Acts 17:10-11
10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming [thither] went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Paul was speaking of the Jewish believers in the Berean synagogue, which I hope will be what characterizes YOUR beliefs in this life, in that you check everything you hear taught as doctrine since you alone will be held responsible for what you choose to believe in this life.
This world is filled with lies, but among some of the most popular and deadly are these:
1) The universe is a cosmic accident.
What this means is that many think that everything came about by mere chance. Another recent, and yet popular lie along this line is that, because there are laws such as gravity, the universe HAD to create itself...
Yep, you read that correctly. Dawkins spouted that bit of nonsense that is now parroted by many a modern atheist today. As silly and uneducated as that observation is, because someone with letters attached to his name spouted it outwardly through his bilge, many in the masses ran with it and try using it as an intellectual gold mine of words when, in fact, it is utter nonsense!
2) People are basically good...
Those who parrot that mantra will sheepishly admit that nobody is perfect, then turn right around and speak out the other side of their mouths by claiming that 'People are basically good,' which is nothing but a feeble attempt at minimizing the depravity of the human heart!
3) God won't punish humanity since He is such a loving God.
Parents who withheld the rod of correction from their children have/are/will experience the fallacy of this belief. Those who believe God won't punish sin in this life have no concept of what true love really is all about. The liberal god is one who they have invented in their own minds, with some of them even claiming the Bible itself teaches what they believe along this line, although I can find such in the historic Bible I read!
4) There are many paths to Heaven.
Oprah helped to solidify this devilish belief and even asked a woman in her audience, who openly and verbally protested this belief, by asking her, "How dare you say that there is only one way to God, and that Jesus is the ONLY way!" The majority in that audience applauding Oprah for that chastisement only gave ample evidence for what the majority in the world today believe of those who think they are spiritual and claim to believe in God...although we can't really nail down which god they actually believe in other than to say that it is a god of man's own invention!
5) One is saved by way of the sinner's prayer.
Again, the Bible I read doesn't have any such thing as that popular prayer.
John 3:3,7
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ...
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
I have yet to hear one "sinner's prayer" that reflects one being down-cast before the Lord for the new birth that only He can effect. This is one hot button issue that some may indeed try to argue for on the other side, but suffice it to say that what Christ Jesus said as quoted here, He alone has given to us what truly is necessary for salvation, which is a gift, not of works or incantations of words.
6) God desires that all true Christians never suffer, but to be healthy and wealthy.
As one reads the word of God, he or she is struck by the stark contrast in reality between this item and what's actually stated in scripture, and how things really pan out in life. Those who teach such have not taken to heart the suffering of so many throughout the word of God, and even where the Lord promised persecution to many on the basis of their faith in Him and because the world first hated the Lord Most High.
I'm not one to ever trample underfoot the many lives of those who were living in poverty, and even burned at the stake for their testimony of Christ Jesus, and even daring to put the word of God into the hands of the common people. Their health was greatly affected by the flames of persecution, and the subsequent confiscation of whatever wealth they may have had, it remained here to burn with the rest of this earth, which is true of us all.
I also don't want to be counted among those who hear from the Lord, "What you had in wealth on the earth, that is the extent of any reward you will ever have in eternity. You already had your reward for the deeds done in the flesh. You have no riches in reward here."
MM
10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming [thither] went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Paul was speaking of the Jewish believers in the Berean synagogue, which I hope will be what characterizes YOUR beliefs in this life, in that you check everything you hear taught as doctrine since you alone will be held responsible for what you choose to believe in this life.
This world is filled with lies, but among some of the most popular and deadly are these:
1) The universe is a cosmic accident.
What this means is that many think that everything came about by mere chance. Another recent, and yet popular lie along this line is that, because there are laws such as gravity, the universe HAD to create itself...
Yep, you read that correctly. Dawkins spouted that bit of nonsense that is now parroted by many a modern atheist today. As silly and uneducated as that observation is, because someone with letters attached to his name spouted it outwardly through his bilge, many in the masses ran with it and try using it as an intellectual gold mine of words when, in fact, it is utter nonsense!
2) People are basically good...
Those who parrot that mantra will sheepishly admit that nobody is perfect, then turn right around and speak out the other side of their mouths by claiming that 'People are basically good,' which is nothing but a feeble attempt at minimizing the depravity of the human heart!
3) God won't punish humanity since He is such a loving God.
Parents who withheld the rod of correction from their children have/are/will experience the fallacy of this belief. Those who believe God won't punish sin in this life have no concept of what true love really is all about. The liberal god is one who they have invented in their own minds, with some of them even claiming the Bible itself teaches what they believe along this line, although I can find such in the historic Bible I read!
4) There are many paths to Heaven.
Oprah helped to solidify this devilish belief and even asked a woman in her audience, who openly and verbally protested this belief, by asking her, "How dare you say that there is only one way to God, and that Jesus is the ONLY way!" The majority in that audience applauding Oprah for that chastisement only gave ample evidence for what the majority in the world today believe of those who think they are spiritual and claim to believe in God...although we can't really nail down which god they actually believe in other than to say that it is a god of man's own invention!
5) One is saved by way of the sinner's prayer.
Again, the Bible I read doesn't have any such thing as that popular prayer.
John 3:3,7
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ...
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
I have yet to hear one "sinner's prayer" that reflects one being down-cast before the Lord for the new birth that only He can effect. This is one hot button issue that some may indeed try to argue for on the other side, but suffice it to say that what Christ Jesus said as quoted here, He alone has given to us what truly is necessary for salvation, which is a gift, not of works or incantations of words.
6) God desires that all true Christians never suffer, but to be healthy and wealthy.
As one reads the word of God, he or she is struck by the stark contrast in reality between this item and what's actually stated in scripture, and how things really pan out in life. Those who teach such have not taken to heart the suffering of so many throughout the word of God, and even where the Lord promised persecution to many on the basis of their faith in Him and because the world first hated the Lord Most High.
I'm not one to ever trample underfoot the many lives of those who were living in poverty, and even burned at the stake for their testimony of Christ Jesus, and even daring to put the word of God into the hands of the common people. Their health was greatly affected by the flames of persecution, and the subsequent confiscation of whatever wealth they may have had, it remained here to burn with the rest of this earth, which is true of us all.
I also don't want to be counted among those who hear from the Lord, "What you had in wealth on the earth, that is the extent of any reward you will ever have in eternity. You already had your reward for the deeds done in the flesh. You have no riches in reward here."
MM
