The Differences Between Sins, and Mistakes.

August 12, 2016July 31, 2025 Bob SnyderLeave a comment

Recently, I had a conversation with a person on social media about sins, and mistakes. Their first assertion was that, sins are the willful transgression of the known will of God. The second assertion was that people are not culpable to God for mistakes that they make. Lastly, they failed to define what mistakes are, even when asked several times. I quickly identified this as a Nazarene Church member, because I had been a member for approximately 19 years give or take. I decided since they came to my page to discuss this issue that it was a proper opening to engage them. I typically don’t go to other people’s pages and comment on things I don’t agree with. I see it as bad etiquette, but if they come to me, so be it. Listed below is the section 5.3 Sin, Original and Personal from the Nazarene Church’s Preamble and Articles of Faith;

“5.3. We believe that actual or personal sin is a voluntary violation of a known law of God by a morally responsible person. It is therefore not to be confused with involuntary and inescapable shortcomings, infirmities, faults, mistakes, failures, or other deviations from a standard of perfect conduct that are the residual effects of the Fall. However, such innocent effects do not include attitudes or responses contrary to the spirit of Christ, which may properly be called sins of the spirit. We believe that personal sin is primarily and essentially a violation of the law of love; and that in relation to Christ sin may be defined as unbelief.

(Original sin: Genesis 3; 6:5; Job 15:14; Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Mark 7:21-23; Romans 1:18-25; 5:12-14; 7:1-8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:1-4; Galatians 5:16-25; 1 John 1:7-8

Personal sin: Matthew 22:36-40 {with 1 John 3:4}; John 8:34-36; 16:8-9; Romans 3:23; 6:15-23; 8:18-24; 14:23; 1 John 1:9-2:4; 3:7-10)”

As you can see from their article, it is what has led some of them to their minimization of sin, thus diminishing the importance of the gospel, as well as creating a legalistic approach to righteousness. This last consequence is also a product of their doctrine of Entire Sanctification. Their doctrine of Entire Sanctification is also a product of their minimization of sin. This is what Article 10 says about Entire Sanctification;

“X. Christian Holiness and Entire Sanctification

10. We believe that sanctification is the work of God which transforms believers into the likeness of Christ. It is wrought by God’s grace through the Holy Spirit in initial sanctification, or regeneration (simultaneous with justification), entire sanctification, and the continued perfecting work of the Holy Spirit culminating in glorification. In glorification we are fully conformed to the image of the Son.

We believe that entire sanctification is that act of God, subsequent to regeneration, by which believers are made free from original sin, or depravity, and brought into a state of entire devotement to God, and the holy obedience of love made perfect.

It is wrought by the baptism with or infilling of the Holy Spirit, and comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin and the abiding, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the believer for life and service. Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by grace through faith, preceded by entire consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness.

This experience is also known by various terms representing its different phases, such as “Christian perfection,” “perfect love,” “heart purity,” “the baptism with or infilling of the Holy Spirit,” “the fullness of the blessing,” and “Christian holiness.””

Not that long ago the Nazarene Church made some changes to their Articles of Faith. What I linked to is their current one. They have clarified it to some degree, but you can’t lay all the blame on the average Church goer for their personal affirmation of false doctrines. After reading the Articles of Faith, I can see what they are trying to express, but it can confuse the layman. I think this is mostly due to their Ordo Salutis, and Semi-Pelagianism that is all part of the traditions of a portion of the people in the denomination. From what I understand they are slowly trying to move away from the errors of Semi-Pelagianism that were made in the past.

If you are old enough you’d remember a different looking CotN. The girls mostly wore dresses, and dancing was not allowed. They looked and acted like Pentecostal versions of the Mennonites almost. Some believed that a person could be entirely sinless in their life. That is what their personal understanding of their doctrine of Entire Sanctification looked like. If you read it now, you can see it is a bit more nuanced, but you can also see how it could lead someone to believe the other way. When you look at Wesley’s writings on the topic, if you have a good theological foundation, you can see where he is heading. The problem lies in the fact that so many people are very simple in their education and ability to reason, that they take his work to mean what it appears to mean at a superficial reading. I’m not saying I agree with his conclusions. I actually think he was poorly repaving a road that had been well paved, and traveled long before him, by men more learned and brilliant.

I see Wesley as more of an evangelist and less of a theologian. I understand him to be attempting to make room for people who don’t know, or believe, everything rightly all the time to still be saved. All of us are wrong all the time about something whether we know it or not. That doesn’t ruin our justification. I used to think the Trinity was best expressed as the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as all three parts of God. I had no idea that was the heresy of partialism. Once I was taught by more mature Christians from scripture that they are three persons, one God I was able to repent of my heresy. Was I not saved back then? I think I was, but I was a material heretic. I was not a formal heretic. If I’d persisted to death in a heresy, and rejected all correction, then I would have proven to be a false convert and formal heretic.

The person I was having the discussion with was of the old fashion persuasion. They didn’t read Wesley. They just took a superficial approach to their denomination’s doctrines and ran with it. So for them, sin was simply willfully transgressing a known law of God and it excludes mistakes, infirmities, failures, faults, emotions, (feelings) and thoughts. They also argued that a Christian will stop sinning completely, even though I showed them 1 John 1:8 and explained that John was addressing Christians. I was also told that if I sinned and then died immediately after, without repenting, that I would go to Hell. This is another one of their misguided beliefs. They believe that a genuine Christian can apostatize by willfully sinning. What I was dealing with was a Semi-Pelagian. It is interesting because they make a categorical error by contrasting sins with mistakes. I don’t know if it ever occurred to them that a sin is always sinful, but a mistake can be sin or not sin. I mentioned this and got no answer. The same can be said for the other things listed that they say are not sin. We know that having a lustful thought pop into your head and dwelling on it, is a sin. We must take every thought captive so it doesn’t come to fruition in deed. We also know that to God we are guilty of that sin. It sure is a good thing that Christ justified me, and paid for all of my sin. I am exceedingly sinful, and exceedingly thankful for His righteousness that He imputed to me. I think this eludes the Semi-Pelagian. They are in a works righteousness faith where they must maintain their position of being righteous by works. This particular flavor of Semi-Pelagian makes this task less daunting by watering down sin and man’s responsibility. In so doing they rob God of the glory, as it were. So much the worse for them, as many of them are not truly saved, but still lost. Of course, I would not say that all of them are lost. Some may be material heretics, just waiting to be corrected and brought to repentance. Could you be the one to speak into their lives with the truth?

gay marriage · gender dysphoria · homosexual marriage · marriage · Repentance · transgender · transsexual · Uncategorized

The Slippery Slope of Gay Marriage, as Evidenced by the Lawsuit Against Kim Davis, for not Allowing a Woman to Marry an Animal.

July 24, 2016July 24, 2016 Bob SnyderLeave a comment

We all remember that not very long ago, Kim Davis was in the news. She refused to issue marriage licenses to homosexual people. Well, she is in the news again. Can you guess what for? Apparently she is being sued for not issuing a marriage license to a woman who wants to marry an animal. She is also being sued by a man who wants to marry his computer. Can anyone say, “slippery slope?” When you have rejected the word of God, and replaced His laws with your own sinful desires, you are obligated to approve, and affirm everyone else’s. Listen folks, I don’t know what her theology is. I’m not putting this out there to endorse her. I’m writing this to illustrate how the country lost its mind. It is as if the entire country has read Romans 1 and said, “Yup, we’re cool with that.” For those of you who are not familiar with the Bible, I’ll include Romans 1:18-32 so you can see what I’m talking about. We are under God’s judgment as a nation people. We need to repent of our sins. Romans 1:18-32 NASB For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, (19) because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. (20) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (21) For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (22) Professing to be wise, they became fools, (23) and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. (24) Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. (25) For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (26) For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, (27) and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. (28) And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, (29) being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, (30) slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, (31) without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; (32) and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

evangelism · God · Repentance · saved · Uncategorized

Hell.

April 27, 2016 Bob SnyderLeave a comment

Hell, being in the presence of the one true God, perfectly holy, pouring out His righteous and just wrath upon you, that of which you built up for yourself during your life. Where there is complete darkness. No hope of illuminating light. In the presence of God without hope of being in communion with Him. A bottomless pit, feeling that horror of a step missed before an eternal fall, perpetual descent in darkness. All that can be heard is the wailing and gnashing of teeth. All your fellow denizens suffering their own rewards for inequity for all eternity. A fire that burns your being that never consumes you, but persists in torturous torment. The next moment is worse than all before it. How long have you been here in this place? Has it been a moment? Has it been a year, or one thousand? Why didn’t you heed their warnings? Why did you believe some of them when they told you Hell was just a fairy tale, designed to make you behave? Your flesh is infested with crawling, wriggling worms feasting with no relent, no reprieve. If only the fire and the worms would consume you and bring your suffering to an end! No, this will not end. It will go on for eternity.

In an untormented mind, you reasoned with no reason that this could not be true! If God is real isn’t He supposed to be loving? So I’ve been told! He wouldn’t dare do this to me! Fool! God is also infinitely just and righteous. Your sins are against Him! How must an infinitely evil crime, against an infinite God be punished? Infinitely! From this hopeless estate there is no escape. There is no corner, nor hole to hide from the holy wrath of almighty God. No chance to recant of a false testimony against Him whose creation testified to you about Him continuously while you were alive. No repentance now from your willful rebellion against Him. O for relief from this unbearable attention! Heed this warning and let it settle in your mind! You know you deserve Hell. You know God is true. Repent before this becomes your fate! Put your faith in God in the flesh, Jesus the god-man, who worked atonement on the cross for you who would repent and believe in Him. He can cleanse you and clothe you in His righteousness. You can be eternally forgiven instead of condemned. For while you live in sin you are already under certain condemnation. Turn from your ways and turn from wrath. Turn towards Christ Jesus and His ways. Turn towards His glory and abide in Him.

cultural · gender dysphoria · God · Repentance · transgender · transsexual · Uncategorized

God only made two genders for mankind.

April 9, 2016April 10, 2016 Bob SnyderLeave a comment

God only made two genders for mankind. Male and female is all there is. You don’t go to the hardware store looking through the nuts and bolts to buy a nolt! If you found one it would be good for nothing. If you don’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe God when Jesus quoted His words from Genesis while He was being questioned by the Pharisees in the book of Matthew, “And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

[Matthew 19:4-6 NASB]

So if God eternal, and incarnate has explained what He meant, when He revealed what is written in Genesis to us, and it isn’t good enough for you, then it isn’t the rest of us that have the problem. It is you! You are sick! You are not well in the head! You are in deep confusion and sin! You are evil through and through! You need to repent of your sin and ask God to forgive you and heal you from this deep perversion. If you repent and believe upon the finished work of Christ, there is hope for you! You can be saved! For those of you monsters, confusing your very own little children into believing they are not the gender God blessed them with, there is a special place in Hell reserved for the likes of you! Your punishment for harming those little image bearers of God will be exactly as severe as God justly imposes. This should scare you! You are an abuser of children and a blasphemer! Repent! Repent!! REPENT!!! Your death may come upon you at any moment. The next moment you will be in front of the one true and holy God. He will judge you and without the atoning work of Christ to make you just in His sight, you will be sent to Hell for eternal torment and suffering. One moment will be worse than the last. You will feel as if you are being eaten from the inside by worms that never finish their meal. You will feel the immense pain of being burnt up, but never being finished with the burning. You will be in darkness with no solid ground beneath your feat. You know the feeling you get when you miss a step in the dark and begin to fall? That is the anxiety and fear you will feel for ever and ever. You will only hear the suffering others in hell. The gnashing of teeth and wailing will be ringing in your ears. The smoke of their torment will rise up forever. Your only experience will be suffering. You won’t know how long you’ve been there. Has it been a minute, a day, a thousand days, a year, a million years? Eternity is an ageless age. An existence without time, and you will be suffering for all eternity. There will be no fellowship with God. God will be there pouring out His wrath on you. You will justly deserve it. Repent now while there is time! Turn from the judgment to come. Stop approving of sin. Stop calling evil good and good evil. Acknowledge God truth! Believe in the Savior for the forgiveness of your sins!!!

Church · cultural · God · love · marriage · Repentance · Theology · Uncategorized · under God

Men, Submit to God. Women, submit to God. He says, submit to your Husbands.

April 5, 2016April 5, 2016 Bob SnyderLeave a comment

So, you are a modern woman, and you have heard, perhaps even said, “I can do what I want! You don’t own me! I don’t need a man!” Well, if you are Christian woman, you should eschew such ignorant, godless, rhetoric. It is prideful and selfish. Very unbecoming of a Christian man or woman. I am so sick of how the world has been portraying husbands and wives. Let’s not allow the culture to define us. Let’s be defined by God’s word.

Imagine a man who claims to be Christian, and won’t submit to God’s word. Instead of doing what God has commanded, he does what he wants. Is that a man who is at war with his sinful flesh, or is that a man who is giving into his flesh?

Imagine a man who claims that nobody has ownership of him. We know that is wrong. God tells us in His word that our bodies do not belong to us. A husband’s body belongs to his wife. A wife’s body belongs also to her husband, but God owns them both. They are His creatures. The ones who die in rebellion, will burn forever in Hell. He will pour out His righteous wrath on them for eternity.

Imagine now, an arrogant, prideful, man exclaiming that he doesn’t need a woman. That man is calling God a liar. Why, the very first book in God’s word explains why He made Eve. It was because it was not good for man to be alone. God made for him a helpmate. Everyone knows that men need women. If we are to be fruitful and multiply it is obvious. So, to subdue the Earth, we must have wives and they must have husbands.

Modern notions of gender are so diabolically satanic. They defile, degrade, and mock what God has made for our good and His glory. The enemy loves it every time a feminist howls in rebellion, every time a man becomes a selfish boy. We need to embrace our roles as God has defined and ordained them to be. We should reject what culture says. The cultural hermeneutic says, “The verses in the Bible that tell a woman to submit to her husband, the verses that say a woman should not teach or have authority over a man, the verses that tell men to support their families, to be the spiritual leaders of their homes and Churches, the word of God that tells us how to live as godly men and women should not be applied as God intended because modern culture’s consensus is superior.” Well, last time I checked, we don’t ask culture to explain God to us, we read His words and hear straight from God Himself in the reading of it. I don’t have to consult the latest social pundits. God has spoken, and He has done so with the ultimate authority that entails.

Want to know why your marriage doesn’t work? Want to know why you are miserable in your Church? Want to know why your children run your home? Simple, you have forsaken God’s will as expressed in His word. Rebels and scoundrels, each and every one of us! Repent and believe the word of God and live to please the Savior who has bled and suffered for you on the cross of His crucifixion. Christ submitted to the will of the Father to cleanse for Himself a bride. That bride is the Church. It submits to Christ. Submit yourselves to His headship as Lord and master of your lives. This means even unto death. We must love our wives as Christ loved the Church. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. We did not deserve His love or sacrifice. We were, by nature His enemies, and He died to save us. Men, love your wives when they don’t deserve it. Women love your husbands when they don’t deserve it. Men, submit to Christ. Women, submit to your husbands, not because he says to, but because the one, true, living God, almighty says to!

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
[Ephesians 5:22-33 KJV]

Husband, head, protector, provider. Not what T.V. says, not what the movies show.

cultural · God · love · marriage · Repentance · Uncategorized

Become Lowly Servants.

March 26, 2016March 26, 2016 Bob SnyderLeave a comment

welove-christian-graphics1

The world is crazy. People are unstable, and unreliable. They are selfish, and self-centered. They don’t care what other people need. They don’t care about other people’s feelings. They only think about their own problems, and their own feelings. They don’t believe in loving other people more than they love themselves. They don’t believe it is healthy to do so. They don’t love Christ above all. People around them are only there as extensions of themselves. Their egos are tied up in them, and when they aren’t rewarded, it is easy for them to destroy the relationships they have, without care for the other people. I’m sick of seeing this, and hearing of it. Being a spouse, and a parent is not for your fun. If you are a spouse or a parent, it is not an option to cease. If you are a spouse, you made an oath to God, and your spouse, in front of witnesses. How on Earth could you justify destroying that, just because you aren’t happy? If you are a parent of a child, how could you mistreat your child because they are interrupting your, “time” or perhaps they don’t give you what you want. Well, duh! They aren’t there to complete you, or make you feel loved, or better. You are the parent for crying out loud. God has given you a job to do. Train them up in the way they should go. Teach them about God, and His word. Preach the gospel of the grace of Jesus to them. Love them more than you love yourself. Sacrifice for everyone around you. You are NOT THAT IMPORTANT!!! Become everyone’s servant. Wash some feet, lower yourself! All of the self-esteem, feminism, everyone’s a winner, sexual liberty, no fault divorce, birth control, promiscuity marketed to women as women’s lib, defilement of marriage by divorce, adultery, and gay marriage, euthanasia marketed as dying with dignity, abortion marketed as a women’s choice under women’s lib/feminism, porn turning men and women into objects, defiling gender that is God given as a gift for the procreation of image bearers of God, that was to be for His glory, and on and on and on… I’m tired… I’m disgusted… Haven’t we had enough of us? Haven’t we had our fill of this delusion? We need God. We need repentance. We need to be broken so we can see the vanity of it all. WE NEED TO HUMBLE OURSELVES AND REPENT. We need to become lowly servants. That is my rant for the day. Like Paul when he said, “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.” 1 Timothy 1:15 (NASB) We are the worst of sinners, I am the worst of sinners, you are the worst of sinners.

evangelism · forgiveness · God · Repentance · sharing the gospel · Uncategorized

An Offer You Should Not Refuse.

March 19, 2016March 19, 2016 Bob SnyderLeave a comment

Hello, my name is inconsequential. My Boss has sent me to you with a message. You belong to Him. You are His property. He owns you. You are His person, and he is very angry with you. You have broken His laws. For that, He is going to kill, and punish you. It is not a matter of if, but when. It is a certainty. You will not escape it. My Boss will kill you. You will meet Him. You will bow to Him, and be judged for breaking His laws. He will punish you. You will bow to Him in this life, or the next. Because He is good, and loving, while you still breath my Boss makes you this offer, apologize, ask Him to forgive you, search yourself, see the truth, that you are not innocent, but you are guilty. Humbly bow down, and submit yourself to His rule. Serve Him. Believe in the work that His Son did on the cross to pay your debt to Him. If you become His servant, as I have, He will change you into a new creature. You will hate what He hates, and love what He loves. You will still die, but you will not be punished for eternity. Instead you will enter into rest. Because His Son endured the eternal punishment, He offers you grace, and mercy instead of giving you what would be just for Him to do. You will be in His glorious presence, and enjoy Him forever. This offer is only good for a short time. You have moments, days, years, or perhaps He will kill you right now…

forgiveness · God · Repentance · sanctification · saved · Theology · Uncategorized

Is 1 Peter 1:16 Instructive or Informative? “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

February 27, 2016 Bob Snyder1 Comment

I have been thinking about sanctification as of late and its implications in regards to assurance and security. This verse came to mind and I wanted to see if it was an instruction to strive for personal holiness or if it was informing us that we are holy in Christ. I always thought it was the first, because of many years in the Nazarene denomination. It turns out the answer is, “Yes.”

(NASB) 1 Peter 1:1,2 ¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

Let’s examine verse 2 a bit more closely. (NASB) ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

What is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father? God’s election of the saved people living scattered among the cities listed in verse 1. What work are we doing to be sanctified according to verse 2? I’ll wait here while you look… Back? It was a trick question. We aren’t doing the work. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us. The Greek word is, “ἁγιασμός” (hagiasmos) g0038; from 37; properly, purification, i.e. (the state) purity; concretely (by Hebraism) a purifier: — holiness, sanctification.

To what end are we elected by the Father, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit according to this verse? “…to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood…” Spending most of my life in the Nazarene Church, I understood that sanctification was something I did. I might be wrong here. This might not be their official doctrine. I’m just saying that this is what I thought. The emphasis on the monergistic origination of sanctification never came across. Still to this day, people insist that sanctification is synergistic. I would only agree with that in a broad practical sense, because at the end of the day God isn’t sanctifying a dog or a cat. He is sanctifying us, and part of that is our condition during the process. So we are involved in sanctification, because it is happening to us. We are actively participating in it, but it is not from us. We were incapable of sanctification let alone desiring it, before the work of the Holy Spirit.

I know many of you are out there right now screaming, “What about all the verses that instruct you to behave!?!” Well of course we should do what God wills, and refrain from what He has forbid. That is a no brainer. I am not saying we shouldn’t, but the fact that someone wants to and has the ability to, is proof that sanctification is supernaturally originated by God and not from within us.

So you’ve been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, in accord with the Father’s sovereign will in election, granted saving faith and repentance from God, and you have repented of your sins, and placed that faith in the atoning work of Christ on the cross, so that your sins were expiated, and His righteousness was imputed to you. Now we would say that you have been saved, or justified.

Follow along here on the ordo salutis (order of salvation) train. (concise version) 🙂 election, regeneration, justification, sanctification, glorification. So as you can see all of those things find their origination in God and they are worked on/in us by Him. If we think we are responsible for any of them, we are robbing God of His glory, being self-righteous, legalistic, and relying on our works in our man centered thinking.

This can lead to serious doubt. It can wreck our assurance and cause us to question our security, because when we sin, we ask, “Why do I keep doing this? Am I really saved? If I’m saved how can I fall to this sin over and over? I must be a false convert. I must be fooling myself. I’ve taken the 2 Cor 13:5 test and failed!” “…(NASB) ⁵ Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?..” Notice that last part, “Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” Have you noticed that Jesus Christ is in you!? It is as if Paul is yelling, “Come on people! Don’t you see what has been done to you, for you, and for the glory of God? Can’t you see the difference? unless you truly can’t.” When a Christian is doubting, and takes a look at his condition, it will be obvious that God has been at work renovating the sin wrecked ramshackle of a mess that they were. Unless of course you can’t see His work anywhere in your life.

So we can rest in secure in the knowledge that if God has saved us, we are secure in Him. When we fall because of our lack of strength, He keeps us with His infinite strength. What He has done to us, nobody and nothing, can undo.

Romans 8:26-39 (NASB) ²⁶ In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; ²⁷ and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
²⁸ And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; ³⁰ and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? ³³ Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; ³⁴ who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. ³⁵ Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ Just as it is written,
“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
WE were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
³⁷ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now that we understand what God has done to us in election, regeneration, and justification, we can see that He will sanctify us as well. Philippians 1:6 (NASB) “⁶ For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Think about a newborn baby in a crib, looking up at his parents. He doesn’t have to focus his attention on growing. He doesn’t have to even try to grow. Sure he grows, and is involved in the process, but his growth doesn’t come from him. It is God’s plan, and design, that the child grows according to. Imagine that baby saying to himself, “I need more milk to make me big and strong. Grow legs! Grow grow grow!!!” It is ridiculous, but that is the way many of us are as Christians.

We are focused too much on our own efforts and failures. When we do see growth we might even attribute it to our efforts. This robs God of His glory, and God will not be robbed. So in our self-righteousness, we sin against God and don’t even realize it. Then when we fail, we punish ourselves, as if that whipping we gave to ourselves could add to the perfect, gory, violent, painful, terrifying, work of our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ… … Think about that. Let it soak in… How dare we? How dare we! You should be crying right now. I know it makes me want to cry, to think of how I would defile the work of Jesus with my self-righteousness.

Just like that baby, we will grow according to God’s plan, in His time, exactly by the trials He has for us, and in precisely the areas He has determined. Rest assured, if you are saved, you will be sanctified, because God wills it, and what He wills, He accomplishes, unless of course you think you can stop him…

1 Peter 1:12-21 (NASB) ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.
¹³ Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, ¹⁵ but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; ¹⁶ because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
¹⁷ If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; ¹⁸ knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. ²⁰ For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you ²¹ who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 (NASB) ³ For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, ⁵ not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶ and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. ⁷ For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. ⁸ So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

So we will be holy, because God is holy. He is actively sanctifying us and we are living out that sanctifying work, in Christ, by the power of the Spirit, in the will of the Father. The answer to the question, “Is 1 Peter 1:16 Instructive or Informative?” is, yes. Go with God and peace be with you.

Movie Review · Repentance · sharing the gospel · Theology · Uncategorized

I Really Wanted to Like This Movie, but… A Review of “Risen.”

February 20, 2016February 21, 2016 Bob Snyder5 Comments

Let me just start by saying that I won’t post any spoilers. If you want to know specifics you can message me. That being said, I truly wanted to like this movie. I especially wanted to like it when I heard what the premise was, and also saw that Joseph Fiennes was in it. He did such a wonderful job as Martin Luther. He, and a couple other actors outclassed the actors that played the Apostles, and it felt like hippies from the (I removed a word here. See the comments below to read why.) movement wrote the lines for the Apostles. This movie had so many opportunities to do it right, but it never coalesced. We never heard why Jesus had to die, we never heard that He was truly God, we never heard any confession of sin on anyone’s part. All we did hear were incoherent ramblings about love unrelated or linked to the gospel. I was so disappointed with this film. I was hoping for a “Jesus of Nazareth” or a Charleton Heston in “The Ten Commandments” level production. This was devoid of any useful theological information, or gospel proclamation. I was also let down by the incongruous use of artistic license. Sometimes it was seamless, and others it was glaringly awkward.

It wasn’t all bad. It far exceeded the recent tripe that has come out of Hollyweird. With the bad taste left in our mouths from “Noah” and “Exodus gods and Kings” with batman as Moses, I found their effort with “Risen” to be a bit refreshing. The acting of the main characters was top notch, the supporting cast… meh. There was no profanity, or romantic scenes. There was however, graphic violence. If you want to have Christian themed entertainment that never gets around to being truly helpful and wastes your time, then go see, “Risen.” Otherwise, stay home and do a Bible study. You’ll get much more out of that. Then, go out and evangelize the lost. They need it and this movie isn’t going to get it done.

Apologetics · cultural · gender dysphoria · God · hate · Liberal Christian · Repentance · sharing the gospel · Theology · transgender · transsexual · Uncategorized · under God

If you remove microaggressions and triggers from the Bible?

November 21, 2015November 22, 2015 Bob Snyder2 Comments

Let’s examine what the our favorite Bible verses would look like if we removed microaggressions and triggers from them.

[Matthew 23:27 NASB]
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.