Legend: This is to help those who want to understand my color coding of Scripture, it is a separate Key apart from what I post below merely to help give understanding of why I highlight things the way I do, namely so as to bring out greater clarity from the Word of God.  Here’s the Key:

• Any shade of BLUE = Judgment of God on or over sin.
  
• Any shade of GREEN = grace, forgiveness, salvation, redemption.
• Any shade of RED =  sin, lawlessness, transgression, evil
• Any shade of ORANGE = the Character or Nature of God — Who God is.
• Any shade of PURPLE = commands to obey, passages that speak with authority on how a Christian or the men of this world should live.
• White on Black is merely there for emphasis.  Kind of zeroing in on the key part of a passage.

Please likewise note, this only applies to Scripture passages.  What I write of my own is merely off-colored to give greater emphasis to certain thoughts.  Sometimes this highlighting does follow my themes…. just as often it doesn’t.

What follows is the text of a comment I made elsewhere at Xanga.  As I said in my last post, most of my “theology” is reactionary, being explained as I respond to things I see or read.  This is a clear example. 

@akarui_mitsukai - Let me take one comment from your comment and talk about that for a second.  (This is a total aside to what you said in your blog and please take it as such.)

You said: I believe it is our job to love rather than to judge. We get so worried with pointing out the sin in others that we forget we are to love, more importantly.

Let me ask you a question — can a person be saved WITHOUT understanding their sin against God?  Can a person be saved if they don’t see their sin as “sin”?  The plain fact is, you can’t save someone if you don’t first explain what it is they need to be saved “from”. 

(This statement is a footnote, please read it as such.) As for the use of the word “Judge” in your comment — it is not “judging” another if I am telling them the truth, if I am speaking exactly to them as God, Himself, one day shall.  People don’t like to hear this and will cry foul BECAUSE THEY LOVE THEIR SIN.  (John 3:19-20) 

Think of it this way… light shows us our way because by it we can see — if I find someone who’s lost, in the dark, and in perilous danger, even though the light of my flashlight might blind them momentarily, it is not unjust to point that light upon them to show them where they can safely move…. once their eyes have adjusted.  The gospel is rightly called “Light”…. because men are blind and need to see.  And it is not “Judging them” to show them their sin as the danger which will ultimately condemn them.  (end footnote)

Jesus death on the cross — the focal point of all Christianity — served the purpose not of joining hands man to God… like we’re some long lost cosmic buddies.  The point of his death was to make atonement for sin.  Every major sermon in the book of Acts deals with sin at some point.   I love Acts 17:30 —

God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.

That is the crux of our preaching, the very heart of what we say to men — (1)you have sinned against God, and until this point, He’s been very gracious to you… (2)but you will face a day of Judgment and (4)God calls you to repent of your sins and turn to Him (3)through Christ.

The order of this is likewise very important.  First we call men’s attention to the Fact of God’s grace.  The fact that God has not paid them back for all the things they’ve stolen, all the times they’ve lied, all the times they’ve looked at pornography, all the times they’ve lusted, and yes… all the times they’ve fantasized about being something they’re not, or about Homosexuality, or greed or gluttony… Sins can be deliberate or they can be unintentional, but either way, they are sins.  God’s Grace has indeed spared them THIS FAR…

But (secondly) God has stated plainly that “Your sins will face Judgment” and nowhere is this clearer than (thirdly) on the Cross of Christ.   Jesus death was an exact representation of what our sins deserve — scourging, beating, mocking, scorning, hammered-to-a-hunk-of-wood-and-left-to-die-horribly …. Jesus took it all upon himself to show us GRAPHICALLY just how serious God takes the matter of sin.

But that’s only one side of the Cross.  While it violently depicts the judgment of God on sin, it also (fourthly) equally displays the loving-kindness of God in that He made Jesus the scapegoat for our sins — placing our sins upon Christ and leaving them there.  This is why we’re called to trust and believe in Christ as a payment for our sins.

(1) God’s Grace
(2) Our Sin
(3) Christ’s Cross
(4) God’s commands for us to believe and repent.

But if we don’t cover sin in part (2) — they will never comprehend the repent of part (4).

If we seek to bring men to God APART FROM REPENTANCE… we lead men down a broad road that takes them to damnation, not forgiveness.  Proverbs 28:13 spells this out pretty plainly: He who hides his sin shall not prosper, but whoever CONFESSES AND FORSAKES their sin shall obtain mercy.

So…. wrapping it all up in a short statement  (well…. kinda short… most people stop at John 3:16 and don’t carry through to the end of the thought… let’s carry it through to John 3:21 for clarity):

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.

Men are enemies of God, even though they think otherwise (Romans 5:8,10; Colossians 1:21; Ephesians 4:18-19) and until they comprehend that their sins have made them so…. there will never be a true conversion of the heart, only a continuance of playing games with sin, only now in the name of Jesus.

It is our responsibility as Christians to speak clearly about Truth — not as we see it, but as God presented it — because failing to do so will ultimately leave men lost and condemned for having not heard the full saving Gospel… which does include salvation from their sins.

Remember — before Paul preaches Grace in Romans… he first goes through 3 chapters of “Sin”.  Even in Scripture… this manner of showing men their sins before extending to them “Grace” seems predominant.

Ok, so I now have all my blog posts over at WordPress…. so why am I still posting on Xanga?  Old habits die hard, and I guess I really do like the format here better.

Anyway, been reflecting on the last 4 years of Xanga postings and something that @Ehrinn_I said to me during the first year of that time regarding how radically different my posts came to be.  Whereas I used to be super personal, though still reflective of Christian thoughts and attitudes, I became less personal and more directly theological: that is to say more tied to presenting Scripture and God in very direct terms.  Straightforward, in your face, “the Bible does have the answers” blogger.

And most of my readership dwindled…. esp. from ReveLife’s editors.   (That was an inside joke and a direct poke.)  The more I read over (and commented or responded to things) at that convoluted “c“hristian website, the more angry I would become because of the BAD (as in HORRIBLY BAD) stuff being passed around “in Jesus name”.  As though people no longer cared what the Bible had to say, opinion trumps God, or worse, puts thoughts into the mouth of God.  Any opinion seemingly has more value over there at ReveLife, so long as it doesn’t reflect any sort of ABSOLUTE or authoritative air.  (such as “Homosexuality IS a sin” or “God WILL NOT tolerate false teachers.”) 

I never minded the dwindling readership — God brings in those He will, and I am fine with that.  I stopped looking at footprints about 6 years ago.  I wrote what I wrote because it was true, because it reflected solid truth and because I felt compelled to respond to the insanity that has grown up around modern Christianity.  I have roughly 20% of the New Testament and 5% of the Old Testament memorized, and I can pretty much tell you what the chapter and verse would be for just about anything you could quote me.  This came from a challenge from a pastor 25+ years ago. 

But I am side-tracking myself….

When I first started on Facebook 4-5 years ago, I was completely unprepared for what it would show me.  I befriended anyone I knew, and many Christian Music Artists I’d grown up around. 

Back in the early 80′s

• I was working stage crew and security for a Christian concert promoter in Chicago, 
• I was a volunteer worker for Cornerstone 84, 85, 87 & 89,
• I also did artist interviews at all of those C-Stone festivals,
• I worked as a Radio DJ (twice),
• I wrote for several Christian music themed magazines….
• and I even held a position (albeit volunteer… still, I was behind the counter) at the coolest Christian Music store on the planet — True Tunes, Etc.  (I was in charge of the Auctions Catalog from 88-90)
• I ran my own Christian Music company called “Shuman’s ODD SOCKS”.   
• All of this before I was “JulieMillerFan” on Ebay.

In short I had a long history in Christian music, met many of the singers, and felt comfortable enough to ask many of them to become Facebook friends.

And that’s where it all started.   As Facebook started to show me more clearly the thought lives of these individuals, and how far many of them actually were from Evangelical Christianity…..  And add to this mix many Xanga friends who became Facebook friends who also would say / do / post / reflect non-Christian attitudes and beliefs towards things….. as Facebook started showing me all this stuff…. I reacted.

• I reacted by challenging folks to see the Truth of the Bible.
• I reacted by challenging them to understand that what we “think” about something is irrelevant if God has already given us an answer to the topic.
• I reacted by writing lengthy comments and conversations which would later work themselves into posts.
• I reacted by honing my theology (study, knowledge, understanding of God) in opposition to all these Liberal-minded so-called Christians who think that it doesn’t matter if the Bible says something — obviously the bible must be wrong.

I reacted by learning, growing and producing 4 years worth of blogs which have become some of the finest things I have written — in a long history of writing and being published.  (My first published article was back in 1985, believe it or not.)  I reacted by learning how to apply my knowledge of Scripture and so many other things — and present the truth apologetically.   That means “In defense of the faith”.

I don’t know if I have ever “saved” anyone.  I don’t know if my writings have ever lead anyone to know Christ.  That has never once mattered to me.  I also don’t know if I ever changed anyone’s opinion by what I said — though I do know many folks who have expressed inspiration from things I’ve written.  I never cared about changing opinions, I cared about speaking forth what God had already said. 

To me, all that mattered was this: 

If I claim to speak for the mind of God — am I getting it right?

•  Because if I am not, then I am an idolator like Israel of old, creating a false God and putting my own thoughts into his mouth.
•  Because if I am not, then I will be judged MORE HARSHLY for having presumed to teach in the name of God.
•  Because if I am not…. I am leading people to Hell…. not God’s Kingdom…. even if I say God’s name a lot and talk about Heaven. 

and that matters more than anything else.

Am I getting it right?

4 years now I have posted blogs in reaction to things I have read on Facebook, ReveLife, and even from real life situations — and felt compelled to set things straight.  Because Truth matters — and getting it right matters — because if we pass on lies, opinions or personal feelings, we’re no better than pagans.  4 years now I have passed along not what I think — but tried as best as I have been able to reflect the mind of God…. because in the end, that’s really all that will endure into eternity.

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16)

Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.  (1 Timothy 6:20-21)

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. (John 8:32)

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

In the end I have learned the honest meaning of 1 Peter 3:15 — simply by trusting that God did have all the answers.

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

This is a reprint of what I just posted as my Facebook status.  Just some food for thought that came out of a response to someone calling men to “make a choice while they still can make a choice”.  This form of evangelism assumes men can choose God freely…  and will do so unreservedly.   Here’s my thoughts.

Men commonly point to “Free Will” as though they think they have the choice to do whatever they will or wish.  Free will is not really “free” will, it is actually enslaved by sin, making it not so “Free”. We can “choose”, but consistantly we will choose AGAINST God, His law or His way.

Think about this —-

Read Romans 2:4 for a moment… God L-E-A-D-S you to repentance. Or Acts 11:18 …. God G-R-A-N-T-S men repentance unto life.

Salvation comes by an act of God, not the choice of man.

Even Jesus points to this when He says in John 6:37 “All that the Father G-I-V-E-S to me will come to me….”

Better to say “Enslaved Will” (bound to sin and death) than to call it “Free will”…. for the latter is honestly misleading.

Twice now Xanga has set a deadline and twice now that deadline has passed.  We’re still here, still posting, still existing, still thinking…. but in increasingly smaller numbers because of “deadlines”.

I don’t know if Xanga-Team has thought this through thoroughly, but …. the more the shift the date, the harder it will become to match their goals because the fewer of us there will be around…. having already believed the end has come.

I know things change, I know The Big Guy was able to talk host servers into an extension  (if all this is about outside servers… then why not simply create and host from your own servers?  I’m just saying…) and that this new extension allows us ample room to breath safely (at least for another 31 days)…. but at this point is anyone listening any more?

A simple look at Xanga’s front page shows us that people are moving on, saying their goodbyes and expecting closure.   If that attitude is what’s now plastered across the minds of folk… do you really think another 31 days is going to make much of a difference?   I pledged $200.  It’s all I could do.  31 days is not going to allow me to offer more… and my guess is that it’s gonna be the same all around.  I am betting —- HEAVILY —- that if the honest numbers of “supporters” was reviewed…. it wouldn’t be the 800+ that shows, but more like 400+/- repeat pledges. 

This begs the question:  Where is the ReveLife push for support?  Where is the Xanga Hong Kong (yes, it does exist, I see it daily when I sign in…) push for support?  Why only Xanga proper?  Guys… I’m here to say that your pledge drive needs an overhaul and you need to make it universal, not merely a sideline blurb on your main page.

31 days.  Life after death.   But in the end, death is inevitable.  My real question here is… will there be anyone left around when it happens …. will there be anyone here to turn off the lights?  Or will we all have migrated because of shifting deadlines?

Things that make you go Hmmmm.