The Old Testament writers
affirmed that they were speaking the WORD of GOD and
not the word of man. "Thus says the Lord",
or an equivalent, is found more than 2,000 times in
the O.T. (2Sam.23:1-3; Isa.8:1,11; Jer.1:9,5:14;
7:27; 13:12; Ezek.3:4; Mic.5:10; Hab.2:2; etc.
The Apostles regarded the
whole of SCRIPTURE as the infallible WORD of GOD.
(2Tim.3:16; 2Peter 1:21; 1Cor.14:37; 1
Thes.2"13; Gal.1:11-12)
JESUS CHRIST unqualifiedly
endorsed the SCRIPTURES as the inspired WORD of
GOD.(Jn.10:35; Mat.5:18; etc.)
Fulfilled prophecy
unmistakably demonstrates the authoritativeness of
SCRIPTURE. (Duet.28:63-65; 28:37; Lk.21:24; Nah.3:1,
4-6; Zeph.2:13,14; Isa.13:19-22; Jer.51:37;
Ezek.29:15, 30:6; Jer.46: 19-20)
Archaeology confirms the
accuracy of SCRIPTURE.
The pragmatic test....the
FACT that it PERFORMS what it PROMISES,(that it works
in actual human experiences in response to FAITH),
also shows the BIBLE to be the WORD of GOD. (Jn.7:17)
Now
a word about the inerrancy of SCRIPTURE. That just means it
is without error. It is infallible.
First...The
science of textual criticism (the experts) has
assured us, by the estimates of competant scholars,
that our present texts (Greek & Hebrew) are
without errors of significance. The text we work with
is therefore trustworthy.
Second...Who
is to decide what part of the SCRIPTURE is true and
what part is false? The SCRIPTURES claim to DIVINE
AUTHORITY is lost when we subject them to the
rationalistic appraisals of men.
GOD...by
the power of the HOLY SPIRIT...so prepared the authors of HIS
WORD...that they
were able to write precisely what HE intended....Since GOD is
HIMSELF free from error, which is clear in these SCRIPTURES:
(Psalm31:5; 100:5; Jn.7:20, 8:26; Rom.3:4; Cor.1:18; 1John
4:6, 5:20; Rev.6:10) and since HE has chosen man as the
vehicle through which HE would disclose HIS TRUTH, it is
wholly consistant that HE should conduct the process of
providing SCRIPTURE so as to avoid all error, and wholly
INconsistant if any part
it should be in error....In plain English...it would NOT MAKE
SENSE if GOD...who is PERFECT...would allow any
error in "HIS WORD".
So....how
do I convey this TRUTH to my family and friends? I must
remember that it is the job of the HOLY SPIRIT to convince
them. But I can pray that
their hearts will be softened and that they be given new
eyes and ears to
see and hear GOD'S TRUTH....I want so much to witness for the
LORD, but I can't seem to open my mouth to my closet
relatives....I guess I am afraid of REJECTION....I did share
my BORN AGAIN experience with my old friend, Janice....but
that was easy because it was over the phone for one thing,
and we hadn't seen each other in a couple of years, and
probably wouldn't see
each other very soon. So I guess I wasn't worried about being
rejected by her but if she never called again it wouldn't
hurt as much as loosing my family. (but it would hurt
somewhat)....But with my "family"...it is much
harder...and they are very
important to me...to share this news of
...ETERNAL LIFE....I
am sure they believe they will go to HEAVEN simply because
they have not robbed or killed anyone....But what they DON'T
REALIZE is...that WE ARE ALL SINNERS! But we can be:
Awareness
of our SINFUL NATURE: Romans
3:23- Since all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of GOD; Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is
death, but
the FREE GIFT of GOD is ETERNAL
LIFE in CHRIST JESUS our
LORD.
Belief in JESUS CHRIST:
Romans 10:9- if you confess with your lips that JESUS
is LORD and BELIEVE in your heart that GOD raised HIM
from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED.
REPENTANCE of SINS:
1John1:19- If we confess our sins, HE is FAITHFUL and
JUST, and will FORGIVE our sins and cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.
Anyway, how can I tell them about
their NEED for a
SAVIOR? Before I was BORN AGAIN...I
wouldn't have listened to anyone who tried to tell me about
JESUS. I thought I already knew all I needed to know about
JESUS. I remember feeling very uncomfortable
at the mere mention
of HIS NAME.
I
remember Joe watching the 700Club, and I asked him why he was
watching that show.
We thought of Pat Robertson as "the enemy". I
believed he was a faker, a liar, a crook who just wanted to
rip-off little old ladies. and the way he prayed on TV....I
mean...he closed his eyes and prayed to JESUS right out
loud....in front of everyone! And he even invited people to
join him in prayer! Wow! What a kook! ( I thought)....Then I
found out that Pat Robertson has a personal relationship with
JESUS CHRIST, and that's why he could talk
to HIM.
I
learned that I couldn't judge all CHRISTIANS by the things
that some, like Jim
Baker, had done. Even if Pat Robertson or any others should
fall, I place MY TRUST
in JESUS ALONE.
I always
thought the expression "BORN AGAIN" was made up by
some Kooky people who just needed that
kind of thing. Then I read in the BIBLE...John 3:3-
"Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born
again he cannot see the KINGDOM of
GOD." Now that was JESUS speaking to Nicodemus. Continue
to read this paragraph in the BIBLE....JESUS goes on to
explain that being BORN AGAIN is a spiritual birth....in
verse 6 JESUS says, "That which is born of the flesh is
flesh, and that which is born of the SPIRIT is spirit."
We
must be
...in
order to enter the KINGDOM of HEAVEN....JESUS
said so! And I truly believe
HIM....But you ask...."how does one become BORN
AGAIN?"....Well, I'm not expert....I'm still young,
"spiritually speaking"....but....you must first be aware
of your sinful nature...and turn from
your sins (REPENT) and turn TOWARD JESUS! ....You must BELIEVE
IN HIM....Who HE is....and that HE
DIED for YOUR SINS....you need to ask
HIM into your HEART. HE will
come in if you ask
HIM to....and you will
be BORN AGAIN!....You will become a NEW CREATION....having
NEW EYES to see and NEW EARS to hear.
Jesus
is waiting with His arms open wide...what
will you decide?
ok...back to "my
story"...
Spring
1990 .... I remember suddenly one day, I
was upstairs listening to some music. Keith Green singing
"Your Love Broke Through"....and listening to the
words...I heard them
with "NEW EARS". The lyric goes: "You pulled
away the clouds that hung like curtains on my eyes. Now I see
the answer was as EASY as just asking You
in. Like waking up from the longest
dream...how real it seemed...until Your love broke
through". WOW!! It blew me away! I finally understood
the words in that song....I FELT them....I felt I was
"in love" with JESUS. I knew
then that I was BORN AGAIN!
And ever since that day I have had JESUS in my HEART, because
I "asked HIM in".
Right
about now you are probably saying to yourself, "she's
crazy"..."poor woman"...She's a little
strange....But you know what??? It's OK...I understand. in
fact, I would feel the same way. As a matter of fact, I
did!!! before...but please continue to read....My eyes have
been opened....I feel as though I have been given NEW EYES
& EARS. They are very sensative to things which GOD
considers wrong....The world doesn't believe in SIN
anymore....it's a joke! It doesn't believe in Satan...he's
become a joke!....BUT...the BIBLE tells us everything that
GOD wants us to know. We need to READ the
BIBLE daily. It is GOD talking to us! DON'T
YOU WANT TO HEAR WHAT "HE" HAS TO SAY TO YOU? And
we need to spend time in prayer every day. That's us
talking to GOD. It is really easy....HE
is our FATHER....so just talk to HIM as you would to your
parent. HE only wants THE BEST for us.
John
14:6 (Jesus said) "I am THE WAY and THE TRUTH and THE
LIFE.". Without JESUS there is NO WAY to get to HEAVEN.
HE is the ONLY WAY. Receive GOD's FREE GIFT....HIS
SON...
JESUS
THAT
HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN
THAT
WHOEVER
SHOULD
NOT PERISH...BUT HAVE
This
is the ONLY way to HEAVEN. And the alternative is HELL.
The BIBLE
talks about HELL as THE ETERNAL FIRE prepared for the devil
and his angels....Matthew 25:31....ETERNAL DEATH or
EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT is the unavoidable consequences of
UNFORGIVEN SIN....Matt.25:46, Rom.6:16, 21, 23, 8:13....It
differs from the "physical death" which
everyone must endure.. It assumes it's
final and most terrible form at the LAST
JUDGEMENT..Rev.20:12 CHRIST himself says
of HELL that it is a place "where the worm does not die,
and the fire is not quenched"...Mark 9:48....And CHRIST
ALONE is the way of escape....John 3:16; 8:51...Acts 4:12
How can I
tell my family that they NEED to ask JESUS into their hearts?
That they need forgiveness of their sins....they probably
don't even think they have any
sins....Of all of them, my brother knows at least SOME of the
BIBLE...but he said he isn't READY to make a commitment. I
guess he is afraid of having to give up something....If he
ONLY KNEW! You gain EVERTHING! INNER PEACE that lasts... KNOW
JESUS....KNOW PEACE...no Jesus...no peace. It's that simple,
and it's TRUE.
It is
NEVER too EARLY to receive CHRIST...but...at any moment it
could be TOO LATE....We don't know WHEN we will die...only
that we will.
Satan
is a liar and the father of lies...he is a deceiver...he
fills peoples hearts and minds with DOUBT and FEAR. But
we can resist the devil and he will flee..James 4:7.... He is
our adversary,
prowling like a lion, looking for those he can
devour...1Peter 5:8....BUT with JESUS we have the POWER to
REBUKE Satan. JESUS paid a high price for us. HIS LIFE... HE
bought us with HIS BLOOD!
I
remember when that didn't make any sense to me at all. BUT by
the GRACE of GOD, I understand it now. I just wish I could
make others understand it. Not just MY FAMILY...but EVERYONE
I know! Because GOD LOVES EVERYONE the same. HE wants ALL OF
US to BE SAVED!
"WHY
DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO BELIEVE IN CHRIST?"
A
Reasonable Explanation: Christ and the Bible
offer answers to the key questions of life: where we
came from, why there is evil in the world, why people
search for God, and our purpose for living.
A
Reliable Book: The Bible is historically
reliable, acurately preserved, prophetically true,
consistent within, and it's message is powerful.
A
Credible Leader: Jesus' life was sinless. His
deeds were miraculous. His teachings are profound.
His death and ressurection are historical facts.
A
Powerful Movement: Christ's disciples would not
have risked their lives for what they knew to be a
lie. The church's continued existence and impact on
society demonstrate God's power.
A
Personal Experience: Those who have put their
trust in Christ as Savior have found the experience
to be life changing and richly fulfilling.
CHRISTIANITY
works because JESUS spoke the TRUTH.... I am THE
WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. No one comes to the FATHER
except THROUGH ME. John 14:6
If
you who are reading
this, want to know more about JESUS CHRIST, read in the New
Testament one of the GOSPELS, such as JOHN. It's a good place
to start. Ask GOD to help you find the TRUTH about JESUS.
Read for YOURSELF what people thought of HIM, who HE claimed
to be, and what HE did on earth, and what HE can do for YOU!
Then...take a STEP OF FAITH...a step based on good
reason...and tell JESUS that you BELIEVE in HIM. But
remember, BELIEF is more than just mentally acknowledging the
TRUTH that JESUS died and rose from the grave for your sins.
BELIEF involves entrusting
your SOUL to CHRIST. Personally accepting the FREE GIFT of
SALVATION...Ephesians 2:8,9 It makes SENSE to BELIEVE.
How do I
go about sharing all this with my unsaved family and friends?
I want them all to be saved. And the ONLY WAY is through
belief in JESUS CHRIST.. That is why I am writing this. I
hope and pray that each one of my family members and friends
(and now you) will read these pages. And I pray in JESUS name
for the ANNOINTING of the HOLY SPIRIT upon these pages...
that whoever reads this will be somehow touched by the SPIRIT
of GOD and humble themselves before the LORD and ask HIS
FORGIVENESS & MERCY.... Now, I KNOW I have LOST some of
you at this point...You are now uncomfortable to even be
around me. I KNOW because I was
where you are. But I
must risk loosing
you.
I hope
you are not offended as you read this. I am no
better than you. I used to LOVE the
world and the things of the world. I thought RELIGION was
boring and old-fashioned. But I am Not talking about
RELIGION... I am talking about JESUS CHRIST...GOD's own SON.
HIS BLOOD was shed for us. There is no forgiveness of sin
without the shedding of blood.
I
have been afraid to verbalize
my feelings and beliefs. Afraid of rejection by my family. I
LOVE them and don't want to loose them. But I have to risk
loosing them by letting them read this. I want you all to
read this because this may
be the ONLY time you ever HEAR the message of the GOSPEL. And
your SALVATION is SO VERY IMPORTANT to me...I'll risk loosing
your love.
My life is FAR from
perfect. I still loose my temper (though
less often), but when I do, I pray for patience. And the LORD
really HELPS me. You see, HE is REAL. And HE lives in me
through the indwelling of the HOLY SPIRIT. If some of these
expressions and facts sound confusing, I am sorry. I don't
mean to confuse you...only enlighten you...for your own sake.
Before I became a
CHRISTIAN,(that sounds strange because I always thought
I was a CHRISTIAN simply because I was raised a Catholic), I
would not have wanted to listen to anyone talk about JESUS. I
would feel very uncomfortable at
the mere mention of HIS NAME. And I never knew I needed
to hear HIS message. I thought I knew everything that was
important................................. But I was wrong!! So Very Wrong!! And I
didn't know
it..................... But
now that I know the TRUTH....I have
to share it.
One of the most common
excuses I have heard for people not believing in the BIBLE as
the WORD OF GOD is the many different translations of it.
But...they all say THE SAME THING!
Another excuse I've heard is "How do you know
the BIBLE is TRUE?" Well, for one
thing....archaeologists have researched, and studied and
their findings PROVE it!....There are over 14,000 New
Testament manuscript copies existing today. And they can't
find more than a paragraph's worth of difference...and most
of those are misspellings or alternate spellings. NONE of
them affect any BASIC DOCTRINE...ON THE
CONTRARY....ALL
EVIDENCE points to the conclusion that we have an accurate
text.
Even
though I KNOW the BIBLE is 100% TRUE
... I can't force you
to accept it. If you don't want
to BELIEVE it...you won't...no
matter HOW MUCH EVIDENCE I give you.....What would it take to
PROVE to you that it
is GOD's WORD? I
PRAY that somehow you will BELIEVE. I
sure don't want any
of my family or friends to spend ETERNITY in HELL. Eternity
means never ending.
And HELL is a HORRIBLE place. I know
from what JESUS said about it (in the BIBLE).
All of
us are SINNERS. (Yes...YOU TOO!) That is why JESUS came...and
why HE DIED. For the sins of the WORLD! To save us!!!
SALVATION IS A FREE
GIFT...BUT...WE MUST FIRST RECEIVE IT IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE
OURS.
Of course you might think you have not
sinned....But we are ALL sinners. (Romans 3:23) Even you!!!
And the penalty for
SIN is DEATH,
(Rom.6:23) Death....as in ETERNAL SEPARATION from GOD...in a
place created for the DEVIL
and his followers....I don't want that for my family &
friends....I want to see them all in HEAVEN...... we all NEED
FORGIVENESS....forgiveness:
the removal of the penalty for the wrongs we have committed.
I never knew I did anything REALLY
wrong....not something that would send me TO HELL....I
remember thinking that GOD
knows my heart.... and HE knows I mean
well. And HE sees the "good
things" I do. I KNOW
HE wants me to be happy....and
after all, there are a LOT WORSE people in the world than
me!!!
BUT
THE BIBLE...GOD'S WORD...SAYS: "ALL HAVE SINNED"
(Romans 3:23)...THAT MEANS ME TOO!
So,
no matter WHAT I think...or HOW I feel...no matter how NICE I
am...or how GOOD I've been...no matter how often I go to
church...or how rich or poor or sick or healthy I am...Like
it or NOT....I AM A SINNER! The
BIBLE says so...and that is GOD'S WORD!
And Romans 6:23 says: "the penalty
of sin is DEATH!.. but the GIFT of GOD is ETERNAL LIFE in CHRIST JESUS our LORD."
JUST
IMAGINE....GOD...our HEAVENLY FATHER...our CREATOR... wants
to give us the GIFT of ETERNAL LIFE.. He wants us to
live with HIM forever....and all we have to do is accept
JESUS as our personal LORD & SAVIOR. But so many of
us turn our backs on this FREE GIFT from GOD. We think we
don't need it. Or we worry about what people
might think if we bacame a CHRISTIAN...( a true follower
of CHRIST).... Or maybe we think we'll have to give up having
fun. But honestly, I am having fun! I LOVE JESUS!!! And I know HE LOVES
ME TOO. I have an inner peace that only HE could
give me....I don't walk around like a nun or a monk or
something like that....but the reason I don't watch certain
movies or listen to some kinds of music anymore is because I
DON'T WANT TO. I have no desire for it anymore. I can't
take pleasure in watching the very sins JESUS
was CRUCIFIED for. It would hurt me too much. But I
don't condemn anyone for watching those movies or
listening to questionable music....I am no better than
anyone else, and I've done WORSE than some of you.
"For God sent the Son into the
world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be
saved through Him."...John 3:17
The reason I am writing all these
quotes from the BIBLE is so that whoever reads this will know
why
I BELIEVE what
I BELIEVE and where
you can look it up in your own BIBLE. Do you have one? Get
one in TODAY's English. Everyone should have a BIBLE....We
get an owners manual when we buy a car...or a TV...or a
stereo...or computer...so we will know the do's
and don'ts. The BEST
WAY to keep things running the
way they were MADE to run, by their MANUFACTUROR.
Well, GOD is our
CREATOR....our manufacturor....and HE had the BIBLE written
so we, HIS CREATION, would run according to HIS plan ( or
specifications). Get it??? It is so simple....SO WHY DO SO MANY OF US MISS
IT????
Continue please
