Tough Questions.

So who is Jesus? For many ages and years, many people have taken this question and tried to answer it. For many different religions and cults, Jesus could be many different things. He could be a great prophet. He could be the biggest heretic in history. He could even be a dinosaur-riding BOSS (Actually, ignore that last one).

But the question is only even more confusing for people who have never really heard in depth of who Jesus is. The problem is made even more confusing by the lingo we Christians use. They can ask questions like: “The Trinity?”, “I don’t get the roles of the three guys…”, “Is God more powerful than Jesus?” etc. And as Christians we are supposed to be able to answer these questions. In truth though, most of us haven’t spent that much time asking ourselves these questions and we don’t often have good answers.

When people ask though, I think I can give a few answers. “Who is more powerful, Jesus or God?” The answer is complicated, but here’s the gist of it: they are one and the same. They are part of the Trinity, which also includes the Holy Spirit. They all have a part to play, and they are all one God (Honestly, this is more confusing than the Zelda Timeline). So, neither is more powerful than the other. “How did he exist before Creation?” He has existed outside of time, far back and far into the future.

That’s all for this week. Feel free to leave any comments.

What I Believe

                So, what are the essentials of Christianity? I mean, really, what are the essentials? Most Christians would just laugh and say that they already know. But, many things contradict within other people’s beliefs. Take these opinions for example:

            THE APOSTLE'S CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

Born of the Virgin Mary,

Suffered under Pontius Pilate,

Was crucified, died, and was buried;

He descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

He ascended into heaven,

He is seated at the right hand of the Father,

And he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

The holy Catholic Church,

The communion of saints,

The forgiveness of sins,

The resurrection of the body,

And the life everlasting.

Amen.

GREG KOUKL'S ESSENTIAL DOCTRINES

"The six essential doctrines would be:  the Trinity, the deity and humanity of Christ, the bodily resurrection, man's fallenness and guilt, salvation by grace through faith by the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, and belief that Jesus is the Messiah.  And you have a seventh doctrine that strikes me as a functional necessity, that is the ultimate authority of Scripture without which none of the other truths can be affirmed or asserted with confidence."

NORMAN GEISLER'S ESSENTIAL DOCTRINES (ONE and TWO)

"The list of essential Christian doctrines that emerge from the early creeds and councils includes (1)human depravity, (2)Christ’s virgin birth, (3)Christ’s sinlessness, (4)Christ’s deity, (5)Christ’s humanity, (6)God’s unity, (7)God’s triunity, (8)the necessity of God’s grace, (9)the necessity of faith, (10)Christ’s atoning death, (11)Christ’s bodily resurrection, (12)Christ’s bodily ascension, (13)Christ’s present high priestly service, and (14)Christ second coming, final judgment (heaven and hell), and reign. All of these are necessary for salvation to be possible in the broad sense, which includes justification, sanctification, and glorification.

It is not necessary, however, to believe all of these to be saved (justified). The minimum necessary to believe in order to be saved is: (1)human depravity, (3)Christ’s sinlessness, (4)Christ’s deity, (5)Christ’s humanity, (6)God’s unity, (7)God’s triunity, (8)the necessity of God’s grace, (9)the necessity of faith, (10)Christ’s atoning death, and (11)Christ’s bodily resurrection."

(By the way, thank you Mr. Robertson for putting these up on your wall.)

                This can be very confusing. Norman believes that you have to believe at least 11 of 14 core Christian beliefs to be considered a Christian, while Greg believes that there are six essential doctrines to Christianity. And the Apostle’s Creed says even more of what a Christian should believe. They contradict and complement each other in several areas.

                If I was to walk into a new church and hear how the virgin birth never happened, for example, I would be shocked, because that is one of my core beliefs, and what I believe to be an essential part of the Bible. I probably would just leave and go back to my old church that justifies Mary’s virgin birth.

                And that’s just one of my beliefs. This is my list of essentials for Christian beliefs:

-We are all sinners.

-Jesus came to save us from our sins.

-Jesus was crucified on the cross (By the way, did you know that was a swear word in ancient times? Man, how times have changed.)

-Jesus resurrected on the third day after his death.

-We are to spread his gospel across the world and spread his message.

-We are not and will not be gods ourselves.

-Jesus loves us, but will discipline us like a father disciplines his children.

                That is what I believe.

                That’s all for this blog. If you have any questions, post them below. Now, if you don't mind, I'll go watch the last few minutes of A.D. Man, I love that show...

James and the dangers of riches

                There are several themes in the Book of James. For instance, James talks about the most popular theme in the book “Faith without Works Is Dead.” However, there is another theme in the book that everyone glosses over: The parts where James seems to be slandering rich people. Why is he doing this, and is there anything we can take from it? Let’s look at how James addresses these people:

                James 2:1-7

                “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?”

                The way he describes the rich in this chapter seems rather scolding and extremely harsh. The reason he seems to hate the rich people is because of what they've been doing. They are extremely corrupt, and most of them are abusing their rights to get the poor people under their control. They promise payment and never deliver. They force others to work for them with false promises of payment. They have been corrupted by the power that their money brings. And, according to James, they aren't going to get away with it.

                What can we pull away from this? Money corrupts many if not all hearts. We need to be careful with these kinds of things. As the famous Mr. Robertson once said:

“Absolute power corrupts, and power corrupts absolutely.”

                That’s all for this blog. If you want to say your own opinion on this passage, put it in the comments below.