foundation for this Bible study into the triune nature of mankind in two dominions. First of all we must understand that two dimensions of life have existed ever since the earth was created. They are the Spiritual and the Natural dimensions. The Spiritual dimensions is made up of God, Heaven, His Angels and Satan, Outer Darkness, and His Angels (Devils). The Natural dimension is made up of nature, Mankind, his activities and designs upon the earth that God created.  How did the arrangement got this way is another bible study, but you can pause here and study that out before going further.  It would take up too much time to discuss how the arrangement of the Spiritual and Natural dimensions came to be and would change  the focus of the study which is the nature of triune man in two dominions. Heck we didn't even cracked the surface yet. Anyway, it is evident that since the beginning that both dimensions have been intertwined together. This is because of the relationship the two dimensions have with each other through two parallel dominions: The Kingdom of God and Outer Darkness.  The two dimensions are reflective in that Earth is an reflection of what Heaven is and at certain points and at certain times, the earth it is also the reflection of Outer Darkness.  It is not a complete picture it is only a reflection, to give mankind an idea of what both dimensions are like. Saying that, we therefore must understand that the same rules that governs Heaven and Outer Darkness also governs the earth and visa versa. (Matthew 18:18+19)

This blog is an invitation to those who wish to study or hear another view point about our nature that was designed by God.  If you, dear reader, accept the invitation then go on and read the other four blogs concerning Triune man in Two Dominions.

Unbelief

What is Unbelief?

Dictionary definition,

unbelief: The state or quality of not believing; incredulity or skepticism, 

               especially in matters of faith or religious doctrine. - Dictionary.com

Biblical definition,

unbelief: The choice of not believing: the finding of incredulity or being 

               skeptical concerning God, Jesus or the Doctrines of the Bible.

Simply put, unbelief in God and Jesus is the opposite of belief in God and Jesus.  Therefore, as belief is like and is similar to having or possessing faith, unbelief is like and is similar to possessing doubt. Unbelief receives its strength from doubt, for without doubt, unbelief has no grounds or possibility to survive.  Unbelief then is characterized by the supposed rational position of reasonable doubt about someone or something.  As it relates to Christianity, unbelief is the supposed rational position of reasonable doubt about God, Jesus and the Bible.  It is the doubts of what otherwise could be believed, which constitutes a person unbelief, about God, Jesus and the Bible.

What Unbelief is Not?

It is not fear.  Fear is the perversion of faith.  As faith is the evidence of things hoped for, (Hebrews 11:1) fear is the evidence of things not hoped for.  Fear works like faith but in the opposite direction.  Still Fear is not the opposite of Faith.  Faith and fear are polar opposites flowing in the same current of power. Just like we have positive charges of electricity and negative charges of electricity flowing in a single power line, we have faith and fear in the current of belief. Both flows of electrical power are in the opposite direction, yet they are same current.  Fear is the negative power, and Faith is the positive power, they are both are opposed by no power, they are both opposed by unbelief.

Now, not all faith is good, there is blind faith, whereas a person trusts without any wisdom, without any facts to substantiate its trust in someone or something or in some event to happen. Neither is all fear is bad, there is the fear of God, the fear of fire, these kinds of fears prevent us from foolishly doing the unwise thing and harming ourselves. They booth work, but in different directions, polar opposites if you will, for the purpose they are designed to do when properly used.

What is unbelief then if it is not fear?

Unbelief is an entirely different matter.  Unbelief can’t be caused by faith or fear for unbelief has no faith in anyone or anything.  You either believe or you don't believe.  Unbelief has no fear in anyone or anything. This can be dangerous because having no fear of anything can cause a person to be reckless and be a danger not only to himself but those around him.  A man without a health fear about things is a reckless and uncontrolled man. (Proverb 25:28) Having no fear is not necessarily having courage.  For courage is the position of challenging what fear presents. In short, courage challenges false expectations appearing real. 

The Bible states that God has given to each person is given a measure of faith (Romans 12:3), I would also state the opposite is also true that to each person is given a measure of doubt.   This means that every person has a degree or portion of faith. If that is true, then to every person is given a measure of doubt, which is the foundation of their unbelief. The question is what do they have unbelief about and why.  In respect to the Christian testimony about God and Jesus, it is the doubt that God is who he is and Jesus who he said he was. Therefore, without doubt, unbelief has no strength in the minds of many concerning God and Jesus.  What is doubt then? It is the rational thought based upon the evidence or the lack of evidence of an event, person or thing.  

Addressing Doubt

When people doubt, they do it with a reason, or rational   That reason or rational  usually begins with the word "If" followed by  the Christian claim to be challenge, followed by the reason or rational why the Christian claim cannot be true or proven. For example many people have said this doubt of Jesus's divinity, "If Jesus is God, then who was he praying to, Himself?" This question shows the lack of understanding of who God is and what is his constitution and attributional makeup.  

 When people doubt, they do it with a reason, or rational   That reason or rational  usually begins with the word "If" followed by  the Christian claim to be challenge, followed by the reason or rational why the Christian claim cannot be true or proven. For example many people have said this doubt of Jesus's divinity, "If Jesus is God, then who was he praying to, Himself?" This question shows the lack of understanding of who God is and what is his constitution and attributional makeup.  

God in the Christian view is Triune that is he is three expressions of his person contained in one Godhead; Jesus came to reveal the second member of the Godhead, God, the Son.  When God sent Jesus to die for mankind, he had to send his image, in the form of a man. If God can’t do this then he is not God.  The Bible shows us various images of God appearing to aid people of faith:

In Genesis: God is the voice that walked in the Garden, the voice that spoke to

                  Abraham before he sacrificed his son Isaac, the three men that                          appeared to Abraham before he destroyed Sodom and 

                  Gomorrah, and the angel that wrestled with  Jacob.

In Exodus: God is the pillar clouds by day and the pillar of fire by night that 

                   lead Israel from the Egyptians as they pursued them across the 

                   wilderness of the Sinai.  God is the erupting mountain in the 

                  country of Middian, where God wrote on two stone tablets his ten 

                  commandments for the Israelites, to keep as his chosen people.

              In Job: God is the whirlwind, which spoke with his servant job concerning 

                           his dispute.

I could name many other examples on how God became other things to perform his will. So why can’t God become a man? It was possible for him become everything else and he did not think it would make him less of the God of Creation to do so.  

Now someone would say to me: Ok, if that be so, then Jesus was speaking to himself when he prayed? The answer to that question is both yes and no.  Yes, in that Jesus even though was a man was also God manifested in the flesh while on the earth. No, because in his humanity he did not regard himself alone, he always felt that he was in the company of and in communion with God, his heavenly father.  In his human state, Jesus was humble and obedient to the will of his heavenly Father until death.  As God manifested in the flesh, Jesus was also well aware of his power and authority, for he said to his disciples in regard to those who mocked him, after his disciples requested that he call fire from heaven to consume them, "You do not know what spirit you are of.." (Luke 9:55).  In another place he said to them who heard him, "Do you not know I can call 12 legions of angels..." (Matthew 26:53)  The only one that can call angels to do anything is God and nobody else.   Christians view God as omnipresent, that is, he is always present at all times.  They have cause to believe this for the Bible states that "The eyes of the Lord is upon every place, beholding the evil and the good." (Proverbs 15:3) In order for God’s eyes to be in every place at the same time he has to be present everywhere at the same time. Being omnipresent allows God to be in more than one place at the same time. The question illustrates the doubt that God can be everywhere at once, even in the form of the Spirit and in the form and image of a man. The Bible clearly opposes this belief.

Jesus dealings with Doubt

Jesus throughout his ministry upon the earth had to deal with the level of unbelief of the people he spoke to.  Sometimes he had to tell his own disciples to not doubt.  There is a story in the Bible about a Father who had a son that was possessed with a devil.  The evil spirit vexed the boy so much that it would toss the boy about causing him harm.  The father after exhausting every means to cure his son even went to the disciples of Jesus and they could not cast it out of the boy.  The Father turned to Jesus and cried out, “I believe, help thou my unbelief.”  Jesus responded and cast the devil out of the boy and restored him to his father.  Later, the disciples came to Jesus and asked him why they could not cast out that devil out of the boy.  Jesus responded that, “This kind does not come out except by fasting and prayer,” (Mark 9:20-29)

This story illustrates to us the power a measure of unbelief can have.  The disciples of Jesus did not have enough belief to cast out the devil out of the boy and the father was having an inner struggle believing that whether or not his son could be delivered of the evil spirit that vexed him.  After the disciples failure to cast the evil spirit out of the boy, the father’s doubts and fears grew. The father of the boy was losing his measure of faith and increasing his measure of doubt, so he cried out “…help thou my unbelief…” meaning in my opinion that he wanted Jesus to put his unbelief back in check in regards to Jesus and his exorcist power.  When Jesus delivered the boy from the evil spirit, the fathers faith was back in the correct measure.    Now the disciples inquired on why they were not able to do what Jesus did.  Jesus said this kind, meaning the ones that have aggressive evil spirits causing the sickness or disease requires a fervent prayer life and regular practice of fasting of the exorcist, so that the evil spirit would remove itself from the person affected. This also indicates that all the other sicknesses are not the result of demoniac possession. We’ll save that for another Bible study.  The point is that Jesus deals with doubt by encouraging faith and responding to it.

Jesus Experiences Powerlessness

So what does the previous information has to do with unbelief?  Unbelief is the one thing Jesus or God can’t work with (Hebrews 11:6).  As long as someone has faith in him, he works in that person's life according to that person’s level of faith.  An example of how unbelief does not allow Jesus, the Son of God, to perform any miracles is when he is in his home town of Nazareth. (Matthew 13:53-58, Mark 6:1-6, Luke 4:16-32)   Jesus could not do many miracles there because the people regarded him as only the carpenter's son that they knew as a lad. The people did not believe that he was God or even the son of God. This illustrates that if you have no faith in Christ, you will have no power, but if you have much faith in Christ, as small as a mustard seed you will have much power. The people of Jesus's home town had little faith that Jesus had power to heal and do the other miracles they heard about, their reason: He was only the son of a carpenter. His brothers and sisters are living with us.  This is Mary’s son.  These facts made them doubt who Jesus really was. They had doubt of who Jesus was reported, and was testifying himself to be, the result was that not many miracles were done there.

You see, unbelief is very powerful in slowing the overwhelming power of faith, so it is imperative that believers build up their faith in Jesus and reduce their doubts about Jesus, the Christ and the Christian walk they aspire to live.  However, this is what the problem is with many "Christians" today; many have no or little faith in who Jesus is and what he can do for them.  They are Christians in name only, because they want their sins to be accepted as though it does not offend to God and still miss hell.  

Here is the sad news:  If they don't get know who Jesus is, they may hear these words at the judgment seat of Christ: "I never knew you" and still be cast into the lake of fire. (John 3:36, 17:3; Mathew 25:1-13; Revelations 20:15) All because they did not accept the free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Here is the Good News: They still have a chance to lay ahold of the salvation in Christ reserved for them.  How?  All they have to do is repent of their sins and sinfulness to God and start living holy according to what God expects them to live.  Many believers say that this is impossible to do because no man is perfect.  I used to believe that until I read this verse.

“He that smith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”                      -1 John 2:6

Which in my opinion means: if anyone says he is a Christian, that is a follower of Christ, should also live as Jesus as Jesus lived.  Jesus even said, “ I am the way, the truth,  and the life, no man cometh unto the father , except by me” –John 14:6  meaning in my opinion that :  Jesus is the way we Christians we travel, the truth we rely upon and the life we lead.  Jesus didn’t just come here to die for our sins and be raised from the dead. Jesus came here to show us how to live this new life as a Godly Spirit Filled man.  He came to show us how to live, in faith, in power and in obedience to God, the Father.  So if he came to do that, it is not impossible to repent of my sins and sinfulness and embrace a holy life designed by God, in Christ.  The question for me as it is for many others is are you ready to commit to living it?

If you are, a good starting point is making sure that you have accepted God’s salvation offer. You do that by saying the following prayer with all your heart:

Dear heavenly Father,

In Jesus’ name, I come to you now as a repentant sinner.  I confess all of my sinfulness to you and ask you to forgive all of my sins for Jesus’ sake. Wash away all of my sins by the blood of your Son Jesus.  For I now believe that Jesus died for my sins according to your Holy Word, the Bible and that he was raised from the death according to the Bible.  I now invite your Holy Spirit to come and live inside of me and make me your child. I promise to strive to live holy everyday with the Help of your Holy Spirit and by studying the Bible every day. I thank you Lord for saving me.

If you have recited the above prayer with all sincerity, I welcome you the Family of God! Right now the Angels of heaven are rejoicing because you have repented and believed in the hope of all men’s salvation.  Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God.

The next thing you need to do is find a bible believing church, so that you can grow up in Christ and in God. To become what God designed you to be.  Isn’t that exciting!?!

Things That Can Not Save You From Your Sins

Attention all Unbelievers, Disbelievers and Semi-Believers! What follows is not a comprehensive list of things that will keep you from the danger of losing your own soul and ending up in the Lake of Fire, the eternal condemnation that awaits all do not believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, but it a listing of the most common misconceptions about the Salvation that God offers through the sacrifice and resurrection of his Son, Jesus.  Some of the things listed may even shock you.  If you find yourself participating in any of the things listed, go to the end of this article and apply the one and only solution that will fix your misconception.

The things that can not save you from your sins:

1. Membership in a religious organization

2. Attempting to be perfect [Holy] before getting saved

3. Just being a good moral person

4. Regularly attending a religious organization's services

5. Judging other people's sin

6. Living in Sin

7. Being a member of a religious household.

8 How much funds you donate to a religious organization or a good cause.

9. How many things or how much wealth you acquire

10. That you speak in tongues, prophesy, etc.

11. That you were Water Baptized.

12. That you can sing, shout, and dance

13.  That you are married to a Christian

14.  That you are dating a Christian.

15. That you are friends or friendly with a Christian.

16. That you attempt to destroy, discredit, and  kill Christians

17. That you were offended by a Christian

As I stated before, this is not a comprehensive listing of the things that can not save you from your sins. I am sure you can think of more things.  The point is that  none of these things will save you from your sins. There is but only one way to be saved from your sins.  REPENT and BE SAVED!

Repenting is the turning away from and not repeating sinful activity and moving toward a Godly life in God, in Christ. Repenting in not a one time event,  it  is a life long activity, it does not perfect a person in itself, rather it is the tool by which believers use to change and improve their lives in God, for the glory of God.  Once you repent you have the forgiveness of God through Christ.

Now Being Saved is more than just repenting all your life. It is the acceptance of God's offer of Salvation through Jesus, the Christ, his only begotten Son as your personal Lord and Savior.  Once you have accepted Jesus's finished work on the Cross as payment for your sins (past, present and future) and submit yourself to the guidance of Jesus for all things in your life.  It is a relationship with God, through Jesus, the Christ, His Son.

Now here is a question that comes up often:  If get "saved" why do I need to continue to repent, if all my sins (Past, Present and Future) are forgiven?  The answer is even though your soul gets saved, your more natural side hasn't caught up with the fact that you have gotten saved.  Some things that a soul does is a matter of natural habit, some of the things that a soul does is not pleasing to God, even after making a decision to get saved. God understood this and in His Grace and Mercy allows Christians to clean themselves up through repentance.  Salvation is a process as well as a free gift, in Christ.  Once you have received the free gift of salvation from God, through Christ, you start the process of living a life of a believer.

How do you repent and be saved?  Say this little prayer that follows with all your heart:

Dear Heavenly Father

In Jesus' name I come to you now as a repentant sinner.  I confess all of my sinfulness to you and ask you to forgive me for Jesus's sake. I ask you to wash away all of my sins with his shed blood and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I now believe that Jesus is you only begotten Son, that died for me on the Cross of Calvary, whom you raised from the dead according to your promises and prophecies in the Bible, your Holy Word.  I therefore, invite your Holy Spirit into my heart and make me your child. As your child, I promise to read the Bible daily and strive to live holy everyday with your help from now on and I thank you Lord for saving me.


If you have said the above prayer with all sincerity, I welcome you to the family of God! Yes it is that simple. For the Bible states, " If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart a man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." -Romans 10:9+10