Apologetics · Deity of Christ · God · Islam Muslims quran · Jehovah's witnesses · mormonism · Theology · Trinity · Uncategorized

The Deity of Christ from the Old Testament for our Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, and Muslim friends, part 2.

Today we are going to pick up where we left off from the last article you can read it here.  Earlier we examined Genesis 15:1-2 to see that the Word of the Lord is God.  We also connected these verses with John 1:1-18 to see that the Word is Jesus.  Today we are going to look at Genesis 15:3-7 which will reinforce our previous assertion that the Word of the Lord is God, Jesus is the Word, and Jesus is God.  [The text in the brackets is mine.]  The blue text indicates who is doing the action and the red is what is being done.

Genesis 15:3-7 (NASB) 3 And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

[If you notice, the person doing the talking is identified as “the word of the Lord.”  You can tell he is a person because he is, “saying.”  The word of the Lord is speaking to Abram.]

“This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” 5 And He took him outside and said,

[Notice the Word is referred to as, “He.”  What did He do?  He, “took him outside and said…”  How can anyone look at these verses and not come to the conclusion that the Word of the Lord is God, and how can they, in light of John 1:1-18 not see that Jesus is the Word and He is God?]

“Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6  Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.

If this isn’t enough, I’ll post some more later on.  Study the word, to know the Word, and His intent.  Knowing Him is knowing God.  To know God, and be known by Him, to be His adopted child and heir, is to be saved by this Triune God’s grace according to His sovereign will, regenerating and indwelling by His Spirit, and the justifying work on the cross of His Son.

Apologetics · Deity of Christ · God · Islam Muslims quran · Jehovah's witnesses · mormonism · Theology · Trinity · Uncategorized

The Deity of Christ from the Old Testament for our Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, and Muslim friends.

lamb

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the same accusation from Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons (LDS), and Muslims.  They claim that Jesus is not God, but a god, good man, prophet, teacher, and so on.  I think it is great that we can always go to the word of God to let it make the defense.  Charles Spurgeon was quoted as saying, “The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.”  I agree with him.

With that being said let’s take a look at Genesis 15:1-2, and John 1:1-18.

In Genesis 15:1-2 we see that the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision. Now, you don’t hear a vision. You see it. Some people would insist that this is just Abram hearing God speak to him, but this is actually the preincarnate Christ appearing to Abram in a vision, and speaking to him. Abram said, “…O LORD God…” or אֲדֹנָי ’ăḏônây; an emphatic form of âḏôn; or (shortened) אָדֹן ’adon; from an unused root (meaning to rule); sovereign, i.e. controller (human or divine): — lord, master, owner. Compare also names beginning with “Adoni-”.; the Lord (used as a proper name of God only): — (my) Lord. In this section of God’s word ăḏônây is used in conjunction with יְהוָֹה yhwh; (the) self-being aseity or Eternal; name of God: — the Lord. So essentially he is saying, Adonai YHWH or Sovereign eternal self-being, was being, is being, always is, one and only true God.  It is obvious that Abram believed the word of the LORD to be the one true, eternal, and self-being God.

We can look at John 1:1-18 and see who John said the Word of God is. Again, it is obvious that Jesus is the Word.

John 1:1-18 (NASB) 1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2  He was in the beginning with God. 3  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4  In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5  The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The Witness John
6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7  He came  as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8   He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Made Flesh
14 And the Word became flesh, and  dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18  No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Jesus is not a god like the Mormons say.  He was not Michael the angel transfigured like the Jehovah’s Witnesses would tell you.  He was not just a prophet like Muslims claim.  If there is any doubt now that Jesus is the Word, and the Word is God, it is not due to lack of evidence.  It is due to disbelief.  May God grant you true and saving faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord and God.

cultural · election · gay marriage · gender disphoria · God · gospel · government · homosexual marriage · Islam Muslims quran · Liberal Christian · love · marriage · politics · prayer · Repentance · sharing the gospel · Uncategorized

I Know Everyone is Preaching Unity, Love, and Acceptance, but…

lamb

When the Bible talks about unity, it is for unity among the believers.  When the Bible talks about loving your brother, it is talking about your brother in Christ.  When it talks about acceptance, it is not about accepting sin.

The enemies of the gospel, Christ, and the cross are our enemies as well.  They are the ones who are sold out to Satan.  They hate the gospel, they hate Jesus, they pervert scripture, and they hate His sheep.  These people are not the same as the lost who are living their lives in ignorance.  The lost, for the most part are just plain ignorant about God.  They don’t really care.  The enemies of the gospel are different.  They have made up their minds.  They hate God, His Word, and His gospel.  They also hate His followers and everything that He says is good.

They push every sinful agenda you can think of.  These agendas are part of a larger, “Death Culture” worldview.  They love every defilement of what God says is good.  Just to name a few things; atheism, gender perversion, gay marriage/defilement of marriage, fornication, adultery, liberalizing of the Church, drug use, and so on.  They love anyone who agrees with them and they hate anyone who disagrees.  They preach tolerance while being some of the most intolerant people in the world.

So in the wake of this election, I’d like to share a different perspective and line of advice.  I am not preaching love, tolerance, peace, unity, and acceptance solely for their own sake.  No, I’m preaching being in the world, but not of it.  I’m preaching, put on the full armor of God, pray for your enemies…  they are your enemies.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking they are simply your neighbors and coworkers.  These are the folks that the Bible says will turn you over to the authorities to be martyred, your sons and daughters.

Remember folks, this is a life of death war, eternal life is on the line.  We are to blame for turning our Church services into entertainment for goats.  Church is for the saved of God, to give glory to God!  We are to worship Him together with our brothers and sisters.  We are to go out and be the ones who deliver the uncomfortable truth!  You are sinners!  Repent and believe the gospel!  Hell is real!  Jesus is God!

I don’t care how many people are triggered.  I want to trigger them all!  They need to be shaken down to their cores!  I don’t care how many of them are scared!  They very well should be scared!  They are headed straight to Hell for all eternity!  We need to scare them!  How else can we love our enemies?  This is true love, to tell them the truth, to give them the gospel that can convert their hearts.  So, offend them, offend them all in the name of God!

Book Reviews · Islam Muslims quran · Uncategorized

A Review of, “Answering Jihad” by Nabeel Qureshi

ansjihad
The full title of the book is, “Answering Jihad A Better Way Forward.” The majority of the book is a concise primer on Islam, and some of its doctrines. It also briefly juxtaposes some facets of Islam with corresponding aspects Christianity.

The big question, in my summation, that it answered definitively was, “Do the authoritative founding documents of Islam prescribe violence as an integral part of the practice of Islam?” It would seem that the answer is, “Yes.” He also answers another question that has got our liberal friends in a tizzy, “Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?” Of course, this is simply answered with a resounding, “No.” by people like me. Qureshi does answer in the negative but is more diplomatic with his response. He takes some time addressing why some people might think that they do. He also explains why some Christians from other countries might use the word, “Allah” as an interchangeable word for God. As an American, this would never enter my mind, so it was interesting to learn why it would happen in other countries. Nonetheless, we should answer the liberals in this nation with a, “No.” He explains how similar does not equate to same. It is not enough to have some similar attributes and then coincidentally make it consequential.

Nabeel Qureshi takes just enough time to flesh out the truth, without weighing the reader down with minutia. He utilizes a writing style that the layman will be comfortable with while maintaining accuracy. It is a quick read, that can be read in a day. It is a good resource to hand to friends who may have new Muslim co-workers or neighbors. I agree with Qureshi’s conclusion that the best way forward is friendship, not fear. If we can take the time to understand where they are coming from, and then invite them into our culture, it would go a long way to improving relations with the moderate muslims of the world. With the help of men like Qureshi we can also spot the Muslims who are educated in the founding documents of Islam and are engaging in the prescribed violence from the quran and hadiths.

I recommend this book as a primer. Definitely, get a copy for yourself, and then give it to anyone who would be in a position to befriend muslims. I would look for any other books this author might have coming out in the future.

 

ISBN-13: 9780310531388

Apologetics · cultural · God · hate · Islam Muslims quran · Theology · Uncategorized · under God

They Hate Christians, Why?

The hate and vitriol, I’ve witnessed from liberals, and atheists has been some of the best supporting evidence that the God they hate is truly who He says He is in His word.  They deny Him so passionately, while leaving false religions alone.  They can see hundreds, thousands, no millions of murders committed  by Muslims, Communists, abortionists, and even justify eugenics, and euthanasia with Darwinian evolution,  without batting an eye.  They will even call it, “good.”  They don’t even have the ability to judge anything good or evil without an external moral authority like, oh… I don’t know, God!  Yet, let a Christian preach Christ and they want you locked up as hate criminal.

It has always made me wonder, why it is, that so many people hate Christianity, and God. It caused me to read the Bible more. The Bible, God’s word, makes it clear why they hate us. It isn’t because we are the most charitable and giving people on the Earth, and we are. It isn’t because we preach to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, and we do. It isn’t because we disrupt society with bombings, shootings, and decapitations, because we don’t.

 

It is simply because, people hate the thought that their idea of their own personal righteousness isn’t good enough. Not only is it not good enough, it is actually offensive to God. They hate the fact that, God Himself in the second personage of the Trinity, according to His sovereign, will, foreknowledge, and love, offered Himself, as a Holy sacrifice, to justify wretched sinners to Himself. The transcendent Holiness of God is so offensive to the self-righteous that they would kill him over and over again, throughout eternity if they could. They hate what He shows them about themselves.

The fact, that all have sinned and deserve death and hell. That none are good, not one. Friends, if you hate Christ, His cross, or His people, ask yourself today, “Why do I feel so strongly about this? What is it, really about them that I hate so much?” be honest, repent, and believe in the finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross. Submit to Him and follow Him as your Lord, master, and Savior. You can be free of all of the hate that you’ve been harboring, you can have the burdensome load of bitterness, loathing, and guilt removed from you shoulders. Humbly come to Christ in repentance and faith. His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

hate · Islam Muslims quran · Liberal Christian · Theology · under God

The Real Problem is Islam and True Believers.

real-islam-bomb-fuse

Cartoon credit, John R. Houk© March 1, 2013

A friend of mine asked me for a response to this article he read on the net.  Here was my response.

Well, he does what we all do and addresses the issue from his presuppositions. I did the same thing when I wrote my article on the topic. I disagree with him on some points. I think he, like so many others, misses the elephant in the room. Fundamentalist Islam is an evil ideology. Even the so-called moderate Islam, is false and satanic, just like Mormonism, and any other false religion. The only Islam that is not a danger to us is the Islam that doesn’t adhere to the Quran, Hadiths, or Islamic scripture. Just like liberal Christians, Jack-Mormons, and Roman Catholics who are RCC in name only.  The main difference is that Non-violent Muslim voice seem to be in the minority.

In the article there is the lack of a solution to the problem. We as Christians, should be wise and compassionate. It is fine to love people and to want them to be free from oppression. Noting that, why do we have policies that directly prejudice the Christians from those countries, by keeping them out? Why is it our responsibility to bring the Muslims here? Why are their brother Muslims not taking them in? Why are we being guilted by the media and shamed by liberal Christians for being unloving? Seems like Satan’s opinion via his servants is that we should bring them in. Why can’t they stay and fight against the so called Islamic extremists who are ruining their homes? I think we should bring in the Christians who are fleeing certain death. I think we could talk about bringing in women, children, elderly, and handicapped people fleeing from the true Muslims. We would have to put them in internment camps and secure them until it could be determined if they are a threat. If we could determine that they are not fundamentalist Muslims, then I don’t have a problem letting them in through the normal immigration process.

The claims that the alien with Israel was treated well with no other conditions is wrong. When people wanted the rights of an Israelite, they had to become circumcised, believe the God of Israel, and obey Israel’s laws. They became naturalized Israelites. Other sojourners were treated well as long as they peacefully obeyed the laws and were not enemies of Israel. Israel never accepted an enemy in the camp blindly and identified them as, “refugees.” This kind of madness is pure liberal delusion. Fundamentalist Islam is the enemy.  People who are, “true believers” are the enemy of America and her citizens.  Christians are not the only citizens of America. We have the duty of warning people in love that they about to cut everyone’s collective throats. It is not unloving to keep out murdering satanists. Since you can’t easily tell the difference between a fundamentalist Muslim soldier in civilian clothes and an oppressed refugee, we shouldn’t just fling open the doors and the coffers to let them in. Since we are compassionate and loving, we should let the fleeing Christians in. We should look for solutions, like air strikes against the fundamentalist Muslims all over the world, including the ones that are causing the exodus. We should shut down all travel all over the world from and to Islamic countries. We should declare war on fundamentalist Islam everywhere. If the liberals are so quick to declare what the ancient Israelites would do, let me do the same, they would go out in spring with their king and wage war against them with God empowering them to strike down all of the evil of fundamental Islam so that it doesn’t spread. This isn’t out of fear as the liberals would have you believe, but out of a hatred of evil, and a desire to honor God. Of course that would require national repentance and conversion to Christianity. I don’t see that happening anytime soon. I don’t hate Muslims, but I hate fundamentalist Islam. I’ve read the quran. It is an evil lie. “True believers” of Islam are sold out to evil and though it is true that they could hear the gospel and repent, it is also true that they are, and have been, and will continue to kill everyone that fails to convert. So to reiterate, I think he misses the boat a bit, just like so many others do. The real problem is the evil of fundamentalist Islam, not conservative Christians.

cultural · Islam Muslims quran · Uncategorized

What is the difference between a sojourning alien with Israel and an invading army?

***WARNING, GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND PROFANITY***

 

What is the difference between a sojourning alien with Israel and an invading army? Sojourners were circumcised and obeyed the laws of Israel and became Israelites. In light of how the refugees are behaving in Europe we need to consider how to deal with them here. Are they truly refugees or an invading army? If we see what has been done by them in Europe, we can trust they will do the same here when their numbers are great enough. After all it is what the quran says to do.
Most Americans haven’t seen the videos of the atrocities being perpetrated against the Europeans. They have no clue of what they are in for. It is a fine thing to show Christian love and charity to honest refugees. Let’s do it in a manner in which we can control it. Let’s be wise in our efforts to help. We have a responsibility to our citizens and fellow countrymen as well. We must love them to. We cannot love our enemy at the expense of our countrymen. Unless the left’s idea of helping refugees is internment camps, we should reduce the numbers and take the time to identify them and clear them before we allow them open access to our country. I would go as far to say that we should only allow Christian refugees instead of Islamic refugees. The Islamic ones should stay and denounce the violence committed in the name of their god. Most people out here know what a jack-mormon is. It is a mormon who doesn’t practice everything their prophet tells them to, they don’t go to church very often, they don’t pay their dues, they don’t abstain from drinking, but they consider themselves mormon. Well the muslims who don’t kill, or wage jihad, or make Christians pay the jizyah, or support the jihad against us infidels, or who don’t read the quran or know what it says are the jack-muslims of the world. Real muslims hate them almost as much as they hate us. So those so called peaceful muslims are not real muslims and they don’t follow the quran the way the real muslims do. What the so called extremist are really is nothing more complex than real, genuine, true believers in the islam of the quran. So I’ve had enough liberal nonsense. People really need to read the quran and study history.