Logostician

Great post. Christ's work on the cross is a finished work sufficient to save anyone who believes it, and confesses their unworthiness without this sacrifice and the One who made it. I am very non-denominational. I'm just a Christ man. But the Wesleyan ideal of sanctification is a good one, that is well supported in the Bible by verses like 1 Pet 1:16,17, "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Because it is written, be ye holy for I am holy." What does this mean? Grow in Christ! Move forward with Jesus, or you will find yourself falling back. I always viewed the Christian race as my Christian self running against my carnal self. I don't even want to see my old carnal self in the rearview mirror. And yes it is a marathon. Our relationship with Jesus should get stronger every day, until we meet him face to face. We should want to hear words from Him like "well done my good and faithful servant"(May 25:21). We should strive to leave this world at our highest point in our relationship with Jesus, rather than handing him a get out of hell free card dating back to the day we were saved. God gave us hearts minds and souls to grow in relationship with him, and raise us up to be sons of God (1 Jno 3:2). In 2 Cor 3:2 Paul says, "I have fed you with milk instead of meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it. Neither yet now are ye able.". The message seems clear. Grow up! Do not remain spiritual infants forever. In Heb 5:12 we are told, "for when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracle's of God, and are becoming such as have need for milk, and not of strong meat." The message is the same. Grow up. Grow your relationship with Jesus. If you are not moving forward, even if you think you are standing still, you're probably going backwards. Not the best way to run the Christian race, right? Vaya con Dios.

I suggest that you seek first the kingdom of heaven, and Jesus Christ who is the King of that kingdom. You seem to be relying on the wisdom man, which is weak and fleeting as shifting sand. Build your house on the Rock that is Jesus. Your house is your heart, mind and soul. I would also suggest turning off the TV and internet occasionally, since the only topic is Corona virus. This is a good time to reflect on how weak and helpless mankind really is apart from Jesus. These "wise" men are being overwhelmed by a microscopic organism, although they profess to know all about the origins of the universe, in defiance of the word of God. Seek Jesus. Get the real truth, and it will set you free. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world (Jno 16:33)

You're right about social distancing being against the design of God. The kingdom of God is a community of people who love God and each other, not isolated individuals. In Luke 10 a "lawyer" asks "who is my neighbor" that I am commanded to love. But he is really asking who we are not required to love. Who is an outcast, enemy, or just so undesirable that we can rightfully shun him. Surely we can't be required to love everyone. What about the lepers of Christ's time in the flesh, or victims of Corona Virus or other illnesses today? Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan. The message is clear. Everyone is your neighbor. Love everyone. Jesus also said love your enemies (Mat 5:44). This is hard for us to do, but it is still what Jesus wants, and therefore the will of God. In Jas 1 it says to consider temptations/trials to be a blessing that will strengthen you. This is another hard but true statement. It's hard for us to see things like Corona Virus as a blessing, but our willingness to love our neighbors in the face of such a challenge will show our faith to others and possibly draw them to Jesus. Loving Jesus and serving him faithfully is simple to understand, but it isn't always easy to do. It wasn't easy for him to die a tortuous, humiliating death on a cross for our sins. What can we do to repay this great debt of owing our eternal lives to him. There is nothing we have to do for salvation, except to ask for this free gift of salvation that Jesus alone completed in the finished work of the cross. But what should we do? Just do your best to love your neighbor. You can be instrumental in saving lives, both in this life and the next simply by letting Jesus work through you. We are instruments of God. He doesn't need us to do his will. He wants us. After all we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people (1 Pet 2:9). We are the Kingdom, and Jesus is the King of Kings. It's a community effort.

The fear surrounding coronavirus dwarfs the disease itself in magnitude and malignancy. We are currently in a mass withdrawal from civilized society. Gatherings of all kind are being cancelled. People seem to be hoarding essentials and hiding in their homes. Is this any way to live? Is this really living at all? Will churches disband in fear as well? I feel that God will choose the time of my death in this world, and I will never truly die anyway. In Jno 11:25-26, Jesus said "I am the resurrection and the life. He that beleiveth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and beleiveth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?". Martha believed Jesus. Do you? Then cast away your fear and live as God intended you to live for as long as he wills your stay in this world. God doesn't want us to be stupid. He wants us to live wisely, prudently, and with reasonable caution. The entire book of Proverbs teaches this. Eph 5:15-18 says "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is". Redeeming the time means using it wisely, not cowering in fear. Fear is a mind and soul killer. Here are some verses about fear: In 1 Jno 4:17, the apostle says, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He who fears is not made perfect in love." Isa 41:10. Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee yea. I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Psa 23:4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod, and thy staff they comfort me. Believest thou these things?

I never say I believe in Satan. I say that believe that he is. Isa 14 and Eze 28 give short biographies of Satan. They emphasize that he was given extraordinary gifts by God, became prideful to the point of leaving God, and faces certain destruction here are some observations: Satan is intelligent and crafty, yet he is the biggest fool of eternity. As a covering cherubim, he gazed on the beauty of God constantly, and yet chose to leave. He is guaranteed certain death in the lake of fire. He is a dead man walking who fights a war he is sure to lose. Satan was given power by God as an angel of the Lord and has been allowed to retain power to test/tempt mankind. The primary power he has is temptation which is the same thing that caused his fall, and which he used on Adam and Eve to cause their fall, and all of mankind within them. But God gave us his power to resist temptation. James 4:7 says to submit yourselves to God..resist Satan, and he will flee from you. By simply calling on the power of Jesus, we defeat Satan. The name of Jesus alone is power. Satan can only possess what is given to him. He cannot take anything. If a person opens himself up to Satan, he will reap what he sows. But anyone who loves Jesus is sealed. The Spirit of God is in him, and the Spirit will not share that space with anything impure. Satan can tempt from outside, but cannot invade this space. Jesus knows his own, and protects them. In Luke 22:31, Jesus tells Peter that Satan has desired to sift him like wheat. Jesus and our heavenly father will not allow it. 1 Cor 10:13 says that Jesus will never allow you to be tempted beyond what is bearable. Jas 1:15 says temptation leads to sin, which leads to death. But if we utilize the power of Jesus in us, we disarm Satan from the outset. He is powerless against us. Everyone chooses their course in life. Even those who choose not to choose have chosen. Ultimately, you are either with Jesus or against him. Satan made the wrong choice. He is a dead man walking. We have made the right choice. We will live forever with God. We are the wise ones for attending to the wisdom of God. We are the powerful ones, because the power of God is given to us, and lives in us. The Lord is our Shepherd, who shall we fear? There is no reason to fear any man, or demon, or ringleader of demons. We have already won, because Jesus won. Secure you own house by building it on the firm rock that is Jesus. Then you can help others off the shifting sand of worldliness and out of the firey destruction it will lead to. Here is a simple prayer if you are ever oppressed (not possessed) by demons: Help me Jesus. Repeat as necessary. He will fight for you. He will win your battle for you. We have already won.

I never say I believe in Satan. I say that believe that he is. Isa 14 and Eze 28 give short biographies of Satan. They emphasize that he was given extraordinary gifts by God, became prideful to the point of leaving God, and faces certain destruction here are some observations: Satan is intelligent and crafty, yet he is the biggest fool of eternity. As a covering cherubim, he gazed on the beauty of God constantly, and yet chose to leave. He is guaranteed certain death in the lake of fire. He is a dead man walking who fights a war he is sure to lose. Satan was given power by God as an angel of the Lord and has been allowed to retain power to test/tempt mankind. The primary power he has is temptation which is the same thing that caused his fall, and which he used on Adam and Eve to cause their fall, and all of mankind within them. But God gave us his power to resist temptation. James 4:7 says to submit yourselves to God..resist Satan, and he will flee from you. By simply calling on the power of Jesus, we defeat Satan. The name of Jesus alone is power. Satan can only possess what is given to him. He cannot take anything. If a person opens himself up to Satan, he will reap what he sows. But anyone who loves Jesus is sealed. The Spirit of God is in him, and the Spirit will not share that space with anything impure. Satan can tempt from outside, but cannot invade this space. Jesus knows his own, and protects them. In Luke 22:31, Jesus tells Peter that Satan has desired to sift him like wheat. Jesus and our heavenly father will not allow it. 1 Cor 10:13 says that Jesus will never allow you to be tempted beyond what is bearable. Jas 1:15 says temptation leads to sin, which leads to death. But if we utilize the power of Jesus in us, we disarm Satan from the outset. He is powerless against us. Everyone chooses their course in life. Even those who choose not to choose have chosen. Ultimately, you are either with Jesus or against him. Satan made the wrong choice. He is a dead man walking. We have made the right choice. We will live forever with God. We are the wise ones for attending to the wisdom of God. We are the powerful ones, because the power of God is given to us, and lives in us. The Lord is our Shepherd, who shall we fear? There is no reason to fear any man, or demon, or ringleader of demons. We have already won, because Jesus won. Secure you own house by building it on the firm rock that is Jesus. Then you can help others off the shifting sand of worldliness and out of the firey destruction it will lead to. Here is a simple prayer if you are ever oppressed (not possessed) by demons: Help me Jesus. Repeat as necessary. He will fight for you. He will win your battle for you. We have already won.

Anyone who loves Jesus in his heart and confesses his faith openly is saved. Jesus made it as easy as possible for us to be with him, including dying for our sins. There are different views of the end times. These differing views should not become wedge issues among God's children, since faith and love in Jesus is all we need to be with him forever. God knows that we are weak and see things through a glass darkly in this life (1 Cor 13:12) so we can have different views. Some of my views are given below, I don't present them as authoritarian. No man knows the day or the hour of the second coming, and yet Rev 1:3 clearly calls on us to attend to end time prophesies, and God blesses us for doing so. I see dispensationalism in God's approach to humanity. Israel are God's chosen people through Abraham. But his plan for all humanity is best expressed in Rom 11:28-32, and it reflects a dispensational treatment of followers of Judaism and Christians. Note that ethnic Jews can be Christians, and ethnic gentiles can follow Judaism. From Abraham through Malachi God dealt primarily with New and Judaism in an Israel centered dispensational age. From the time of Christ to now we have been living in a Christian Church dispensational age. This does not mean that God is not working in Israel and among followers of Judaism. As Rom 11 points out, the gifts of the Lord are without repentance. Israel is still chosen, but Jesus has opened the way for the gentile spiritual children of Abraham through faith. Heb 11 demonstrates that the old testament patriarchs, including Abraham, were saved by faith. In the current Christian Church we are also saved by faith. God doesn't change. Heb 11:6 makes it clear that faith is requisite for salvation. Rom 10:9 says the same thing. Christians are saved by faith. There are no further admission tests for salvation. Therefore, I believe there is no reason for Christians to endure the tribulation, since it is intended as a powerful demonstration to everyone on Earth that God is real, and all powerful to turn unbelieving hearts to God. Rom 14:11 states that every knee will bow to God. This refers to judgement day. But in a sense it applies to the rapture and tribulation as well. When these events come to pass God will be undeniably known. All will know who he is. The only question will be who already knows him (Christians) and needs no further persuasion, or will come to know him before the end of this world. I believe the Christian Church will be taken up by Jesus (raptured) prior to the tribulation, because we are already saved by faith. We have nothing more to prove to God. As such the pretribulation rapture would bring an end to the Christian Church dispensational age. This end would begin eternal life with Jesus. After the rapture the world will descend into chaos. This will be greatly facilitated by an absence of moral Christians in the world, and the effective withdrawal of the Spirit of God that was dwelling in them. The Angels of God will pour out vials of wrath on the world to let everyone know that God is in charge. During the tribulation God will return to the Israel centered dispensation that began with Abraham. Israel as the first fruits of God's salvation will fulfill their ordained role of teaching the nation's of the world about God. The 144,00 of God's elect will truly be of the tribes of Israel. The two witnesses will most likely be Elijah and Moses. They will seek to pull as many through the fires of the tribulation as they possibly can. Only a conversion to faith (as is always the case with God) will save them. And it will be a painful process for them. Many will steadfastly refuse God even when his power is made manifest (Rev 9:21). Although the tribulation is a terrible time, it is actually an act of mercy by God to wake people up before they face eternal damnation. Rev 11:13 shows that some will be saved. I believe that we are in the generation of the fig tree now or close to it. The fig tree sprouted it's leaves when God reestablished the modern state of Israel. Israel was destroyed by the Roman Empire in 70AD. The modern state of Israel was established in 1948, although it wasn't until 1967 that Israel attained Jerusalem. Only God could have brought back his chosen people after so many centuries (see Eze 28). The events of the end times will focus on Israel. For this to happen, God had to restore his people in Israel. He had done that. More than earthquakes, famines, wars or any other "sign" the reestablishment of Israel sets the stage for the return of Jesus. The USA is not mentioned in the Bible in any convincing way. After the rapture, when all of the Christians suddenly depart, I believe it will decay into chaos almost immediately. It could be destroyed in a nuclear war, or it could simply dissolve into irrelevance. While the USA continues to be the leading Christian country in the world, we need to protect and defend Israel. When the USA ceases to be a real country after the rapture, God himself will defend Israel during the tribulation. Hopefully he will enlist raptured American Christian support during this time. I think we could still be Spiritual warriors at that time (2 Kgs 6:17). I hope so.