A Plea to seek Life – to the Islamist, the Jew, the Israelite, the Legalist, the Atheist… (Response to an Islamist who blasphemed Jesus as Messiah)
The Torah’s specific purpose is to point you to Jesus as your Messiah and if you reject Jesus, you reject Torah (John 5:46). If you die in Torah, you will perish in Hell as well (Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:10; James 2:10).
The Quran is a work of the Devil as Islam’s Allah is Satan masquerading as an angel of light via the Arabic Moon god (2 Corinthians 11:14). Islam is born of adultery between Abraham – Hagar producing the “wild donkey” named Ishmael (Genesis 16:12) who is the progenitor of the Ishmaelites who are the progenitors of a 7th-Century demon possessed pedophile, murderer, thief, named Muhammad who plagiarized the Torah to construct the Quran in an effort to convince the Jews in Media to follow the ways of the book-or Islam…there is no life in the Quran or the Torah…neither provide atonement for your sin (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 10:4)…
Only the shed innocent blood of Jesus will atone for your sin and without Jesus as your Lord to Mediate that sin before the Father, you have no hope (John 3:16-19; 14:6; 8:24). You are on a path of darkness and hopeless headed to Perdition in nihilism and meaninglessness…repent, trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior…LIVE!
24 Seeing the man’s sadness, Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus was not using hyperbole but His audience understood the import of His statement and analogy as they could relate to the “eye of the needle” and the camel in an experiential way we cannot in modern times. In ancient cities, there was a wall around them to provide security for the citizenry within and these walls had rather large main gates at various positions to allow ingress/egress during the daylight hours; during the night hours, security was a concern; therefore, a small gate was constructed adjacent to the large gate or at a strategic place in the wall sufficiently large for a person to pass through and enter the city after dark to access protection and shelter…this small gate was referred to as the “eye of the needle” and only required one or two guards to maintain security.
Jesus is teaching that it’s NOT impossible for a camel to pass through the “eye of a needle” but that a laden camel must first be unloaded, its possessions, its cargo, removed and the camel would most likely have to get on its knees and scoot through the narrow opening with much difficulty. Jesus is teaching that one must place their wealth, their possessions, in the proper perspective in order to enter the Kingdom of God…lay aside all encumbrances and make God and His Kingdom your number-one priority…then you can return and take possession of your wealth, your property, and use them for God’s glory with thanksgiving.
In the New Covenant of Grace as opposed to the Covenant of Law, the Holy Spirit is given as an eternal Gift to the one who believes with a sincere heart that Jesus is Lord who died to pay their sin-debt and it is the Holy Spirit who is the seal and Guarantor of covenant relationship with the Father, forever (Ephesians 1:13-14; John 14:16); contrast this work of the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant with the Spirit’s work in the Covenant of Law where the Holy Spirit was only given to specific individuals who were tasked by God with a Kingdom responsibility that mandated specific anointing and the Holy Spirit, in the Covenant of Law, could be taken away – removed for disobedience to God’s will (Psalm 51:11).
When one believes that Jesus is Lord and receives the Holy Spirit of Promise in the New Covenant, they receive every ounce of the Spirit’s presence, omnipotence, gifts, they will ever receive; unfortunately, there are those in the world of “charismata” that believe a filling of the Holy Spirit manifests subsequent to salvation but this is an error that often times leads to heresy and apostasy through works of self-righteousness or a works salvation doctrine e.g. tongues mandated to verify salvation, the “filling of the Spirit” as in some factions of Pentecostalism. This charismatic heresy leads to schisms in the Church body, self-righteousness, pride, arrogance, fear and doubt over one’s salvation status if they don’t participate in the pagan practice of gibberish – ecstatic utterance in an “unknown tongue.”
When the Holy Spirit is given as the Guarantor of our relationship with God by faith in Jesus as Lord, the power and the work of the Holy Spirit within us is wholly dependent and contingent upon the individual surrendering to the will and work of the Spirit in their life through obedience and study of the Scriptures and diligence in prayer and one’s desire to be pleasing to the Father using the gifts that have been given them (1 Corinthians 12:8-10) through the Spirit’s leadership in the daily process of sanctification (Galatians 5:16). Apart from the Holy Spirit’s work in your life, you can do nothing that positively impacts the Kingdom of God and only those works done through the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance will successfully pass judgment at the BEMA Seat Judgment of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10-14; 2 Corinthians 5:10).
In conclusion, it’s NOT about how much of the Spirit you possess…it’s about how much of yourself are you willing to give to the work of God and how much are you willing to commit to God’s will for your life? The Holy Spirit is completely capable of using your life to impact the Kingdom of God for good but the question is, are you willing to step-out in faith with courage and allow the Holy Spirit to work through you to accomplish His will in Time and Eternity in this wicked and adulterous generation?
Hell was not created for mankind but specifically for Satan and the fallen angels (Matthew 25:41); mankind will enter Hell by choice/free will through unbelief; that is, rejecting faith in Jesus as Lord who died to pay our sin-debt (John 14:6; John 3:16-18; John 8:24). Mankind who has rejected Jesus will not stand in the Judgment of the Condemned (Revelation 20:11-15) in spiritual form only but those who stand in the Great White Throne Judgment will have received a resurrected body of corruption (John 5:29) as they are extricated from Hades/Sheol-Torments (Luke 16) and they will be judged in that body of corruption for the sin they have committed during their life constrained by Time and physics; the condemned will be adjudicated “guilty” for sin and their name will not be found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and they will be cast into the Lake of Fire/Gehenna and they will suffer commensurate to the evil done in their body while in Time and then die the “second death” for eternity in nihilism and meaninglessness.
The second death is necessary as nothing impure is permitted to enter the Kingdom of God (Revelation 21:27) and only those who have received forgiveness of sin and the imputation of Messiah Jesus’ righteousness into their life by faith in Him as their Lord (2 Corinthians 5:21) will be resurrected in righteousness (Luke 14:14; John 5:29) and receive a resurrected body likened to that of Jesus Himself (Philippians 3:21) and these will enter the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21) and serve Jesus Christ forever to glorify our Lord for what He has done for us by selfless love in defeating the Evil One (1 John 3:8b).
Matt 8:12 – while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matt 13:42 – and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matt 13:50 – and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matt 22:13 – Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Matt 24:51 – He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matt 25:30 – As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Luke 13:28 – There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out.
Must I believe that Jesus is God in order to be saved from sin and receive eternal life?
Jesus specifically warned a Jewish audience in John 8:24 stating,
24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
In the Greek text, the “He” is not present, and the Scripture therefore reads,
“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”
“I am” from John 8:24 in the Greek reads as follows,
1. **I = egó:** I (only expressed when emphatic)Original Word: ἐγώPart of Speech: Personal PronounTransliteration: egóPhonetic Spelling: (eg-o’)Definition: I (only expressed when emphatic)Usage: I, the first-person pronoun.
2. am = eimí (the basic Greek verb which expresses being, i.e. “to be”) – am, is. 1510 (eimí), and its counterparts, (properly) convey “straight-forward” being (existence, i.e. without explicit limits). **eimí (“is, am”)** – in the present tense, indicative mood – can be time-inclusive (“omnitemporal,” like the Hebrew imperfect tense). Only the context indicates whether the present tense also has “timeless” implications. For example, 1510 (eimí) is aptly used in Christ’s great “I am” (ego eimi . . . ) that also include His eternality (self-existent life) as our life, bread, light,” etc. See Jn 7:34, 8:58, etc.Example: Jn 14:6: “I am (1510 /eimí) the way, the truth and the life.” Here 1510 (eimí) naturally accords with the fact Christ is eternal – maning “I am (was, will be).” The “I am formula (Gk egō eimi)” harks back to God’s only name, “Yahweh” (OT/3068, “the lord”) – meaning “He who always was, is, and will be.” Compare Jn 8:58 with Ex 3:14. See also Rev 4:8 and 2962 /kýrios (“Lord”).
Discussion,
Must one initially believe or understand that Jesus is God, Elohim, I AM, to be saved by grace through faith and enter into covenant relationship with the Father and receive eternal life through the indwelling Holy Spirit? No…BUT…the one who is truly born again by faith in Jesus as Lord having believed with a sincere heart that Jesus Christ died to pay their sin-debt and they believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead for their justification leading to eternal life (Romans 10:9-10), the one who is truly born again WILL UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS GOD HAVING MANIFEST IN FLESH TO PROVIDE BLOOD ATONEMENT FOR THEIR SIN. If anyone suggests they are a child of the Living God, a Christian by faith in Jesus as Lord, and they reject the deity of Jesus Christ, they do NOT possess the Holy Spirit and they remain in their sin.
It is the indwelling Holy Spirit who is our Teacher, our Wisdom, our Knowledge, concerning spiritual matters (1 John 2:27; John 14:26) and the one who possesses the Holy Spirit as Guarantor of covenant relationship with the Father by faith in Jesus as Lord (Ephesians 1:13-14) will KNOW that Jesus is God, Creator, Elohim, I AM, eternally (1 John 2:22). Do not be deceived! It is a Christian’s acknowledgement and understanding that Jesus Christ is God, eternally, that differentiates the Christian from every religion, sect, cult in the World.
Does the Apostle Paul seek to abolish the Law of the Covenant?
Paul does not abolish the Law but places the Law in its proper perspective. The Law was given because of transgressions (Galatians 3:19) and the Law defines God’s holiness and our culpability before God but the Law provides no form of atonement leading to eternal life (Romans 3:20); therefore, Paul warns the obstinate, self-righteous, Jews that seeking self-righteousness through Law is futile because the Law mandates absolute perfection if one is to attain righteousness through it (James 2:10) and mankind is encumbered with a sin-nature (Romans 7:14-25) and all of mankind (with the exception of Jesus) has sinned and fallen short of God’s righteous standards (Romans 3:23); therefore, the Law only condemns and curses mankind to death in Hell (Galatians 3:10) by defining our culpability while offering no escape from Hell (Romans 3:20); but…
God did not leave us in our hopeless condition; God the Father sent the Son (John 3:16) in a body like ours (Philippians 2) but without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) because Jesus circumvented the sin-nature of Adam’s seed through the virgin birth (Genesis 3:15; Romans 5:12) and Jesus therefore walked among man and before the Father without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; John 8:46) and became our only acceptable blood sacrifice for sin in accordance with Leviticus 17:11 (John 14:6) and God the Father commanded that Jesus walk to the horrors of a Roman Cross (Luke 22:42) and shed His innocent blood for YOU and by trusting-believing in what Jesus did for you on that Cross at Golgotha (John 3:16-18), God the Father by Grace (unmerited favor) through your faith in Jesus as Lord agrees to declare you “not guilty” of all sin (past-present-future) (Hebrews 8:12) and God promises to impute the perfection, the righteousness, of Jesus into your life and give you His Holy Spirit to dwell within you, forever, and guide you in the ways of holiness through sanctification and prepare you for service in the New Jerusalem (Ephesians 1:13-14; John 14:16; 1 John 2:27; Galatians 5:16).
Paul does not speak against the Law as the Law is good and Holy as it defines our need for an Intercessor (Romans 7:7-12), Paul simply emphasis the TRUTH that Law saves no one and only faith in the Law Giver, Jesus Christ, will you find life with the Father and eternal life in the Kingdom of God (Romans 10:9-10).
When was our Redeemer first introduced in Scripture by the Holy Spirit?
Our Redeemer is first introduced in Genesis 3:15 entering the Realm of Time through the womb of a virgin woman to circumvent the sin-nature of Adam and to do battle with the Evil One, Satan, and the battle strategy our Redeemer would use to destroy the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8b), the Gospel, is first pictured in Genesis 3:21 with the shedding of innocent blood by Elohim who takes an imputed robe of righteous provided by God (animal skins) and covers the sin of Adam and Eve (2 Corinthians 5:21) while God rejects the self-righteousness of Adam and Eve to cover their own sin by the works of their hands (fig leaves) (Ephesians 2:8-9). This selfless act of redemption by God was ultimately fulfilled upon a Roman Cross 4000-years later by Jesus Christ at Golgotha outside of Jerusalem, Israel with the words “It is finished.” (John 19:30).
Why is the Torah (Covenant of Law) inferior to the New Covenant of Grace? (Hebrews 8:7)
When you seek forgiveness and righteousness through the Hebrew Scriptures, remember that mankind was made “right” with God by faith, alone (Hebrews 11)…repentance is good and necessary for salvation (Luke 13:3) but remember that there was no eternal atonement for sin in the Hebrew Scriptures (Hebrews 10:4) and this made relevant the place of the dead known as Sheol where the faithful in God awaited the blood atonement of Messiah Jesus (Luke 16; Psalm 16:10).
Yes, one could experience righteousness (a right standing) before God in the Hebrew Scriptures by “faith” as demonstrated by Enoch, Abraham, David (Hebrews 11), but their sin had not received the atonement; therefore, they awaited Messiah in Sheol (the place of the dead) because nothing impure is permitted to enter the Kingdom of God (Psalm 16:10; Revelation 21:27) and this is why the Kingdom of God/Heaven is almost completely absent in the Hebrew Scriptures…it was not relevant for mankind at that time but has become relevant with the New Covenant and the revelation of Jesus Christ and His blood atonement for sin (2 Corinthians 5:8; Matthew 26:28); therefore, Sheol/Hades for the righteous dead in body is no longer relevant as those who die in Jesus Christ are instantaneously ushered into the presence of God (Psalm 16:10; 2 Corinthians 5:8; John 11:17-44).
If you die in Torah you will die the “second death” in Perdition because you have rejected the atoning blood sacrifice of Messiah Jesus and you will die in your sin (John 8:24). Trusting – believing that Jesus Christ died to pay your sin-debt is the only Way to the Father and eternal life (John 14:6).
Why do millions worship on Sunday instead of the Sabbath?
Elohim separated light from darkness on the First-Day (Genesis 1:3-5); the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead on the First-Day (Romans 8:11-13); the Holy Spirit initiated the New Covenant Church at Pentecost on the First-Day; those who sought the Gospel initially met in the synagogues where the Apostles discussed the Gospel on the Sabbath (Acts 15:21; Acts 17:2) as this is where the Jews were gathered and the Gospel was given to them first though they rejected it (Acts 13:46), but when “Christian” believers began to gather together to honor our Lord Jesus, share the Scriptures, share our Lord’s supper, gather collections for the poor, they met on the First-Day (1 Corinthians 16:2; Acts 20:7,11,13) as the New Covenant was to be totally NEW and set apart from the OLD as new wine in new wine skins (Mark 2:22).
The Sabbath edict was given solely to Jacob’s children via Moses beginning in Exodus 16 and the Sabbath was to be a sign between God and Israel, alone (Ezekiel 20:12; Exodus 31:13). Never was a Gentile given the Sabbath other than those seeking inclusion into Israel’s society and thereby placing themself under the Law of the Covenant. In the New Covenant, Jesus is the fulfillment of what the Sabbath edict foreshadowed (Colossians 2:16); that is, a spiritual rest from striving after righteousness via works of the Law that only defined sin but provided no atonement (Romans 3:20; 7:6)…Jesus is my Sabbath rest in the New Covenant (Hebrews 4) and those who take refuge in Jesus as Lord by faith are not obligated to days, festivals, sabbaths, but Jesus is the fulfillment of these ceremonial edicts and Jesus is our God, Savior, Mediator, Creator, Peace.
In Jesus, I am free to worship, rest, honor my Lord, on any day or every day I choose in accordance with the Holy Spirit’s guidance and this includes Sunday and/or Saturday (Romans 14).
Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. Romans 14:5-6 ESV .
The Holy Spirit has told you that Jesus is God born of a virgin woman (Genesis 3:15) to circumvent the sin-nature passed to all of humanity via Adam’s seed (Romans 5:12) and through that virgin birth, Jesus entered Time and walked without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) and shed His innocent blood to make atonement for your sin (Romans 5:1) in accordance with the mandates of Leviticus 17:11.
Jesus as your Lord and Mediator for sin through His atoning sacrifice is the ONLY WAY (John 14:6) you will experience the rebirth by the Holy Spirit (John 3), covenant relationship with the Father (1 John 2:23), eternal life (John 3:16) and the resurrection of the righteous (John 11:25).
"RickeyD" Holtsclaw 