(Hebrews 11:6) “And
without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to
God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
The
“resurrection of the dead” is not a term many are aware of outside of the
Christian circle. Regardless of the opinions of many, the truth stands and many
will experience resurrection.
Statements of
the “Christians faith” differs from an individuals persuasion and then from
organizations to local assemblies and when explored the dissimilarities will
become obviously evident. We only need a few minutes of conversation to
understand where others stand regarding their persuasions.
Although some
differences can be settled on the “I beg to differ” scenario, there are some
truths that are unequivocally correct and pivotal in order to align ourselves
with God’s requirements for salvation. If there are those who resist these
truths they irrevocably prove that they are the enemies of the cross. Those are
the easy predators to pick out; like a lion that is not afraid to show-off his
presence as he lazes under a shrub or tree, seeking out any shade he may find
to escape the harsh African sun throughout any given day. If seen by the
passes-by he remains undeterred, he does not hide, he believes that he is the
king of the jungle and gloats as if there is no tomorrow. Its only when it is
time to hunt that skulduggery is used as his main weapon. Whereas the leopard
is far craftier and hardly ever seen and yet even more deadly, a supreme hunter
that uses camouflage to trap its prey and there is disputably no greater hunter
in Africa. Individuals who slip into congregations, they dress and speak the
same as true believers but are in fact far from it, undercover agents that have
their own agendas. Judas Iscariot was such a man. There are many other
allegories we could draw from, but enough has been said.
What then are
the fundamental truths that every Christian must say Amen too?
A young woman
by the name of Mary who was in fact a virgin was impregnated by the Spirit of
God; why was this important to God? In fact this was crucial for the second
covenant to be legitimate and to start out correctly. Jesus was born without
the blanket of a sinful nature tainting him, a contrast to every other baby
ever born. He alone was afforded this privilege. And then from there on in for
him to achieve his objective he had to live a life of sinless perfection, which
he did accomplish. Whereas, every other individual to grace the planet, has
breached the law of God and been tainted by their sin. Here is scripture which
affirms this truth. “What then? Are we Jews any better off?
No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are
under sin, as it is written: "None is
righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:9-10) - And yet a righteous individual needed to pay the
price for mankind’s sins against God. Similarly in “type” to a spotless lamb
required in the Old Testament times to pay for the peoples sins. The first
covenant required the death of and animal, the second and better covenant the
death of the man Jesus, never to be repeated, it was a sacrifice that God
required and it only ever had to happen once. Historically this took place
about two thousand years ago. Both these sacrifices were required by God to
forgive people for their acts of treason against Him. The first covenant was an
ongoing sacrifice whilst the second was the perfect sacrifice never to be
repeated. Sin is Satan’s weapon, forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ is God’s
grace exemplified. – “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer
sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the
people, since he did this once for all
when he offered up himself.” (Hebrews
7:27) The one is driven by
malice, guile and hate (Satan’s weapon), whilst the other encapsulated in love
(the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice). “For God so loved the world that He gave his only
begotten son…” - Two very opposite extremes.
Another point to highlight is God’s intervention
for mankind and not peoples attempts to earn their positions in finding
acceptance from God. Today “dead works” is high up on people’s agendas in
finding favour from God, which will never be accepted by Him. Faith is
something needed in order to believe. It is God who opens our eyes to His
intervention in our lives, without Him we will remain in darkness. Imagine
being in Mary’s shoes telling those around her that she had never been with a
man and yet she was pregnant. Those who didn’t receive the faith to believe
could never have confidence in her claims, and in like manner so is it with all
of mankind today, without God giving us sight to see, we will remain blind to
His truth, for now! There is a day coming when the universe will see God for
who He is.
Christ needed
to live a life of sinless perfection and then die a cruel death by hanging on a
Romans cross, he was buried and then after three days rose from the dead.
Almighty God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob affirming His work here on
earth by raising Him from the dead. Praise the name of Jesus now and forever
more, Amen and Amen!
The obvious
truths that every Christian needs to agree upon is; the virgin birth, Jesus’
life as a boy/man never ever breaching one of Gods laws stipulated within the
Law of Moses (the first covenant), his death, burial and then his resurrection
to life. Many believe this to be true whilst others do not, time will reveal
all and will become privy to this truth, that the life to come, our spiritual
existence will either bring life and complete bliss in utopia, surrounded by
God’s blessings, or damnation filled with torment that will stretch into the
spans of eternity.
Without faith
it is impossible to please God…
Signing off
Tyrone