What has been confirmed again…

I’ve been paying close attention to the political scene in the USA for a few years now. What has been confirmed to me is that we have no hope…no chance…as a species, of EVER getting it together. We are SO absolutely corrupt that the only chance, the only hope we have, is in Christ. The human race will never, and can't ever, get it together. I’m hoping that you understand that. That you understand that your only hope is in the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, that is in Christ Jesus. If you haven’t come to that conclusion yet, I pray that you will…sooner than later.

Jeremiah 17:9...The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Genesis 6:5...The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

Psalms 53:3...Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no-one who does good, not even one.

Isaiah 53:6...We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Psalms 51:5...Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Isaiah 64:6...All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

Revelation 12:9…The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

1 John 5:19…We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

Revelation 3:20…Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

John 6:28-29…Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

Acts 4:12...Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

The trouble with the law…

…is you may forget about grace. Still, no matter what anyone tells you, though our ultimate destiny is not determined by keeping the law, we are still commanded to follow the law. Right? Remember what Jesus said?

Matthew 5:18…“I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

Loving God and loving your neighbor is commanded.

Matthew 22: 36-40…"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

You might say that all the other commands are included in those two.

Romans 13:8-10…Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Jesus tells us that we are his disciples if we DO what he commands.

John 13:35…By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

John 15:14…You are my friends if you do what I command.

James speaks about faith without works being dead.

James 2: 14-17…What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

The list goes on and on.

All that said, though, we must not forget that Jesus didn’t come only to teach. He also came to die, and He did so out of love and obedience. He did so to save us. Faith without works may be useless, but works of the law won’t save you (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus saves. He is that foundation we build on (1 Corinthians 3:11). Our obligation is to Him (1 Corinthians 6:20). As our Lord, we should want to please Him…we should want to follow His commands. If our life doesn’t in some way testify to our having a relationship with him, then it is quite likely that we fool ourselves and the truth is not in us. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6).

Reincarnation and Christianity...

Can the concept of reincarnation be reconciled with Christianity? That may seem like a silly question, but there are many new-agers and other sects that think so.

The concept of reincarnation (as I understand it) is that through a virtual unlimited number of incarnations (or as many as necessary) a person would be able to work their way into a place of perfection. But the bible says:

Ep 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

Heb 9:27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

It seems to me that the basic principal of Christianity is that you are born into sin, that the base nature of man is sinful, and that the only way a person can be redeemed is through the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ. Hence, saved by grace…in the form of a gift.

Ge 8:21 The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.”

Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Some people claim that John the Baptist was Elijah reincarnated. But what does John himself say about that?

John 1:21 They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’"

John was indeed similar to Elijah, though, in that God worked through him to cause many to turn back to Him. You might say that John was a ‘type’ of Elijah.

1Ki 18:37 “Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

Some people even claim that Jesus was the result of reincarnation…that he had achieved perfection in that way. But what does the Bible say about Jesus?

Hebrews 1:1 ¶ In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

John 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

It would appear impossible to be perfected via multiple incarnations before the universe was created.

Therefore, my Christian interpretation is that reincarnation is NOT compatible with Christianity. You must choose between the two, but choose carefully, because only one is true.