Does God Compromise His Word?

Many today think to change the Bible to suit their own needs, desires, wants or beliefs. Some even say that we should throw out the Old Testament because it is not in force today. Nonsense! God says His word is truth (John 17:17), which means “all that God has spoken” (Barnes’ Commentary), or properly, “the word which is yours” (Vincent’s Word Studies). All the Bible is words spoken by the Word, later to become Jesus Christ.

In Gen. 2 we are introduced to the term “the Lord [YHVH] God” as the designation of the acting and speaking member of that “us.” This Being — the Eternal (which is the meaning of YHVH) — is every time the one who deals with mankind as the biblical message progresses. In Genesis 14:18, we meet this Person as the “king of righteousness’ (Melchizedek, in Hebrew), the “king of Salem” (peace). Proof? Suffice it to say here that of this Melchizedek “it is witnessed that he liveth” — that he is the Eternal (Heb. 7:8).

The point to notice, however, is that this Melchizedek, the YHVH, the one who later became Jesus Christ, becoming God the Son, was at that time the priest (compare Hebrews 7:1 and verses following with Hebrews 8:1) of “the MOST HIGH God” (Gen. 14:18-22). Now who was God MOST High, the one to whom the Eternal Himself was priest? Let Jesus Himself answer: “…My Father IS GREATER than I” (John 14:28).

Of course. But let’s be sure. Who was Jesus Christ the son of? “The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee,” the angel told Mary before Jesus was begotten, “therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God…. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest …” (Luke 1:35, 32).

Luke 8:28 and Mark 5:7 verify that Jesus is the “Son of God most high” and “Son of the most high God.” The Father is mentioned twice more by this term in the New Testament — Acts 7:48 and 16:17.

One of the purposes of Christ’s coming to earth as a human was to reveal the Father (see John 1:18; 5:37; 8:19; 14:7; Luke 10:22). He would not have had to reveal Him if the God of the Old Testament, whom the Israelites had known, had been the Father.

Christ the Word

So as we have established, Jesus Christ is the Word of both the Old and New Testament. This word is both “tried” (Psalm 18:30 and “pure“(Prov. 30:5), and both words mean refined as a metal, purity.

John 10:35 has an interesting dilemma for those who wish to take parts of the Bible and throw it away. It says that the scripture cannot be broken (destroyed, dissolved, put off, # 3089 Strong’s).That’s a powerful statement of irrefutability. It’s all an issue of faith, which “comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom 10:17 ). If we don’t hear and obey, we will not have the faith added unto us to comprehend the word of God. That is why it is so easy for unbelievers and those weak in faith to understand the deep things of God. These people cannot understand because God has to bridge the gap between the physical and spiritual with His spirit. These people handle the word of God deceitfully II Cor. 4:2), which means “they may falsify; deceitfully corrupt or disguise the truth of God, The phrase seems to be synonymous with 2 Cor. 2:17 (falsify, adulterate, corrupt, etc)” – Albert Barnes’ Notes On The Bible. In other words, they compromise it for their own gain, not handling it in truth, as the very word of God (1Th 2:13).

Commentators are greatly divided concerning what part of the  word of God is meant to be adhered to; some supposing only revelation; others, the NT Gospel; others having varying interpretations. But God says all of His sayings are the word of truth (II Tim. 2:15). Jesus Christ consistently referred back to OT scriptures. Why, if they have no value? Isaiah 40:8 says God’s word will endure forever and we are to live by every word that comes out of the mouth (Bible) of God (Matt. 4:4, Luke 4:4)). God also says He blesses those who hear His word and keep (obey) it (Luke 11:28).

True Christians do not pervert and wrest scripture, take from it or add to it. They point out the truth in it, without keeping back anything that is profitable, declaring the whole (Old and New Testament) counsel of God. Prov. 3:6 says we are to acknowledge God in all our ways  in order for Him to properly direct our path. Do we ignore this commandment because it is Old Testament? Doing so would be nothing less than self serving nonsense and ignores the fact that the entirety of the Bible is a plain and open interpretation of the word of God

Jesus Christ, the God of the Old AND New testaments, is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever (Heb. 13:8). He does not change, He does not compromise and expects us to take up our cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23-24). There is no wishy washy middle ground, only a straight and narrow middle path (Matt. 7:14). Even a small compromise cause sa great stink (Ecc. 10:1). So in conclusion, it can be said that true Christians cannot compromise the word of God and still pretend to walk with Him (Amos 3:3). At this point, the Christian would only be fooling Himself, no matter how vigorously.

Was Jesus Striving To “Save Souls” While On Earth The First Time?

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Was Jesus striving to “save souls” while on Earth the first time?  Let’s notice just a few verses that show Christ was not trying to save every soul He could find. Matthew 5:1: “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him.” Christ had a tremendous opportunity to preach His message before the multitudes. But notice, instead of speaking before them, He went up into the mountains so He could teach just His disciples.

Despite this, Christ did attract great crowds, mainly due to the miracles He performed. But even when He did attract great crowds, He spoke in parables. Not so the multitudes could understand—but that they would not understand! “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matt. 13:10-11).

Can you imagine Christ intentionally allowing Himself to be misunderstood if He was only concerned about saving as many people as possible? Not once in the teachings of Jesus do we ever find Him pleading with or begging individuals to be saved! Why not? Because Jesus knew, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him …” (John 6:44). If Christ had been coming to save the world, that is precisely what He would have done.

So why exactly did He come? Jesus came with a message to proclaim—that of the gospel of the soon-coming Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14).

What Does It Mean To Cast Your Pearls Before Swine?

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Matthew 7:6 is an analogy Jesus used to show how people who have not had their minds opened by God to receive spiritual understanding will often react when they hear the true Gospel.

“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”

Put another way, Jesus was teaching His disciples not to try to convert those who are not yet being called (John 6:44). Such people are likely to respond by treating God’s truth like dirt.

Just as a pig would trample fine pearls into the mud because it doesn’t know any better and cannot appreciate such worth, the person whose mind is not yet receptive cannot grasp the awesome value of the truth. To them, the truth would be meaningless and would be discarded. They would just trample it underfoot, so to speak.

God’s truth should never be forced upon anyone, but true Christians should “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh … a reason of the hope that is in [us], with meekness and fear [gentleness and respect]” (I Pet. 3:15).

In other words, it is right to explain what he believes when someone sincerely asks. Such interest may indicate that God is opening the person’s mind.

Notice how, at another time, Jesus used pearls to express the value of the truth and of God’s Kingdom. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it” (Matt. 13:45-46). God wants us to treat His truth like a priceless gem.

Why Homosexuality Destroys God's Gospel

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Given today’s liberal climate of pandering to homosexual conduct as normal behaviour, I doubt this post will be popular with the “politically correct” elite. But then again, the truth is seldom popular. Witness Jesus Christ, who was killed for  bringing the message of His Father. Yes, many seemed to believe “on” Christ, but only 120 “believed” Him – that is, they obeyed. Today also, many profess to believe in Christ, adore Christ, worship the name of Christ – yet who listens to or obeys God? Man has the audacity to actually do away with the 10 Commandments, when there is no clear scripture authorizing such a move.

Is this the end time?

It’s pretty hard to wrap your mind around a subject like the end time, when everything seems to be well in your world. North America still has a high standard of living and has enjoyed one for almost a century. However, all that is slowly coming to an end. The entire world seems to be in a financial free fall, but as this is mentioned, many seem to shrug it off as a concern that will right itself again. It’s just another cyclical event, right? Wrong! No one has ever seen the likes of what we are facing today. The experts admit they are dumbfounded and speechless. They don’t know what is going on because history has no precedent. It’s very easy to be casual about things such as these, but we are now witnessing the outer edge of the coming storm, prophecied in your Bible.

In Gen. 6:13, during the time of Noah, God said the end of all flesh was near. And so it is again, as we face another end –  the coming Tribulation as prophecied in the book of Revelation. Anyone with a little foresight should be able to recognize that this world’s problems cannot be solved by man. Yet no one wants to listen to God. There is very little humbleness in this world, and the Bible says mankind will experience destruction just short of destroying all humanity (Matt. 24).

Peter warns about homosexuality

“And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly” (II Pet. 2:6).

This warning was not for the first century Church, but rather the end time, about which Christ prophecied that “no flesh” would be saved alive if He did not return. Peter was inspired to write about this end time sick  Sodom-and-Gomorrah world.

So what is Sodomy? It is abnormal sexual intercourse between people. This was practiced widely in Sodom, known for some of the most vile sins ever committed by men. Today we have become so sophisticated that sodomy, or homosexuality,  is regarded as good, rather than the abomination God says it is (Rom. 1:22-23).

The Bible is clear in its condemnation of this lifestyle (Is. 1:10, 3:9, Jer. 23:14), and of the certainty of those sinners being severely punished (Is. 13:9, Jer. 49:18, Lam. 4:6).

Like Sodom of old, the scripture says we declare our sin as Sodom and hide it not. Today’s society is proud of the fact that it has collectively come out of the closet. The entire lifestyle is taught early on in school to be tolerated and any opposing views are squashed as being intolerant.

The most important thing on the minds of many people is the drive to legitimize and legalize homosexual marriage. People think if they can get caught up in their evil desires, they can forget about reality and about what God says. Yet, God gave us specific New Testament example in Peter (and Jude) about what happens if a city or nation is polluted with homosexuality. It is going to be destroyed the same way that depraved Sodom and Gomorrah were.

The twisting of the human mind

The sin of sodomy is the utmost twisting the human mind. God is NOT pleased about people being defiled in such a way. And that is exactly what it is – a defilement. God calls it an uncleanness – a dishonouring of the human body (Rom. 1:14).

Now it’s funny that most professing Christianity believe in the New Testament, yet here are specific warnings from God and even churches that claim to represent Jesus Christ openly advocate homosexuality – saying the Bible is silent on the issue, or worse, approves of it.

Let’s be real honest in our evaluation of this behaviour – it is not neither loving nor balanced; solid or sound minded. It is a depraved conduct – period. I understand that more and more courts of the land are approving of it, but they are defying the living God! They have pushed and pressured young, impressionable minds to accept this sick lifestyle and now “the whole head is sick (Is. 1:5).

The antithesis of hope!

Homosexual marriage is the antithesis of real hope. Why? because rather than being a “freedom,” it destroys families. Family is the most sacred of all institutions. When a family obeys God it produces strong, beautiful children which will amaze you. These are the backbone of nations. When families fall apart, nations fall.

Now many will argue that they have seen strong homosexual marriages with adopted children, which function better than some traditional families. That may be true, but it misses the entire point. Marriage and family are a God-plane relationship. It prepares us to enter our marriage with Jesus Christ. God is our Father, Jesus Christ is the Husband of the bride (God’s firstfruits) and the entire world will be likened as children in the God family. It is a family gospel.

Satan is the author of the “queer” movement. He understands that he will be deposed when Jesus Christ returns, that he has no opportunity in the family of God. He wants to obliterate family – destroy marriage and blot it out forever. He is the motivator behind the same sex marriage movement which is defying God to His face.

Anciently, when two angels visited Sodom in the guise of physical men, the perverted male population wanted to have sexual relations with them. They were so full of lust, that even as they were struck blind, they kept coming. Just as there was no  reasoning with such deviant minds then, so there is no reasoning with the homosexual movement today. There is no knowledge of God with them, so they have been given over to a reprobate [vain, empty, worthless – Strong’s # 96] mind (Rom. 1:28).

If you understand the gospel of God – which is about the family of God – you will understand the magnitude of this sin. We are now witnessing the destruction of the gospel of God – the good news of the coming family of God. Satan is desperately trying to blot out this hope from mankind by twisting and distorting the very foundation of family. But God turned Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes as an example and warning to us of what will happen if we turn wholesale to this sin. And as a nation, we have!

There is no greater physical warning in the Bible than this. God didn’t spare the sinning angels, nor the sinners in Noah’s day. Neither did He spare Sodom and Gomorrah.  We are living in such societies today and  God does not spare people who commit such vile sins. Think about it. Haven’t most people been dulled to homosexuality and other immorality in this world?

“Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin…(II Pet. 2:14). They are hooked on sin like heroin – like the homosexuals in Gen. 19. Their willpower is destroyed.

The homosexual movement promises liberty, but they themselves are the servants of corruption (II Pet. 2:19). They never talk about God’s “law of liberty,” in Jam. 1:25. They offer a false freedom – a lawless liberty, which is really slavery. They talk about love, but it is a shallow, meaningless love not grounded in the law of God.

Homosexuality is NOT freedom, because it destroys the law of God and the gospel of God. It is part of the pornographic market which rakes in billions annually. And we need to call it what it is. First, homosexuals are not queer or gay, because those words soften or add legitimacy  – they are sodomites – as God calls them.

Some will say that this type of post is hateful, but the opposite is true. We are to love the sinner and yet hate the sin and I abide by that principle. I have nothing against people themselves, but I can’t condone the lifestyle.  Anyone who thinks our present problems are unrelated to the filth and degeneration present in society today is not thinking clearly. These problems will only intensify, they will not go away.  There will not be an economic upturn anymore – this is it – we have crested the hill and the way down is before us. God is now judging our nations for turning their backs on Him.

What an ugly picture leading to the greatest time of suffering ever in mankind’s history – the Tribulation – as described in the book of Revelation. Yes, that’s the same book no religion teaches about because of its perceived bad news. And contrary to scoffers, that won’t make it go away. In fact, God knew such attitudes would prevail today:

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts (II Pet. 3:3).

Lange’s Commentary says this is referring to “the last of the last days.” So many will come in the spirit of scoffing and cursing (Ps. 109:16-17). What is causing this mass exodus away from God? Satan has been cast down and demons are racing about like mad dogs stirring up rage, clothing all in a scoffing spirit. It’s an ugly picture, but just like in the time of Noah, they refuse to listen, which actually fulfills prophecy.

There is good news though. Jesus Christ is returning and will overthrow the governments of this world, installing God’s government of peace and justice. Right and proper conduct will be taught from the basis of the law of God and the result will be true happiness.

Does I Peter 4:6 Say The Gospel Was Preached To The Dead?

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The key to understanding I Pet. 4:6 is in knowing the identity of the “dead” spoken of by Peter. At the time Peter wrote this epistle (about A.D. 67 to 69), multiple thousands of Christians had already been living according to the way of life that was preached by the apostles. In the span of time after the apostles’ preaching began, some had lived a Christian life and had died. Many had suffered martyrdom at the hands of unscrupulous religionists or pagan civil leaders.

When did these dead have the Gospel preached to them? Obviously, they had the Gospel preached to them while they were yet alive. The Bible shows that “the dead know not any thing” and that “there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave” (Eccl. 9:5, 10). Clearly, the dead cannot receive any communication whatsoever. Preaching is for the living, not the dead.

There is one other sense in which the Gospel is preached to those who are “dead.” In this case, the term “dead” is used in reference to people who have not repented, and thus have not been forgiven by God. They are still “dead” in their trespasses — they have not yet received God’s Spirit, which is the down payment of eternal life. Jesus mentions such people in Luke 9:60. Paul explains further in Ephesians 2:1 by saying that such people are “dead in trespasses and sins.” Some who exist physically are dead spiritually because they have not yet heeded the Gospel of the Kingdom.

The Church of God has been commissioned to preach the Gospel as a witness to the world (Matt. 24:14). Yet, most people have not yet been called by God and do not heed that message. They remain both in ignorance and in sin. They continue to live and be judged by the standards men devise, rather than “according to God in the spirit.”Each of these individuals will ultimately be given an opportunity to receive salvation.