no-god.com forum :: christianity :: The roll of Christians on this site is to spread the gospel not to fight with un

Now I have seen a lot of misrepresentation of Christianity going on at this website, but I am not surprised. The zealous are passionate for their causes, but we must remember that the cause of Christ comes first. We are not intellectuals sent to argue with the wisdom of the world; in fact we have become fools in order that we may understand what seems foolish. We have no pride in our intellect any longer, in faith that one day that God will reveal all his secrets, making the wisdom of men futile.

We are not ambassadors of conversion tactics, but we are ambassadors of truth. There is a truth that has been communicated since the dawn of time, and has been suppressed by the enemies of God, and we are sent to deliver that truth to all who might believe.

We are not to boast of our relationship with God, because it is of no effort of ours that we have been drawn to him. We are as guilty as any unbeliever, since we did not chose God, but he chose us, before the dawn of time. Those who reject the truth about God, have made a conscious effort to do so, and were not chosen to believe it in the first place.

I have lived in a Christian society for my entire life, but it was not until I was 21 years old that I accepted the truth about the God of the universe and reconciled myself to him.

Introduction to the Gospel:

So I have come to this site to share the gospel (the truth) about the world and eternity, as it was shared with me.

First of all, I am not making an argument so don’t expect me to argue. It would be nice if we could all pride our selves on our ability to make loop arguments; however, as far as God is concerned our arguments are futile when there is a truth waiting ready. His truth stands independent of argument, and it is not here to convince anyone, but it is readily made known to man. Everyman has this truth written on his heart and will be held accountable for it in the end day. Every man who rejects God feels guilt, but covers it up, and he will be exposed in the end time.

This message will not make sense to everyone who reads it, but some of you who claim to be godless are in fact the property of God, and you will accept it as truth at some point in your life.

The world is a place that we experience, because we have been equipped to do so. It is the ‘Word’ of God manifested by our senses, which are the gift of interpretation. All things that live are given this basic gift, and all things that live should acknowledge the creator, the author. To do otherwise, is foolishness, but not intellectual weakness. It is foolishness in the sense of futile thinking.

There is one God who has created all things, and his creations are for his glory and no other purpose. All things speak to his greatness in their purest form, and all creatures with sense will honor him for it. This is an example of ‘basic’ knowledge. Every man has this basic knowledge, and obviously the ones who do not are innocent, but it is not up to us to decide if there are any who have it or don’t have it for any odd reason. The basic point is, that God says that no one escapes this basic knowledge. (Romans 1:20)
So what about animals? Animals were created for our benefit, and not for God’s. (Genesis 2:19) They have neither the spirit nor the sense to acknowledge God, but they obviously acknowledge man’s dominion. Although our dominion has been weakened by our separation from God, we are still utterly dominant to them, and the animals regard us with fear. (Genesis 9:1-3)

Now one of the main things I keep hearing on this site is arguments over facts and proof. The stories that teach us about our God and his relationship with us since our infancy, are true regardless of whether they are fact or fiction. God is spirit, and spirit is not governed by recorded events. The minds that can accept a truth by faith are the minds that are prepared by God, since his desire is not to prove anything to mankind any longer. Those who believe because they have tested God will be glorified for their brilliance, so of what use is it to God to prove anything to his followers? God’s followers glorify him by their miraculous faith, not by their understanding. And that faith is provided to them by God, so all glory is his. The ones that seek God will seek him with heart and soul, so they will become fools and accept foolishness for the sake of knowing God. So if you don’t believe in the story of Genesis, just try to wrap your head around what belief really means. If you can’t grasp it right now, then hey, I don’t take pride in being a believer, it is simply the power of God in us to accept such things. You either got it or you don’t.

Man has been separated from God :

Man has fallen away from God, and is living in a state of spiritual death. We suffered a falling in the past that has completely severed our connection to him. The world has been condemned once already, and since then has returned to a point where it is ripe for condemnation. Mankind and his offspring have sprung up in ripe rebellion against the creator. We neither seek him nor do we honor him. There is no true religion, and every thing we do in our own power to worship is idolatry and blasphemy. (Romans 3:10-18) Now, that right there, is the truth, and it takes humility to accept that. I didn’t believe it, because I considered the world as generally good; but by who’s standard, mine or God’s?

God says that man has entered a depraved state, where rebellion is his very nature, starting with our desire to be without him. (Romans 1:21-31) We create gods that satisfy our intellect. Ones that we can rap our heads around, and the more intellectual ones create gods that are suitably challenging for themselves. Gods are prostituted for political and economic gain. Most of all, gods are used for self-righteousness and pride. The bottom line is that all gods besides the true God are an attempt to cover up the trauma caused by our separation from him. Therefore idolatry is rebellion and foolishness. We cannot even stay true to religions that we create for ourselves, yet we continue in them as though we will make it to some type of heaven despite our obvious depravity. God is the judge and he has forgotten no one, not a single person. Everything we have done that is wicked or unjust will be brought to light no matter what our religion is, and we will be punished according to the standard of his law, which is perfection.

Think of perfection, as a creator’s expectation. When we make things ourselves, as creative beings, if they are rotten or malfunctioning we throw them out or start over. Now I’m not saying that this is God’s thought pattern, since I can’t hope to understand his thoughts, but I’m just making the point that since he created us, he has the right to do what ever he wants with us. The difference between him and us is that he is justified in what he does with his creations, and we are wicked.

God has described us as a harvest. The point I mad earlier would suggest that God has made a mistake with us, but God describes it differently. He says that the ones that he has chosen to have eternal life, and to be in his image, are predestined to be so. The ones that become rotten, and malfunction are not his and were planted for the one who corrupts and breaks things (Satan). Since nobody, not even angels, knows who is for God and who is not, Satan thinks he is winning victories by causing evil and suffering , and spreading false teachings by people who even claim to be followers of Christ. He is corrupting and destroying the lot that has been dealt to him, and the lot that belongs to God is going to withstand the infestation until the end days. One day Satan will believe that he rules the world, and he will declare himself the victor, and name himself as God at the temple of Jerusalem. Anyway God has his own reasons for allowing Satan to contend with him, but the point is that even Satan can’t accept that his efforts are futile, just as the unbeliever cannot accept the truth about God. (Matthew 13:24-30, 24:15, Mark 13:14)

Now if up to this point you are starting to feel a bit sad, then that is probably because you are able to interpret spiritual things, and the seed of God is in you. You will long for God, and you will fear his judgment, because you feel your guilt. “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” (Romans1:18-19)

No ability to be Righteous:

The Ten Commandments are the guide to true love. God is that true love. He is the only one who upholds the law, which governs righteousness, and therefore is the only one who truly loves. We are all set in a depraved state of thinking, and do not even understand love anymore. We are full of wickedness, and everything we chose to do is rooted in a sinful motivation. Sin is what ever is godless (does not honor God), selfish, lustful, or deceitful. In our current state we are incapable of genuinely operating in any other way.

The ten commandments are not invalid simply because we cannot uphold them, and Moses was by no means a liar. Judaism is valid according to the law, but as far as rejecting salvation it is not. True Judaism looks forward to salvation. (Psalms, Isaiah, Nehemiah, Genesis,ect.) The ten commandments reveal God's quality and our goal, but do not reveal the path to acheive it. There is no way for man to reconcile himself to God but through God's decision to reconcile imself to man(Jesus Christ). Upon that reconciliation we become more like God until one day we are restored to his image, and free of sin.

So where does free will come into play? We have a will that is free, but our minds are not free. We make decisions all the time, but we are incapable of making a step towards God without his intervention. In a world of infestation with the evil one, we are slaves to sinfulness, unless God frees us with his spirit. The ones he has chosen, are the ones that hear is voice and accept salvation. Although we chose freely, our will is subject to what our mind decides is the best choice. In our current state, God and what he considers righteous are never considered the best choice. If we do, by chance, choose the right thing it is never for the right reason. Even if we consider ourselves to be good by our standard, the fact that we consider ourselves to be good is rebellion, since we do not acknowledge God’s charge against us as valid. We do not acknowlege his commandments, or we fail to uphold them completely. We do not feel that we are in need of salvation due to self-righteousness, and have covered up those sins that he is waiting to judge us for.

If our very minds are depraved then how will we ever make a righteous choice. Now bare with me, it takes humility to accept this truth. God has to change our minds with his Holy Spirit in order for us to choose him, to follow him, and to accept his salvation. Then and only then can we discern what is good and choose it, based on the standards of God, and not the standards of the world (which is now the enemy of God).

The Good news:

The good news is that even though the world is infested, and ripe for destruction, there will be a harvest, and God’s crop will prevail. There is hope, because satan has been defeated long ago. From the day that man fell away from God, God has revealed his intention to restore us to himself and destroy the enemy and his offspring. (Genesis 3:15)

Jesus Christ is the sacrifice that nullifies all sin. Because God is righteous and the essence of true love, he came down to earth in the form of sinful man, in order that sin may be destroyed. He bore the punishment as the pure sacrifice for every sin committed on earth, in the past, present and future. God has his reasons for choosing this method as a symbol of his grace, but who is to question him? Why did he create the universe in such beautiful symbolism? But, although we cannot question him on why, we can seek understanding of what he is communicating.

One thing I have noticed about Jesus and what he did, is that he was a man that had the power of God while on earth. One of the main reasons that we sin is because we feel that we have the free will to do what we desire, apart from what God desires. Jesus’ life on earth is a lesson to me about true righteousness. He was a man who experienced the same physical demands and temptations that we all endure, yet he did not sin. God has set a standard, and he upheld it all the days of his life, and he died a criminals death on our behalf. He had the power to have all the sex that he wanted, and as a man I’m sure he was tempted, but never lusted nor fornicated. He got hungry I’m sure, but never committed gluttony, and I’m sure that he was frustrated with injustice and people who wronged him, but he never raised a hand against anyone. He could have been rich, and dressed nicely, but he served the poor with his power, and healed the lame.

Yet we as sinners, we act as though we are gods of ourselves, and punish when we want, eat when we want, have sex when we want, and even want to die when we want! It’s not even our life that we play with. God was entitled to this life that he created and took it on in the form of a man, yet he yielded to himself as God of the universe even when he was fearful of crucifixion, and he gave up his life at the hands of the Jewish authorities in obedience. (Luke 22:42-44)

Now that’s not a guilt trip, because God does not expect that from us. Obviously he knows that life on earth is not anything compared to heaven, but even still he acknowledges our struggle by living and breathing amongst us. He would not have done it if he believed we could do it ourselves. We cannot save ourselves from sin! He did it out of love and mercy. He is a hero. He did not do it to guilt trip us, and condemn us. He lived a perfect life and died because it was ‘a’ way that we could be forgiven for sin while also proving that his law is indeed fulfillable.

Satan’s work has been made futile by his forgiveness. Even if Satan causes us to sin he cannot make us undesirable to God, because God will never throw his people away, now that a price has been paid in full for us. He has sealed us believers with the Holy Spirit, which is a symbol of ownership, a symbol of good crop in a sense. Only Satan and the crop that he has ownership over will be destroyed, and those are the demons that fell from heaven, and the human corpses that are incapable of believing the truth.

All we have to do in order to be saved is believe with all our hearts and souls. We who have been chosen respond to the message of salvation with faith. We accept the truth and put it to practice in our lives. Believe that Jesus is the Lord and Savior of mankind, and know that you will join him at the right hand of the Father. But I also know that this message will seem too long to the ones that are perishing, and it will seem like foolishness, and they will ignore it.

The only Christian response to this message should be toward those who genuinely seek understanding, but let the scoffers and slanderers do what is natural to them. For even those who scoff now, may find them selves on their knees in faithful service to God before this life is over. Ignore the attacks, however do not leave the believers unattended.
[1 edits; Last edit by Tsedek05 at 04:17:11 Fri Oct 27 2006]

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