We're in a country where the meaning of words continues to change They continue to evolve to have new meanings. While a laymen may look at this with an explanation, the theological impacts require that absolutes do not exist. Thus extinguishing the need for God.
So what is tolerance? Tolerance is defined by most as accepting opposing viewpoints as valid or equal with that of the truth. Tolerating the difference is called respect. Now that we understand the terms, we must deal with the implications. Can a Christian respect a Muslim perspective, view of God, approach to faith, etc? Certainly. Can they tolerate that a Muslim friend does not agree with them. Absolutely. Should they be 'tolerant' of the Muslim faith and accept it as equal with their own. Absolutely not. There is no name under heaven, given among men, by which they might be saved. I've coined a phrase and tell me if it doesn't emulate the United States slow and consistent evolution away from God.
"God desires a relationship with men; men who would seek to replace God with rules, and then the rules with their interpretation of the rules and then the interpretation with discretion and discretion with tolerance."
Ask yourself, did Satan lie in the Garden? Yes he did, but how did he do it? He did it by telling most of the truth. He said that their eyes would be opened and that they would be able to see good from evil...that was certainly true...where he lied is when he said that they would not die. They interpreted the death to be instant - while the Bible does not record the context of how their death would occur, their death certainly would occur. More thank likely they presupposed the meaning instead of seeking it out. As a result, they tolerated Satan in their midst. They tolerated untruth, false prophecy and a belief that wasn't of God. And because of that, their fall was causally linked to tolerance. In hindsight, I bet any one of us would have stomped on that snakes head and snuffed out his lies, his deception and would not have tolerated his false nature in our midst. Yet we do it everyday in America.
Satan is devious, and he will use the smallest sliver of difference to controvert the truth. If you change true to 50% true, isn't it still true?, How about, 75%, what about 99%...I mean, that's pretty darn close.
The answer is a resounding No. It's either true, or it is false. The implication of tolerance is a slow, perpetual move away from absolutism. And as I've stated before, tolerance is just a rejection of truth. Saying you tolerate other faiths as equal with your own is akin to saying that you reject God, for either God is the one true God or he is not. If you believe other faiths to be equal in merit with your own, then one of you is obviously wrong.
Do not mistake the tolerance of a person and their path as the same or equal with tolerance of a specific faith. Tolerance of a person is excellent, but tolerance of a faith that isn't based on the God of Israel, who sent his Son to provide for those who believed in him a source of salvation, is a travesty. As Christians, we're either sold out for Christ, working on a path of sold out, or enemies of God. Anyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ is the enemy of God...so I ask you this question. Would you tolerate an enemy in your camp? If you knew that the enemy had only one goal and that was to seperate you from God, by the minute, hour, day, month, year, decade, and he had your entire lifetime to work at it...do you think he'd come right up and bonk you over the head? Or would he slowly, and persistently work on your desire, your definition of words and teach you things like tolerance...
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Is Penance Necessary?
As with all topics that potentially divide certain denominations, specifically in this case, catholics and protestants, one must prayerfully consider how God is working in their own lives. While I believe words have meaning and practices should always honor God, there are right answers, whether God has given it to us to understand or not.
According to this link; here is the official definition based on the Catholic faith and tradition.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11618c.htm
Penance is a sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ in which forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through the priest's absolution to those who with true sorrow confess their sins and promise to satisfy for the same. It is called a "sacrament" not simply a function or ceremony, because it is an outward sign instituted by Christ to impart grace to the soul. As an outward sign it comprises the actions of the penitent in presenting himself to the priest and accusing himself of his sins, and the actions of the priest in pronouncing absolution and imposing satisfaction. This whole procedure is usually called, from one of its parts, "confession", and it is said to take place in the "tribunal ofpenance", because it is a judicial process in which the penitent is at once the accuser, the person accused, and the witness, while the priest pronounces judgment and sentence. The grace conferred is deliverance from the guilt of sin and, in the case of mortal sin, from its eternal punishment; hence also reconciliation with God, justification. Finally, the confession is made not in the secrecy of the penitent's heart nor to a layman as friend and advocate, nor to a representative of human authority, but to a duly ordained priest with requisite jurisdiction and with the "power of the keys", i.e., the power to forgive sins which Christ granted to His Church.
Protestants typically believe that you are justified by faith and not by works.
Paul tells us this in Romans 5:1 - I find it interesting that in his letter to the Romans, where the Catholic faith originated, he is teaching this specific principle.
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a]have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us
Question: "How can salvation be not of works when faith is required? Isn't believing a work?"
Answer: Our salvation depends solely upon Jesus Christ. He is our substitute, taking sin’s penalty (2 Corinthians 5:21); He is our Savior from sin (John 1:29); He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The work necessary to provide salvation was fully accomplished by Jesus Himself, who lived a perfect life, took God’s judgment for sin, and rose again from the dead (Hebrews 10:12).
The Bible is quite clear that our own works do not help merit salvation. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5). “Not of works” (Ephesians 2:9). “There is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10). This means that offering sacrifices, keeping the commandments, going to church, being baptized, and other good deeds are incapable of saving anyone. No matter how “good” we are, we can never measure up to God’s standard of holiness (Romans 3:23; Matthew 19:17; Isaiah 64:6). http://www.gotquestions.org/faith-work.html
So while I believe that I don't need to confess my sins to a priest, it's not necessarily wrong for someone else to. However, it is given to God only to forgive sins. Since sin is defined as being separate from God, only God can repair or forgive trespass against himself. Think of it this way;
can I forgive you for something you did to my father? No, ofcourse not. And even if my father bestowed on me the right to say the words, he cannot accept apology from anyone but the transgressor. This changed for believers when Christ came to the earth. He became for all who would be saved, the intermediary. His blood covers, not removes, our sins. We are not fully glorified until we reach heaven.
Again, don't be misled. The traditions of men do not seperate them from God. But, it is through the traditions of men that seperation can occur, when a man takes up his tradition over a relationship with Christ. This is demonstrated all throughout the Bible, especially in the Gospels by the Pharisees.
According to this link; here is the official definition based on the Catholic faith and tradition.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11618c.htm
Penance is a sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ in which forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through the priest's absolution to those who with true sorrow confess their sins and promise to satisfy for the same. It is called a "sacrament" not simply a function or ceremony, because it is an outward sign instituted by Christ to impart grace to the soul. As an outward sign it comprises the actions of the penitent in presenting himself to the priest and accusing himself of his sins, and the actions of the priest in pronouncing absolution and imposing satisfaction. This whole procedure is usually called, from one of its parts, "confession", and it is said to take place in the "tribunal ofpenance", because it is a judicial process in which the penitent is at once the accuser, the person accused, and the witness, while the priest pronounces judgment and sentence. The grace conferred is deliverance from the guilt of sin and, in the case of mortal sin, from its eternal punishment; hence also reconciliation with God, justification. Finally, the confession is made not in the secrecy of the penitent's heart nor to a layman as friend and advocate, nor to a representative of human authority, but to a duly ordained priest with requisite jurisdiction and with the "power of the keys", i.e., the power to forgive sins which Christ granted to His Church.
Protestants typically believe that you are justified by faith and not by works.
Paul tells us this in Romans 5:1 - I find it interesting that in his letter to the Romans, where the Catholic faith originated, he is teaching this specific principle.
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a]have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us
Question: "How can salvation be not of works when faith is required? Isn't believing a work?"
Answer: Our salvation depends solely upon Jesus Christ. He is our substitute, taking sin’s penalty (2 Corinthians 5:21); He is our Savior from sin (John 1:29); He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The work necessary to provide salvation was fully accomplished by Jesus Himself, who lived a perfect life, took God’s judgment for sin, and rose again from the dead (Hebrews 10:12).
The Bible is quite clear that our own works do not help merit salvation. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5). “Not of works” (Ephesians 2:9). “There is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10). This means that offering sacrifices, keeping the commandments, going to church, being baptized, and other good deeds are incapable of saving anyone. No matter how “good” we are, we can never measure up to God’s standard of holiness (Romans 3:23; Matthew 19:17; Isaiah 64:6). http://www.gotquestions.org/faith-work.html
So while I believe that I don't need to confess my sins to a priest, it's not necessarily wrong for someone else to. However, it is given to God only to forgive sins. Since sin is defined as being separate from God, only God can repair or forgive trespass against himself. Think of it this way;
can I forgive you for something you did to my father? No, ofcourse not. And even if my father bestowed on me the right to say the words, he cannot accept apology from anyone but the transgressor. This changed for believers when Christ came to the earth. He became for all who would be saved, the intermediary. His blood covers, not removes, our sins. We are not fully glorified until we reach heaven.
Again, don't be misled. The traditions of men do not seperate them from God. But, it is through the traditions of men that seperation can occur, when a man takes up his tradition over a relationship with Christ. This is demonstrated all throughout the Bible, especially in the Gospels by the Pharisees.
God is Real - First Post
Hello fellow believers,
This blog is meant to be a repository for revelations that are based in my personal experiences as well as the Bible.
I intend this blog to be open, public for use in instruction and wisdom. My mission is to attack white-wash Christianity and to retake ground on God's behalf so that Christians might have an identity in Christ and fight for their Lord and Savior. I can't do this alone and certainly nothing is accomplished that is outside the sovereign will of God.
Will you help me in this cause by reading, commenting and sharing this with your fellow believers?
This blog is meant to be a repository for revelations that are based in my personal experiences as well as the Bible.
I intend this blog to be open, public for use in instruction and wisdom. My mission is to attack white-wash Christianity and to retake ground on God's behalf so that Christians might have an identity in Christ and fight for their Lord and Savior. I can't do this alone and certainly nothing is accomplished that is outside the sovereign will of God.
Will you help me in this cause by reading, commenting and sharing this with your fellow believers?
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