Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The true Church of Jesus Christ?
Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. ... Isaiah 65:16
Everything I have written down here will be proven by the Scriptures (Bible). If if is not in and proven by the Scriptures, it won't be written here. Especially if it has nothing to do with the God of truth.
Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge." Romans 3:4
Jesus Christ; his coming into the world had been prophesised. He speaks to you from the Bible through thousands of years. Are you being true to his teachings? His life on earth and gospel are documented in the Bible's New Testament.
Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed in the gospel [of Jesus Christ] for it is the power of God...
...for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Are you wanting only to listen to what appeals to you? Are you just using the name of Jesus Christ, but following in the variants preached by men? Are they the type of teachings which appeal to the weaknesses and pride of man's heart; or the laws of governments and the customs, traditions, rudiments and desires of men? And nothing to do with God's truth, that was preached by Jesus Christ?
Colossians 2:8 'Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.'
Are you following and living out your Christianity in the way that was taught to you by your father and mother, your elders, ancestors or your peers or others who have influenced you? (Or even those presently influence you?)
Do you practice your Christianity in such ways that bring back good memories of your dearly departed ones, because that is how you used to perform it together?
John 8:40 As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the things your own father does.
Are you taking your Christian counsel from others and not authenticating and testing them against the Scriptures, and your own powers of reasoning?
Is it truth from God himself, or has the original truth been twisted into a lie and now coming from the wicked one?
John 5:41"I do not accept praise from men, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?
Have you investigated how a true Christian should live their life according to Christ himself? Are you being true to his teachings?
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Luke 1:46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
Who was Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ was a man born from Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, Mary's husband was instructed to name Jesus. The name "Jesus" has relevance (has a significant meaning in relation) to the act of "saving his people from sin"
Matthew 1: 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his people from their sins.”
- Matthew 1:21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.
Mary had other children, brothers and sisters to Jesus.
- Matthew 13:55-56 "Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 "And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" 57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his home town, and in his own household."
- Mark 6:3 "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him. 4 And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his home town and among his own relatives and in his own household."
Jesus as a man "is" a descendent of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,..., Jesse, David, Solomon, etc,...
Matthew 1:1-17
(you can check it in your Bible; it's a lengthy geneology list!)
Jesus is the son of God
Mathew 3:16 As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
Luke 4:41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.
There are still debates on whether Jesus is only "the son of God" or whether he is "God the Son".
(we will be checking that out later or it will present itself as we go along).
John 10:25 Jesus answered, "I did tell, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me. 26 But you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one."
There is evidence to suggest that Jesus was present when God created the Heavens and the Earth; well before he was born from Mary as a man.
Genesis 1: 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
"Let us...(and)...in our likeness..." can mean just the Father and the Holy Spirit, or it can mean The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. If it is the latter case, it then means that God is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.(Genesis is the first book of the Bible).
Jesus Christ is the Word of God.
John1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Jesus Christ is grace and truth.
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God, but God the one and only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
Jesus Christ alone is our salvation to God.
Acts 4:10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is
“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’[a]
which has become the cornerstone.’[a]
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Jesus Christ is the Righteous One
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 1John 2:1
Jesus Christ is the Light
Jesus Christ was resurrected and has power over death.
Jesus Christ came to call sinners to repentance.
Luke5:32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent."
What does it mean to be a Christian?
Generally the life of a true Christian is not easy because it involves discipline, faith, obedience to Christ's teachings, constant self examination, correction and training. It is a life of reasoning, learning and relearning for self correction. It is a life of love between the Christian and God the Creator, and between the Christian and another Christian, and his fellow man.
It is a life of trusting in "the Heavenly Father's" providence and protection, that "He" will take care of the Christian's earthly needs.
Mathew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
Christians are instructed not to serve money but God.
Christians must first seek God's kingdom and righteousness to qualify for his protection and care.
Mathew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Christians must first seek God's kingdom and righteousness to qualify for his protection and care.
Mathew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Put God first in your life and he will give you everything else.
Christianity is a life of attaining discipleship through the study of God's word, living accordingly and eventually Baptism; then the spreading of God's "word" and good news, and the Baptising of new Christian disciples.
Mathew 28:1 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus teaches his disciples (Christians) how to pray
Mathew6:5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Repetition and the use of many words in prayer, "is", according to Jesus, a pagan's prayer.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you.
The cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ
Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.
I Personally believe that these instructions and advice are to be taken in principle, because of Jesus' nature of talking in principles and by way of illustrations/ parables to drive home the meanings of the principles. When you want to be his disciple, God and his work will require of you your undivided focus, loyalty and love, and no deviation or detour at all to attend to your family or anyone else's earthly desires and needs; including your own.
It might help to read of when God tested Abraham ( to sacrifice his son Isaac), to better understand this. Genesis 22.
Luke 14:33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
What work did Jesus Christ commission his followers to do?
A Christian has to preach the good news of the kingdom of God.
Luke 4:43 But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."
To love your fellow man as you would yourself.
Luke 4:16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
If you believe that this effort can help anyone on the road to salvation and would like to support it, then you can use the button on the sidebar to Donate.
This WORK is still IN PROGRESS!
NOTE First ascertain the truth from Jesus Christ himself by reading and studying the Scriptures. Out of your own free will, your decision to move towards your salvation must come from within yourself. You can save no one else, nor can anyone else save you; but through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. We can only help one another towards personal salvation.
ps- God does not accept lawyers, preachers, leaders, etc., to stand on your behalf in your day of judgement; accept Jesus Christ (that's to the best of my Biblical knowledge...please prove me wrong, scripturally!).
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