WHY DO WE DIE?

WHY DO WE DIE?

Well… in order to know - to reconcile in our minds why we die, we must go back and understand the account of creation in Genesis. Not just that of Adam (man), but of all creation.

CREATION

• It is very important to understand chapter one;

• The scope of satan's rebellion is very important to comprehend;

• The aligning of those angels with him is important to realize;

• Their (lucifer and angels) expulsion is important to note;

…all of that (rebellion, aligning with and expulsion) is literally one form of death. It happened in Heaven… in the spiritual realm, and it happened before Adam was formed. Adam was created into an arena where death already existed.

1 THESSALONIANS 1

[Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians is considered to be one of Paul's earliest letters, and yet rich in the great doctrines of the faith, namely: Election, the Holy Spirit, Assurance, the Trinity, Conversion, the second advent of Christ, the believer's walk, Sanctification, the Day of the Lord (Jehovah), the Resurrection, the tripartite nature of man.] ~Scofield Notes

1 Thessalonians 1
1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

GO AND SIN NO MORE

John 8:3-11

3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,

4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.

5 Now Moses, in our law, commands us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”

6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her....

THE DECLINE of CHRISTIANITY?

[…I am obliged to say plainly, that I fail to see that all the external improvement of the last forty years, is accompanied by any corresponding growth of practical holiness! There is no decrease in the total idolatry of recreations, or the extravagant expenditure of money, or self-indulgence of all kinds. On the contrary, there is far less repentance, faith, holiness, Bible-reading, and family religion! If this state of things is not a most unhealthy symptom in the condition of a Church, I know not what is! …The leading idea of many minds in this day appears to be, that it does not signify much what a man believes or teaches about what are commonly considered the principal verities of the Christian faith. A wave of extravagant liberalism in religion, as well as in everything else, is sweeping over England. Concerning the Trinity, the Divinity of Christ, the atonement, the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, conversion, justification, the inspiration of Scripture, the future state, and the like—it seems to be agreed that men may believe as much or as little as they please, and nobody is to find fault. The only question you are to ask is, whether a man is 'earnest, sincere, and zealous,' and if he is, you are not to ask anything more. It is thought very narrow and illiberal to say that any opinion in religion is false, or that anybody is unsound in the faith. Distinct and positive statements about anything in Christianity are thought downright uncharitable. All the old dogmas are to be held back, and never to be put forward in a solid, tangible state—or to be put forward in such a foggy, misty manner that, like a half-developed photographic plate, they are never to come out distinct, sharp, and clear. I challenge anyone who observes closely the pulpit utterances of this day, or reads speeches which touch religion, to deny the accuracy of what I have just said.] ~ (J. C. Ryle, "The Outlook" 1886).

Written in 1886 and addressing the prior 40 years!
Has it gotten better, or worse?

CHRISTIANS AND POLITICS

I am prompted to write this because of a post I saw on another blog, the subject of which was something I have been thinking about for a long, long time. Politics! …the most sanctimonious, self-centered, self-serving, self-righteous, two-faced, backstabbing, anti-God goings-on in the world (in my opinion). I would hope to raise more questions than ire, but I believe the Bible speaks to this. The aforementioned blog essentially said that we should vote for Mike Huckabee because he is Christian. Now, I want to premise my thoughts by saying if God wanted Mike Huckabee to be President, all the professing “Christians” in the world could stay home on election day and Mike Huckabee WOULD be elected! Does any REAL Christian doubt that?

GRAMMAR IN THE BIBLE

Verbs, nouns, direct objects, adjectives, aorist Greek, present perfect tense, future progressive, ad nauseam. No, I am not going into any English grammar dissertation. But I do want to express a point with regard to our understanding.

If you are an uneducated person, as I am, (a relative thing, no offense intended), reading the Bible in the Greek language would be a hilarious exercise in futility. I appreciate the English language is difficult enough to understand, in any venue, but with regard to Bible reading, it is important to have a QUALITY translation (very important) that is easy to read (within reasonable consideration)… not JUST something that is easy to read. What do I mean by that? Suffice it to say that if you do not have a high enough standard of "quality" then you are probably "drinking in diluted milk"… if you're lucky.

FORNICATION - WORD STUDY

Society has long accepted the definition of "fornication" as, "illicit" sexual intercourse. Illicit presumably referring to, "out of wedlock". However, we seem to have come to a point (not recently) where society now has done away with the term "illicit" and replaced it with "consenting." The Encarta ® World English Dictionary now defines fornication as, "consenting sex involving somebody unmarried: sexual intercourse between two consenting adults, who are not married to each other." It expands on the meaning in reference to the Bible to include, "sexual behavior considered immoral: in the Bible, sexual intercourse between a man and woman who are not married, or any form of sexual behavior considered to be immoral."

UN-BELIEF AND FALSE BELIEFS

There is a sin of unbelief.
Paul, speaking to the Jews in Heb. 3:12 said, "Take heed, brethren (Jews), lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God". It is indeed an evil heart which refuses the Truth and Promises of God.

ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

I would like for us to read some verses having to do with Love…

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" Deut. 6:5

"And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself" Matt. 22:39

"Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" Rom. 13:10

"But You have, in love for my soul, delivered it from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind your back" Isaiah 38:17

"For God so loved the world (kosmos), that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" John 3:16

IF...

…It can mean a condition or qualification; a requirement, or a stipulation (Encarta ® World English Dictionary). a conjunction used to indicate the circumstances that would have to exist in order for an event to happen. The event that God would have happen is Salvation for all… God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” 2 Pet. 3:9. The circumstances that would have to exist are the perfect keeping of the laws of God; sinlessness and righteousness in our lives; a devotion to and worship of God. Can't do it!

GO AHEAD… ASK

I have heard and read many times that God HAS to do whatever "YOU" ask of Him. Let me assert... God does not have to do anything. Oh He is true to His Word alright. But one must read the rest of His Word. There are major requirements from us before God starts "lavishing" upon us.

LIFE...DEATH...LIFE

We (you, me, everyone) will die. That is Simple, is it not? It is an inescapable fact. To leave it at that, though, is ignorant, reckless, irresponsible, and foolish beyond measure. Do you think so little of yourself? Do you think we are as frogs, or herring, or prairie dogs, or wildebeests that just come and go with little consequence (except as food for snakes, whales, coyotes and lions)? Have you watched the "Circle of Life" movie too many times?  If "birth to death" is all there is, then we (as a most intelligent, sophisticated, potential-of-a-creature) are a most pitiful, momentary breath in the eons of time. However, the significance of all these (animals), and others, is as nothing compared to the worth of man. The Bible says…

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings (one penny), and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows" Luke 12:6-7.

ESSENTIALS AND NON-ESSENTIALS

"In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, love" ~Rupertus Meldenius, (circa 1627).
A pseudo-truism. Another axiom of ecumenism, frequently tossed out in an effort (no doubt) to "justify" everyone and achieve "balance". A false balance is abomination to the LORD  Prov. 11:1.

This slogan  is familiar to many, although there is some debate about authorship. Augustine was a great "promoter" of it. Such slogans can be misleading and should be avoided. ESPECIALLY when used to divide Christians, for such is what it does. This statement has misled many in the past and is still doing it today. The only part Rupertus got right is "In all things, love."

NEW YEAR 2016

A Blessed New Year...

Even So, Come Quickly Lord Jesus.