What Is Real Faith?

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old received divine approval.” (Hebrews 11: 1 -2)

This is the biblical definition of faith, a concept that is often difficult for human beings to grasp because it entails believing in that which can’t be seen, touched, felt or physically examined, it is ethereal. For faith to be authentic it calls for trust coupled with action consistent with the will of God. Without it men of old would not have been moved to action and thus would not have received divine approval.

By faith Noah believed God and built an arc in spite of the fact that there was no water present and it had not begun to rain, he received approval from God and his family was saved from the flood. (Genesis 6)

By faith Abraham gathered wood for a fire and was prepared to sacrifice Isaac his only son from Sarah in blind obedience to God. It was a foreshadowing of God’s sacrifice of His only Son on a cross of wood, and by it Abraham received divine approval (Genesis 22)

The bible is replete with acts of men and women who by faith responded to the will of God. One of those was known as “The Good Samaritan”.

Though his name is not mentioned and is unknown, God knows him well. In a parable Jesus commented about the Samaritan’s faithfulness to the will of God by his compassionate response to the desperate needs of a total stranger he didn’t even know. Here is that story:

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.”

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” 

(Luke 10: 25 - 37)

What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

But some one will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, and the scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead. (James 2: 14 - 26)

Here is God’s only requirement for true believers that calls for obedience.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13: 34 - 35) 

“So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10: 32 - 33)

Jesus commands us to be faithful to His calling and responsive to His will. We do not acknowledge Him and deny Him when we fail to be responsive to the only commandment given to us as believers in Christ. When we see a fellow sinner who is seeking the forgiveness of God with a repentant and contrite heart and we look the other way rather than to try to help make them whole, we are denying the love of Christ who saved us.

For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? (Luke 9:25)

Barbarians - 1; Civilization - 0

There are times when I introduce relevant commentaries from some of my favorite Jewish sources. Todays article is very timely and comes with thanks to Rabbi Daniel Lapin’s “Thought Tools” which he regularly posts for the building up of biblical understanding and edification of both Jewish and Christian believers.

Moslems have inflicted at least twelve significant attacks in France during the past twelve months.  In these attacks, Moslems have murdered well over two hundred French citizens and by the time you read these words, the numbers may have increased.  Germany has endured a similar number of attacks with a slightly lower total of victims-so far. 

The French military is considered to be the fifth strongest in the world in terms of men and weapons on land, sea, and in the sky.  To give you an idea, they have over a quarter million troops, more than seven thousand armored fighting vehicles like tanks, more than one hundred warships and more than one thousand military aircraft.  That is a pretty formidable force.  

Not to be outdone, Germany fields a comparably daunting military. About two hundred thousand troops, about six thousand armored fighting vehicles, about eighty warships, and about seven hundred military aircraft.

Which forces honest people to confront a very basic question.  How can the descendants of Napoleon and Jean Lafitte, Rommel and Von Bismarck be rendered impotent by a bunch of barbarians?  How can these countries, who form the military backbone of NATO, be incapable of fulfilling their most basic obligations-protecting the lives and property of their own citizens-from the murderous mania of depraved savages?  

A good question, no?  Before I set about explaining this perplexing problem, let's quickly refute a common but mistaken explanation.  It goes something like this: It is impossible for conventional forces to defeat guerrillas or terrorists.  Not true.  The Israelis do it all the time.  The Russians have done it. The Dutch did it in 19th century Indonesia and the British did it in 1950s Malaya. A determined man will find a way to destroy an annoying mosquito but in the 21st century, France and Germany fail. 

In my view, ancient Jewish wisdom provides the best explanation.  I direct your attention to the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy.  If you've heard my Genesis Journeys series, you won't need my reminder that chapter divisions of Scripture did not appear until Archbishop Steven Langton arranged them in the 13th century. Even today, ancient Jewish wisdom ignores this recent innovation and instead, depends upon the original paragraphs to gain an accurate sense of which themes belong together.   

In a traditionally hand-written Torah scroll, Deuteronomy chapter 4 contains two separate, stand-alone paragraphs that are graphically and conspicuously demarcated.  The first runs from verse 1 through verse 24 while the second paragraph comprises verses 25 through 40.  

Now, I ask you to concentrate for just a bit more as we examine the thematic structure of these two paragraphs.  I'll assign the letters A through D to label the themes verse by verse.

This beautifully symmetrical structure is fairly common in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Tanach.  It is intended to communicate to us several insights but the one we'll see now is how the pattern can be graphically depicted by a 
triangle.

  

 Moving through Deuteronomy chapter 4, by theme, we go from the A (verse 1) at lower right up to the apex of D, and then down again back to A (verse 40).  Thus we see that the climax, which is to say the highpoint of the pattern is theme D-Idolatry angers God who collapses your culture.

Of course we do need to know what constitutes 'idolatry' these days when few people are still prostrating themselves to large stone images.  

Idolatry is any overarching schematic or comprehensive moral matrix, other than Biblical, by which individuals or societies organize their lives and order their priorities.

Germany and France are the largest and most influential members of the European Union and played the biggest roles in its formation.  The European Union has a constitution.  In terms of what we have been exploring above, its biggest flaw is not its impenetrability or its length (more than ten times longer than that of the United States) but that it makes no mention of God or the religion that sculpted Europe, Christianity.  

This indicates that Europe's organizing principle is certainly not Christianity.  Its overarching moral matrix, or if you prefer, its belief system is what I call secular fundamentalism.  

In contrast to Biblical belief and God's rules, this religion postulates the following ten principles:

• There are no ultimate Divine rules of human organization

• As a source of good, government trumps God

• Equality is a higher value than freedom

• All cultures are as good as all other cultures, hence multiculturalism is a value

• National boundaries and cultural distinctions are meaningless

• Citizens serve government rather than the reverse

• Society lacks the right to take the lives of marauders 

• Religion is regressive and plays no role in the lives of thoughtful moderns

• There is no absolute good and it follows, neither is there any absolute evil

• Courage means nothing; cowardice is offending nobody which means everything

I have no doubt that by extirpating Christianity, Europe has rendered itself incapable of recognizing its culture or defending its citizens.  A man who sees no value to his blood will allow the mosquito to continue draining it. 

Did you know that according to Pew Research more than half of young Americans aged 18-29 have favorable views of socialism and that this number is growing?  To understand why this is both anti-Biblical and desperately dangerous,  Let's avoid the fate of France and Germany. I implore you to equip yourself with the 2-hour audio program and study guide that we prepared entitled Tower of Power: Decoding the Secrets of Babel.

 www.rabbidaniellapin.com

An Astounding Revelation

I felt compelled to expand on the verses in John 1 cited in the last commentary, it is filled with the revelation of the nature and personhood of God. It is such a blessing to understand and to share with others that they may have that same understanding, knowing that in spite off all the hyperbole expounded on continuously by the media concerning mankind’s need to control the earth’s environment, which is born out of ignorant arrogance, that God is in final control of all things.

There has always been two differing views concerning the origin of the universe and specifically of this planet we live on called earth. There is the creationist’s concept that comes straight out of the bible in Genesis, and there is the evolutionists view some of which is based on scientific evidence and some on pure speculation. Both concepts may actually dovetail and simply be two halves of the whole story. Unfortunately human beings have a penchant for tunnel vision and doggedly hang on to their own theory while flatly rejecting the other entirely. They miss something important concerning the existence of the Intelligent Designer of the universe whose existence is not governed by time like that of human beings.

(Psalm 90: 2,4) Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.

In the very first pages of the bible we find an astounding account of how God spoke the universe and our world into existence by His “Word”. Take note of that Word as it is indicative of the second person of God’s tripartite personality, the Father, the Son and His Holy Spirit.

Genesis 1: 1 - 5) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

(John 1: 1 - 3,14) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Here again in the first chapter of John in the New Testament we have an expanded view of creation as John, who was an apostle of Jesus Christ, had an intimate understanding of who Christ is and how the pre-incarnate Christ was in fact the Word of God who spoke the universe into existence and that the triune God does not operate independently of His own three personas.

(John 1: 4 - 5) In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John goes on to expound on how Christ is the Author of life and that outside of His will men would not exist and that darkness will not exist when exposed to the light. Jesus had come to be a light to a world darkened by sin and all manner of evil and to reconcile mankind to the Father. 

(Genesis 1: 26 - 27) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

In Genesis we can clearly understand how the tripartite nature of God works in unison as one, as foreign it is to our finite minds to grasp consider our own human makeup. We have a physical body, then there is the soul which is usually referred to as the ego or the will, then there is the spirit of life in us given by God that will return again to God, that electric spark of life that speaks at times to our conscience and gives us empathy and a heart for others. So this in essence is our own tripartite nature made in the image of God.

(John 1: 10 - 11) He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 

Here John expands on what he had said earlier in Vs 4 & 5. He was born to the Jews but they refused to acknowledge Him. The very idea that He is the incarnation of God Himself, the one who created the universe and everything in it was inconceivable to them. In spite of their religion, the trappings of the temple, it’s significance pointing to the sinfulness of man and the reasons for sacrifice had gone over their heads, their minds had been darkened. “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him”. 

There are those that do acknowledge and receive Him, predominant among them are those of the gentile nations who have acknowledged their own sinful nature and a need for His salvation that was purchased by His own sacrifice on the cross which He offers freely to all.  

(John1: 12 - 13) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 

As we clearly see the coming of an end of an age it is incumbent on all to consider what the Risen Christ said to John who was in exile for his faith on the Isle of Patmos.

(Revelation 1: 7 - 8) Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Who Is That Knocking At Your Door?

I am referring to two major cults which in essence are unwitting agents of Satan who is relentlessly seeking after your soul, beware of them and shun their advances! They are wolves in sheep clothing playing at religion, the main premise of the first group’s belief is based in a denial of the divinity of Christ referring to Jesus as (a god) which is a lying blasphemy. I'm going to present good reasons to avoid those people.

Here we have the revelation of who Jesus the Christ is embodied in a few short paragraphs: (John 1: 1 - 14) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

(John 10:30) Jesus said,"I and My Father are one.” 

(1 John 2:23) ”Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” This sums up the fact that Jesus was and is the physical embodiment of God on earth, which religious cults deny completely. Do not encourage the agents of religious cults that come to your home under the pretext of religious zeal, bibles in hand and pamphlets to hand out, they may appear to be acceptable using pious platitudes and trite religious sayings but beware of them because things are not always as they seem. 
(2 John 9-11) “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds."

They refer to their bible tract society as their profit and since have prophesied the end of the world several times giving specific dates among other events that haven't come to pass. (Deuteronomy 18: 21-22) gives a definition of what a prophet is not. "And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”

Paul talks about this, ( 2 Cor. 11: 13 - 15) "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works."

(John 14:6) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." 

There is yet a second insidious cult at work deceiving those not versed in the truth and posing as missionaries, knocking on doors in pairs of two, clean cut appearing they come bringing a different gospel, cloaked as it were behind the original gospel of Christ. They have another book they claim is more relevant than the bible. Do not listen to them and shun them, they are also agents of perdition seeking after the souls of those not versed in the scriptural truth of Christ found in the holy bible. They will talk about Jesus, but it’s a different Jesus who had many wives and not the true Jesus of the bible. They insist that those all can be gods in the next life upon becoming adherents to their false doctrine.

(1 Galatians 1: 6 - 9) I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

Sneering At Virtue

Occasionally I get great inspiration by reading “Thought Tools” presented by this biblically inspired man Rabbi Daniel Lapin. With permission I am reprinting his latest commentary which I think is very timely and something that deserves our immediate attention in the dark days ahead.

                                              Sneering At Virtue

Here is one of the most important lessons to teach your children:  Wrongdoers detest those who don't join in.  It's also not a bad lesson for you to understand and absorb if you want a clear picture of the behind-the-scenes politics in your place of business.  It is just as necessary in order to understand how power and money have corrupted much of our political process.  

More than one dedicated and idealistic candidate has won election promising to become a representative of the people.  Finding his place in the corridors of power, he discovers to his dismay that many of his colleagues are there to feather their nests.  What is more, he is quickly made to understand that if he holds himself aloof and refrains from participation in the plunder he will never receive invitations to the best parties. More seriously, he will be overlooked for committee appointments. There are no easy ways to deal with this reality, leading many earnest and well-intentioned people to succumb to the enticements of power.  It is very difficult to live with one's virtue being mocked.

Though far less prevalent in the private sector, there are certainly bad players who create a toxic culture of exploiting the company, other associates, or their customers.  This puts the "good guy" in a very tricky situation because wrongdoers detest those who don't join in.  As an associate with integrity you can't blend in.  However, if you don't do so, you will seldom be allowed to go about your business peacefully.  Those up to their necks in the toxic culture will imagine or feel your unspoken contempt and will strive to undermine you.  There is usually little option but to move departments or jobs. Living with those who sneer at one's virtue is painful.

This is particularly hard for children in school, since they seldom have options for changing their social circles.  The serious and moral student is often derailed by the taunts of his friends who loathe his taking the high road.

There is no simple solution or tidy little trick for coping with hatred of virtue.  In the Bible, one prophet after another encountered the hostility of the population as he not only refrained from joining in the general decadence but railed against it.  Not surprisingly the prophets' lives were often imperiled by the virtue they preached.

Therefore, so says the Lord of Hosts concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your (Jeremiah's)  life, saying, "If you do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, then you will not die by our hand." (Jeremiah 11:21)

This hatred of virtue is what lies behind two millennia of Jew hatred.  Not to say that every Jew is virtuous, of course. But the substance of a basic moral code for humanity entered the world when God gave His message for mankind to Moses on Mt Sinai. Many resent it.  Were there no Abraham and no Moses, there'd be no shared description of morality.  Anti-Semitism merely echoes the world's dismay at God's message.

People sometimes say that no Godly source of morality is needed since all humans have a deep internal sense of right and wrong.  Would that it were so. If it were, Jean Jacques Rousseau's ignorant theory of the noble savage would be true. Cannibalism would never have occurred in precolonial Africa.  Hideous tortures inflicted by Indians, native to both North and South America upon their own kind would never have taken place. No, without God's message of morality, a standard of morality wouldn't exist.  For many people, that would have been a preferable outcome.  They (and often they are Jewish themselves) hate the Jews for originally bringing virtue into the world.

Inoculating your children can best be achieved by teaching them of this phenomenon.  Whatever the threat, it is always diminished by familiarity.  The unknown is far scarier than the known.  Let them know long before they encounter it that it those who do wrong try and involve others while despising and disparaging those who don't join in.  There is no live-and-let-live when evil hates virtue. The prototype for this eternal truth appears early in Genesis. Noah didn't simply build an ark, he built it with his sons while facing threats and jeers from his wrong-doing neighbors.

       American Alliance of Jews & Christians  thoughttools@RabbiDanielLapin.com 

The Passover In Easter

Passover which is celebrated the world over by Jews this year falls on April 23rd and is a religious holy day to some and to others simply a Jewish tradition. It is representative of a time long ago when the Hebrews were released from bondage in ancient Egypt. Passover and Easter are both celebrated in the Spring but rarely fall at the same time due to the differences between Jewish and Julian calendars.

(Exodus 12: 1 - 14)  Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire, its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 

(Vs 29 - 32)  And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”

Today Christians celebrate Easter which corresponds to Passover, an ancient harbinger of a much greater future event when God Himself provided the final answer to man’s bondage to sin and death in the person of God’s own Son Jesus Christ, the lamb without blemish and spot who willingly shed his own blood and died on a Roman cross, followed three days later by His miraculous resurrection thus becoming the firstborn of a dead human race and a new creation impervious to death and the hope of all mankind.

(Luke 23: 44 - 47) Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last. So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

According to (1 Kings 6:2) Solomon’s temple was 30 cubits high but Herod had increased the height to 40 cubits, according to the writings of Josephus, a first century Jewish historian. There is uncertainty as to the exact measurement of a cubit, but it is safe to assume that this veil was somewhere near 60 feet high. An early Jewish tradition says that the veil was about four inches thick. The book of Exodus teaches that this thick veil was fashioned from blue, purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. The temple veil separated the Holy of Holies from the worshipers and the chief priest himself was the only one to enter once a year and pour the blood of a lamb on the mercy seat thus rolling back the sins of Israel for a year.

Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman:  (John 4: 21 - 24) Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

When Jesus died on that cross the veil in the temple was rent in two from top to bottom which was to signify that God will no longer meet with men in buildings built with human hands but would indwell all who received Him in spirit and in truth. The risen Christ has shed His own blood whereby we can mark the lintel and doorposts of our hearts.

(Revelation 3:20) “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” This is the true passover where all who receive Him pass from certain death to sin and enter into eternal life.

(Matthew 28: 1 - 7) Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

(2 Corinthians 5: 17 - 21) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The Pseudo Christian

The tare (Lolium temulentum) is a troublesome weed known as the darnel, it appears to look like wheat and is also known as poison ryegrass. Jesus refers to tares in a parable describing something that is analogous to the makeup of the church where there are always a few if not many in the congregation that are not real believers in Christ and who are there to be seen as “good church going people” on their resume, or to take advantage of potential business contacts. Some simply prefer the church environment for their children, others may be attracted to the dynamic preacher and enjoy the entertainment often provided by the music and choir. Sadly many of these have never confessed their personal need for Christ and never prayed to accept Him as Savior and Lord. The parable also describes the world at large who is living outside of Christ.

(Matthew 13: 24 - 30) Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

How often we read articles and commentaries about supposed Christians who seem to get satisfaction for upbraiding, criticizing and ostracizing those who for some reason are different, those who are homosexuals or others having a gender identification different than from their birth, and anyone whose lifestyle or eccentric appearance may seem to be outside of the normal mainstream. This begs the question, “What would Jesus do concerning these kinds of people?”

(Mark 2: 15 - 17) Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

(John 8: 2 - 11) Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Unfortunately there are many who do not understand the gospel and the significance of how Christ’s death and resurrection drove a stake through the heart of the condemnation of old covenant laws. They can’t resist resorting to old testament legalism to mistreat and antagonize others whom they are constitutionally unwilling to accept. It is explained well by the Apostle Paul in the following analogy…

(Romans 7: 1 - 4) Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 

It is a shame that some (called) Christians refuse to enter into the will of God in Christ and obey two simple new commandments, the spirit of which supersedes all the “Thou shalt not” condemnation of the old testament law and gives only two new laws which embody the spirit of the new life of man with God.

(Mark 12: 29 - 31) “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Last and most important for those modern day stone throwers who would divide and cause separation of those with whom they are not comfortable with, consider the will of God spoken by Christ. This taken from scripture is out of context but is applicable in a very real sense to those we speak of here as we have no right to ostracize and marginalize those for whom Christ had also died.

(You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us; you have slain and not pitied. You have made us an offscouring and refuse In the midst of the peoples. All our enemies have opened their mouths against us, fear and a snare have come upon us.)

(Luke11: 23) Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”