Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by world events that I don’t know what to write.
We had a tornado go through about 6 or 7 miles north of us last week. There was very little damage compared to the Oklahoma tornado, but it does bring it home.
Buildings damaged by tornado that went through Dalston, Ontario, just north of Barrie
Then, on the weekend, one of my wife’s co-workers was murdered. She was going through a divorce, and now her husband is charged with second degree murder.
Last week a Syrian rebel was filmed eating the heart of one of his enemies! Such savagery! This lost sinner is going to hell, with a lot of better people than himself!
As I look at Drudge and see the mess the world is in, some times it is just overwhelming!
It is all related to one thing, and one thing only…sin!
The human race is at war with God. The tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and other natural disasters are a result of sin. God’s anger with the human race is boiling.
Instead of admitting our guilt, however, the politicians and leftists point to others and say “it is because you are driving a car!” Grrr! No! It is because YOU are a sinner, and YOU refuse to repent! Yes you, Democrat! Yes you, Liberal! Yes you, Conservative! Yes you, Republican! Yes even you, member of PETA! Even you “Christians”!
And so the judgment of God looms on the horizon. Canada, and the USA, and Mexico, and Russia, and Iran, can’t escape it!
Isaiah 66:4
I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
This is a passage about the current generation folks! There has never been a more deluded generation than the one that currently resides on planet earth!
Now, I am attending a church where the leadership says that the Greek New Testament is wrong, and the real name of the Messiah is Yeshua, not Jesus or ιησουν (Yesoos). He has nothing to base that claim on, except the tradition that the Jews spoke Hebrew during the life of Christ. Some did, but the majority spoke Greek. This is why they wrote the bible in Greek.
You can find the times that Jesus spoke Hebrew or Aramaic, by reading the King James bible, or the Textus Receptus. It notes the times when He spoke those languages, which means that the rest of the time He was speaking Greek!
The Greek New Testament was not “anointed” by God! That would imply that it was a human effort! No! The New Testament was written in Greek because it was Inspired by God, in that language!
Don’t think for a minute that God is limited to Hebrew. He can speak in any language He chooses. and He chose Greek!
II Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That includes the Greek New Testament, folks!
To say that the biblical use of ιησουν is incorrect, and it really should have been Yeshua, is casting doubt on the Word of God! It is lifting up fallible men as judges of God’s bible! It panders to human pride! The very thing that brought down Lucifer!
While I am sad and upset at the horrible things that are going on in the world, I am furious at the attack on God’s word, which is coming from within the Christian Church! Murder? Casting doubt on the Word of God is worse than murder! People’s eternal destinations are at stake!
Dan
housetops 
“People’s eternal destinations are at stake!”
Brother Dan, just curious about the above statement. Do you believe that people have any control whatsoever over their eternal destination? I would argue that the New Testament makes it perfectly clear that we do not have any such control. JMO
Charlie
Charlie,
I know what you are saying, but I believe the bible does not reduce the responsibility for us to believe.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:13-17
God has ordained that we should believe when we hear the gospel. He has also ordained that we need to preach the gospel. People don’t get saved where the gospel is not preached.
I don’t believe that anyone was predestined to be saved, but we were all predestined to Hell. We were pre-destined IN CHRIST. He is the predestined one! When we get saved we participate in His predestination.
Read Laurence Vance’s book “The Other Side of Calvinism” or Dave Hunts book “What Love is This?”. I am not a Calvinist, though I certainly believe that there are a number of true believers among Calvinists.
I can’t claim to know all the answers, but I do know that predestination does not remove our responsibility to believe the gospel.
God bless,
Dan
Brother Dan, as you inferred from my comments, I am most certainly a Calvinist. I am of the opinion that the way that we are saved can have a significant impact on our understanding of the salvation process. In my case, in 1978 I was a 33 year old avowed atheist who thought that deism and religion of any sort was nonsense. Then, out of the blue, as the saying goes, the Lord began to reveal Himself to me through a series of supernatural events in my life. After a search of a few weeks trying to find out Who it was that was orchestrating these events, I found out that He was the God of the Bible. I was born again purely as a work of God apart from any witnessing or evangelism and as a result, the first time I picked up a Bible in my search to “find” God, I felt like the scales had fallen from my eyes because I believed every word that I was reading. I will never forget that night! This was NOTHING of my doing and ALL of the Lord and as a result, the only way that I can understand the New Testament teaching of Paul is that this, in some way or other, is the process by which everyone is saved in this current age of grace. In a sense, it seems to me that you and I are viewing this process from opposite poles. You assert that man has some “responsibility ” in this process (and I am talking about purely about salvation and not the responsibility that we have to live a holy and obedient life) which, from my point of view, has the effect of giving man some “credit” in the process, which is absolutely false according to the Pauline doctrines of grace. You can probably guess what I’m about to quote here:
Ephesians 2:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God—
9 not by works, lest any man should boast.
Nevertheless, we can agree to disagree and someday in glory it will all be revealed to us, and boy, I can hardly wait for that day!!!
Blessings!
Charlie
Hi Charlie,
I have attended Calvinist churches as well as Arminian. I would tend to characterize myself as a biblicist. I just believe what the bible says.
I know the passage you quoted. It seems that Calvinists are somewhat inconsistent in their interpretation.
Ephesians 2:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God—
9 not by works, lest any man should boast.
What is the object of “and that not of yourselves”? Is it faith or is it salvation? If it is “faith” then faith is the gift of God, but then it would have to mean that “faith is not by works” also, and that makes no sense. Faith and works are opposites.
The object of “and that not of yourselves” must be salvation, which is the Gift of God. He is carrying on with the same thought in verse 9, that salvation is not by works.
Is God’s will irresistible? I think He has given us the gift of free will.
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Acts 17:30
If God’s will is irresistible then why hasn’t the whole world repented by now? God did indeed command it of every man. God has commanded repentance but they disobey. It really would be wrong for God to bring judgment against sinful men if they were only obeying His will.
You were saved when you responded to the Holy Spirit’s prodding. This takes nothing away from the sovereignty of God. He is still the one who saves.
Read those books I recommended, by Dave Hunt, and Laurence Vance. Even if they don’t change your mind, at least you will have seen both sides of the argument.
God bless,
Dan
Brother Dan, I appreciate your thoughtful response to my comments! Personally, I’ve never attended a church that I could categorize as either Calvinist or Armenian. As far as your comments concerning faith versus salvation, they are simply two sides of exactly the same coin and one, in effect, equals the other. When we receive God’s gift of faith, the result is our salvation, pure and simple. And NOTHING that we can do will “influence” God to grant us the gift of faith. It is simply his sovereign choice. As Paul wrote in Romans, some of us humans are vessels for wrath and some for mercy. In the end, Paul summed it all up in these profound words:
Romans 11:
29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,
31 so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.
32 For God has shut up ALL in disobedience so that He may show mercy to ALL..
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?
35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?
36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
When all is said and done, I just leave it at that.
Blessings!
Charlie