Appendix E

What God Is and Is Not

Consciousness is man's organ for perception. Through consciousness we become aware of all that is in the world around us. A rational thinking man will not deny the testimony his five senses bring to his consciousness. Our consciousness receives through our senses the evidence necessary to arrive at the conclusion that ability, will and intelligence must be behind the array of processes, life forms, constructs, relationships and interdependencies we see around us. Thus normal people arrive at the conclusion that there must be a Supreme Being outside of and above the creation and beyond our grasp, who made it all, and who is in control. Arriving at the conclusion that there must be the existence of a God through observation of our surroundings is known as the teleological approach to theism. Bertrand Russel, an avowed atheist, said that unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless. Atheists and agnostics alike demand logical proof that God exists. Do a search on Brownlow Maitland and read his works. They soundly refute atheism and agnosticism. By means of creative prowess God has given atheists and agnostics all of the proof they will ever need. Their unreasonable demand betrays their subjective bias. They remain willfully blind to the induction of their senses through a profound sense of prejudice because they do not want to be accountable. But no one of sound reasoning ability can, in all honesty, resist the implications of such induction. Scientists, researchers, and men of other like professions remain in awe of all that they study, and testify that there is indeed designing intelligence behind it that testifies to the existence of an Artificer. Indeed, it becomes an imperative that we investigate further into the matter in order to come to a knowledge of the involved specifics necessary to achieve some semblance of closure on this subject. In doing so we will first take a look at some of the many so-called "gods" prevalent today in order to establish what God is not, and then we will take a closer look at what remains after our examination for legitimacy is concluded. Though this will be far from exhaustive, the natural tendency in thought progression leads us, of necessity, to the need for specific identification of such a life-altering phenomena of this magnitude and significance.

First there is the "god" of the New Age Pantheists - those who worship the creation and all that is a part of it. These say that the trees are God, rocks are God, animals are God, and so on ad-infinitum until they even arrive at the bold assertion that even man is God; and by virtue of their twisted, convoluted reasoning they conclude that we all are gods unto ourselves and therefore become self-serving humanists as a result. This is one of the driving forces fueling the depopulation and environmental movements, which assert that we are a plague that is pillaging the earth. It also is behind the nihilistic narcisistic scourge which is ravaging the integrity of Western civilization. If everything is God, then where is the advantage to being designated "God"? Any rational mind would reject such folly since it is very evident that none of these things have any power over their own destinies. Timber can be cut and utilized, rocks can be broken, animals have their various uses and are so used, - and even man can be killed. These things are not God. Only those New Agers of reprobate mind will dogmatically assert that they are. Move over Shirley Maclaine! It is clearly evident that the Creator and that which is created are not synonymous. The Creator stands quite apart from that which he has created. The veracity and trustworthiness of our consciousness, as far as the sane, rational specimens of our species are concerned, will demonstrate to us this very evident principle with this example: Man creates an automobile; that does not make the automobile man. The automobile though does testify to the alternate existence of man as its creator by virtue of its very own existence, function and purpose. This is the teleological approach. Likewise the creation: by virtue of its very existence, its evidently purposeful complex interdependencies, its intricate and varied constructs, its resultant relationships, functions and social interactions, it (the creation) does testify to the existence of the consciousness, mind, will and ability of its maker, thus implicating a Creator; but it is not the Creator himself, nor any part thereof.

While on the subject of creation, there are those who desperately cling to the theory of Evolution as if it were their God; for in doing so, if they can satisfactorily prove to themselves, and to others - safety in numbers - that God does not exist, then they can in their own minds, eradicate the accountability factor in life. Each man therefore becomes a law unto himself, and does that which seems right in his own eyes. Thus you have antinomians, atheists, agnostics, environmentalists, criminals, socialists, humanists - all ostensibly unaccountable to the creator who made them - all of them sociopaths of one stripe or another. Evolution should not be graced with the honor of being called a theory, for a theory has material facts which can adequately be demonstrated to substantiate it. Evolution has none, and therefore should be called a hypothesis. It is merely a "science" of speculation which flies in the face of the scientific method; thus it has no business being taught in our educational institutions as "fact" without substantiation. All of their so-called "evidences" have been adequately shown to be fraudulent or misinterpreted. No wonder Western civilization has such difficulty keeping its populace in line; for teaching our young that they are the animalistic results of a series of chance chemical accidents will result in their living their paltry existence as mere animals with wanton animal appetites and base instincts and passions. Besides, it takes more faith to believe in the required multitudinous "accidents" of the hypothesis of Evolution to explain all that we see, than it does to believe in a real God as the Creator of the universe and all that is in it. It would appear that they think that by adding great amounts of time into the equation, it ostensibly makes the impossible possible.

Next there are those who worship - reverence the worth of - man made items of silver, gold, metal, wood, and stone. These are basically called idolators or materialists. These are they who pay homage to that which they have made with their own hands, or purchased by means of their labors, or acquired through the efforts of their own ingenuity. To worship an object, image or idol is called idolatry. Idolatrous worship means to reverence the worth of an object, attributing to it a value which far exceeds its own intrinsic worth, and doing service to such based upon one's own subjective estimation of it. A carved image of something imagined to be in heaven, on earth, in the sea, or in the spirit world, is still a carved image, made by the hands of men, drawn from their finite imaginations, made of the materials of the earth. Possessing such things is not inherenlty wrong, but enslaving one's self to them is wrong. If these things were created by men, would not rather the men be gods over them by being their creators? To bow down to and serve such things is of the utmost folly, and unbecoming of the human creature - the crowning glory of the creation of God. Things such as these have no consciousness, no will, or intelligence; they are dumb and blind, cannot save, and therefore are not worthy. These are not God, and as such, they are to be utilized for temporal purposes.

Men of greater intelligence also fit into this category of idolatry. There are those who reverence the worth of, and pay homage to money, sports, heroes, celebrities, machines, tools, buildings, beauties, systems, ideas, philosophies, nature, the environment, animals, and even themselves. These things have their places, their uses, their functions; but they are not to be worshiped and served by men, but rather are there to serve men as they have need. Men are possessed of intelligence, consciousness, and will, and are the creators of many things suited to their own purposes and needs. By virtue of this fact then, would not that which has been created be subject to the one who has created it? Why then be enslaved to material things. We strive our whole lives amassing wealth of one sort or another, and leave it all behind to fools greater than we ourselves have been. Why? We cannot take it with us. Since the time of the Pharoahs, has there ever been a funeral with a moving van behind it? There was once a wealthy man who wanted to be buried with his money. His wife wrote a him check and put it in the coffin. If man has been created by God, would not then man be subject to his creator? If this is true then, why do men subject themselves to, and become slaves to that which they have made, rather than to the One who has made them? We have seen that the man who creates stands quite apart from that which he has created, and therefore, that which has been created, lacking consciousness, will, and intelligence, is not worthy of worship by the one who has created it. To admire, appreciate, and care for what one has made or acquired is one thing, but to worship and serve it is quite another. That which is created by man is not God. To enslave oneself to possess or maintain it is the utmost in folly.

It has been said, "May the Force be with you." Is God some nebulous, indefinite, indefinable force in which we can rest our well being? Don't even entertain such a fallacy! By definition, "force", being used as a noun, has reference to strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigor; might; often an unusual degree of strength or energy; capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect; especially, power to persuade, or convince, or impose obligation; pertinency; validity; special signification; as, the force of an appeal, an argument, a contract, or a term. Does this sound nebulous? It would appear that in order to affect, by the definition of a force, consciousness, will, and intelligence would be a prerequisite to its very function. These three things indicate a being. A being is not a nebulous force. A being, through exercise of its consciousness, will, and intelligence, can produce the effects of our definition of a force. This action of the attributes of a being makes a force a created thing, and not an authority in and of itself directing the affairs of men and being manipulated by them. God is not a force, nor then is "the force" God. Being a created thing through the outworkings of consciousness, will, and intelligence, a force brings us around again to the unmistakable conclusion that a Being is implied by its very existence, and that being is what is called God.

Now there are those who call upon the stars for guidance in their everyday affairs, spending much time and money in the realm of the Zodiac. This is folly of the silliest kind; for the stars are created things which again testify of that God who is their creator by their very existence. Only consciousness, will, and intelligence, are capable of communicating divine will and purpose to mankind, of which the stars have none. Rather, call upon the Creator of the stars for guidance in everyday living, spending much time in his book discovering his specific, directive will for your life, and do not entertain horoscopes, for this is the utmost in folly and deception, to yourself, and from those who promote it. The stars are not God; only one of the many manifestations that testify of his existence. Your "sign" in this life is therefore insignificant.

Through psychics many people unwittingly call upon Satan for demonic revelations and manifestations as their God. They may not be aware that Satan is the source, but he most definitely is. This is folly of the basest sort, for Satan and his cohorts are in active opposition to God, his plan, his purposes, and all that he desires of his people. Satan is not the opposite of God. He isn't even in the same league as God. Satan is more like the opposite of the archangel Michael. Satan is a created being, a fallen angel, if you will, and demons are also those fallen angels who rebelled with him, and are lined up under his authority to do his bidding in active opposition to God, according to God's permissive will. God, if he so desires, could pull the plug on them any time he chooses, but he has a plan and purpose to be fulfilled, which includes allowing them to wreak havoc in this world in order to sift and put his people to the test for the purpose of approval, and also to serve as a scourge to those who follow Satan as willing participants in his ways of open rebellion against God. If you want a show they will gladly oblige, for their intent is to keep as many people in the dark as they can in malignant deception. They are going down, and their followers will too; so the next time Dionne Warwick tells you to call 1-800 Dial-a-Demon, change the channel on your TV set. Does not the existence of evil declare the alternate existence of good? Since God is the ultimate Creator and has created all things for his good pleasure and purposes, does it not stand that Satan, a created being, is under God's permissive will at the present, and that all rebellion in the end will be crushed by the Almighty? Rather, call upon the God who made the angels who rebelled of their own free will after having seen God first-hand, and consider their fate of doom because of this fact. There is no hope for them, and they want to malignantly take you down with themselves. Think of the blessedness of those angels who did not rebel, and that those of us who seek after the Creator, God, and find him, will be like those angels in the end.

Now what about Islam? Do they not also claim to worship God? Islam is invalid with no history prior to the fifth century. Muhammad, who lived from 570 to 632 A.D. is its founder. He sought to abolish polytheism, since the Arabic people had at least one god for every day of the year. He selected Allah, which was their moon-god of war, to remain as the sole god of his religion, which he then feverishly promoted. Islam uses the coercion: "convert or die!" It does not honor freedom of choice, nor freedom of thought, and they subjugate their women, children and others with fear. They will tolerate others as allies only so long as it is in their favorable interest. Historical records indicate that Muhammad died ignobly of a disease. He did not rise from the dead, and he did not ascend into heaven. Islam has no "Arabic Old Testament" of its own. They only can appeal to the unsupportive Old Testament of the Jews; but Islam has no Jewish root, though Muhammad did recruit some Jewish rabbi's and Christian pastors to write portions of his Koran; thus it has many ostensibly Jewish-Christian passages. He later turned against Jews and Christians when they would not recognize nor receive his Allah as God, and so the rest of the Koran denigrates and condemns them as infidels. The Jewish Pentateuch predates the Koran by two thousand years, and states unequivically that YHWH is the one and only true God with recorded proofs of this fact. There is no fulfilled Old Testament prophecy supporting the Koran. Though Muslims use the generic term "God," Allah - the Arabic moon god of war - is not YHWH (Jehovah) - God of the Jews. Though they acknowledge Jesus as a prophet, they refuse to attribute to him his rightful place as the Son of God and Messiah to the Jews. The pitiful traits of this religion are that it is works-based, it does not deal with the issue of forgiveness of sin, and no one ever really knows if they will go to Paradise because of the disparities among them, so fanatics try to ensure passage by murdering as many so-called infidels (non-muslims) as possible, with the fallacious promise of one virgin in Paradise for every "infidel" killed. This is why they are always murdering whoever they can with a gleefully blind, hateful, raging, self-sacrificing religious zeal. They fail to realize that virgins are only virgins once, and that they are no real reward for the child and female bombers. This religion is self-perpetuating because the young are inculcated from a very early age, and there is no free-will choice in the matter.

Both Jews and Arabs claim the patriarch Abraham as father, but the Biblical promises of blessing to Abraham are realized through the son of promise, Isaac, miraculously born of Abraham's aged wife, Sarah, and therefore pass on through the instrumentality of the Jews unto Christians by Jesus. The Arabic peoples only have the realization of the promise of becoming a great nation with many descendants through Ishmael, Abraham's son of impatience born to the slave woman of Sarah named Hagar. Abraham was instructed by God to put Hagar and her son away because she mocked Sarah, and her son mocked and tormented Isaac. It was prophesied that Ishmael would be a wild ass among men, and the behavior of the Arabic peoples towards those around them is proof of this. Resentment for being cast off by Abraham in favor of Isaac resulted in enmity on the part of Ishmael. The conflict between the Arabs and the Jews is as old as the conflict between these two sons of Abraham -around 4,000 years. Israel is indeed the only nation in all time that has come back from the dead according to Old Testament prophecy [Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37], and there will be no real, lasting solution for fixing this deep, age-old enmity and resentment until Christ comes and renews all things. Israelis are the original Palestinians. This name was stolen by the people displaced by the Balfour agreement. Now the land, and Israel's right to exist, is what is being fought over.

The objects of worship of Muslims, Krishnas, Hindus, Buddhists, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, or any other religion not Christian by definition, are not God. All of their founders are still rotting in their tombs. All religions in the world have this in common: they are the sacrifices, labours, and works of man for to impress man and attempt to gain the approbation and approval of their so-called god through their own efforts and merits. Christianity stands alone in this: that it is God doing for man what man cannot do for God or even for man himself. Jesus Christ is resurrected from the dead, and therefore needed only a borrowed tomb. Jesus Christ is the satisfaction of the demands of the violated holiness, righteousness and justice of God for our sins and ineptitudes so that God can save us and bless us and have a relationship with us without compromising his essence. When we adjust to the justice of God by trusting in Jesus Christ, God imputes to us the merits of his Son. God does all the work, and God gets all the glory. Is this God knowable? We have nothing within the current realm of our experience with which to compare God and say, "This is what God is like" apart from the manifestation of himself through the person of Jesus Christ. God, manifested in flesh, was in Christ Jesus, reconciling the world to himself.

Finding God

God is unique, one of a kind, even as each of us is unique. Even as there is no other you, there is none other god besides God. We only know him by his revealed attributes, and these only by his own choice to reveal himself to mankind. Being God he has the prerogative to do as he pleases, and that includes the method by which he choses to let himself be known by us, and the extent to which he will allow himself to be known. We are introduced to the concept of God as we view the creation and its interdependent relationships and workings, and wonder who made all of it to work so precisely together for the benefit of all things apparent. This is known as "General Revelation."

God has revealed himself to man in many different ways in the past. The first was personal interaction with the first of his creation. Adam and Eve were put to the test as free moral agents as the tree of good and evil and the responsibility of life and death were placed before them. Their point of contact with God at that time was divine love and not justice. Justice was merely potential at that point in time until Satan deceived the woman who was in negative volition against God and the man’s authority. She was beguiled into matriculating with Satan’s plan and program and ate from the forbidden tree. She subsequently beguiled the man into complicity in the act as he failed responsibility in his role as the authority figure over her. If he resisted, God could have made him another woman to replace her. The tree was not a contrast between right and wrong, but a similarity between two concepts: human good and evil, representative of the plan and purpose of Satan for the ages - both were bad - and it was a test case for fidelity, given the prior rebellion of Satan and his angelic cohorts against God. The original Hebrew states, “Dying you shall die,” meaning dying spiritually, you shall die physically; and so spiritual and physical death entered the picture, along with the necessity for spiritual birth and resurrection as well. We all subsequently inherited their genes. Their resultant sinfulness is evident in that an initial guilt complex caused them to cover their nakedness and hide from God, and upon discovery there was the finger pointing: "The woman that you gave me beguiled me and I did eat." "The serpent beguiled me and I did eat." It sounds much like this present generation which refuses to accept culpability for its own decisions and actions.

After the fall of mankind came theophanies, where God would appear in human form as the Angel (Messenger) of the Lord to those who revered him and followed his ways; he revealed his will in dreams to many different kinds of people who had enough respect left for God that they would do his bidding; he also did many miraculous signs and wonders, both to effect his will upon those who resisted him, and to engender the obedience and respect of his people who were called out by him as his chosen instruments for the execution of his will upon the earth and among men. He called out and established a nation, Israel, for his own name's sake, and dealt with them as his own chosen people, disciplined them when they were disobedient, and blessed them when they were true to him and obedient. He established among them a priesthood, the Law, and prophets. Prophets were those who not only foretold future events, but who also rebuked his people for their transgressions, and pronounced either evil or good upon them according to their manner of life, being God's spokesmen upon earth. They foretold how God would finally reveal himself in a manner which mankind could comprehend, in a manifestation of his own essence that would once and for all affect his will among men for all time.

Now it is clear that through consciousness one can become aware of the existence of God. Through the creation we see the factors of divine originating will, divine designing intelligence, our own internal spiritual faculty and our own internal moral faculty, we see these as evidence of the existence of God. This we will call, for want of a better term, "God Awareness." What a person is to do when once this point is reached through the various workings and processes of the human faculty of consciousness, is to respond to this "God Awareness" with "Positive Volition." Generally the most normal, common and natural response to the discovered phenomena of God is a desire to know him. What is God? If he is a person, who is he? What is he like? Why did he make all of this? Where is he? When and how can I see him? How can I know him? Can I contact him, and have a relationship with him? All of these questions have answers which are arrived at through the perceptiveness of our mind, and the response of our will. Our response is to be an act of "Positive Volition" in the active mode which is called in the book of Acts chapter 17, "feeling after” or “seeking after” God. The revelation of God's essence is his part, but the seeking after him is our responsibility. God is absolutely fair. All persons in every generation and every area have equal access and opportunity.

We have seen initially that the existence of God is evidenced by that which he has made - the whole creation. This adequately testifies to the existence of an intelligent Artificer. Everything has a specific purpose, function, definition, and observable similarities which point to the same mind behind them all, not only in design, but also in operation. Nature has a marked diversity as well as a uniformity and interdependence, the balance of which is intelligently calculated and skillfully implemented. Only a real God could be the uncaused cause that caused this remarkable effect we call the creation - nature - the universe even. Again, this is what is commonly referred to as the teleological approach to knowledge of God. For the sake of argument, though, we shall call this: "General Revelation." It is God revealing himself by means of that which he has made - that which we perceive to be external to ourselves by means of our consciousness as being made by a Supreme Being greater than ourselves. This is "God Awareness" by way of the "General Revelation" of God. What we have here is God's responsibility towards us as his created beings. If he expects or demands anything of his created beings, he must make himself known to them, and this is the initial stage of the Revelation of God. He cannot just come out in a great big splash of glory and show himself to us, because he knows, in seeking our highest good, that we could not endure in our present temporal state to behold his majesty and remain alive.

Now our expected response to this "General Revelation" of the existence of God is to be a desire to know him, to have intimate fellowship with him, to desire to do what pleases him, and to obtain his approval and blessing. Orientation comes about when we realize our relative insignificance in the great scheme of things which have been created, and his great magnificence as evidenced by all that he has made. He is infinite; we are finite; he is without beginning or end; the whole of our experience is the opposite; our powers are limited in scope, and his are unlimited as seen in his mighty creative prowess. Apart from a relationship with God, the existence of man would be a meaningless exercise in futility. Puny little man, whose destiny and future are as uncertain as the wind, while shaking his fist in the face of the Almighty, has little other recourse but to subject himself to this mighty God who is his creator, for deliverance from his present dilemma of humanity, and so that he may find purpose, function, and definition for his very existence. What better place to turn than to the Grand Artificer who made him? He knows best who created man.

This is why many in the world can live a lifetime, not hear the Gospel, and go to hell as a result. The apostle Paul, when proclaiming the essence, meaning and purpose of God to the religious Epicureans and Stoics at Mars Hill [Acts 17], stated that those people should consequently seek the Lord, with the remote possibility that they would find him - remote only because they were mildly interested in what he had to say. Paul presented "Specific Revelation" in preaching the Gospel. As a result of his preaching, many laughed and scoffed, others procrastinated, but only a few believed and responded positively to the call of God. Though the truth was proclaimed to many who were on "Positive Volition" at "God Awareness" from the "General Revelation" only a few believed since the majority didn’t care to have a relationship with God on his terms according to the subsequent "Specific Revelation" of the Gospel. They have no positive volition towards God upon God awareness after viewing the creation, and so God is not obligated to go any further in dealing with them.

Such is the case today. Many are called, but few are chosen - not by an arbitrary whim of sovereignty - but according to the divine foreknowledge of God of those who will respond positively to his call on his terms - not their own. Many believe in God, but few will accept a relationship with him on his terms, and in the long run that shallow belief will do them no good whatsoever. They will take their place along side of those who are on "Negative Volition" at "God Awareness" - those who also do not want a relationship with God at all. This touches on the questions many have who question the fairness of God in condemning to hell those who never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Men are free to choose. God knows all hearts in all generations. God deals accordingly with men in each dispensation. If any are on "Positive Volition" at "God Awareness" resulting from the "General Revelation" of God's creation, and not seeking a god of their own making to fill the void, but seeking specifically the One who created, God further reveals himself to them through the "Specific Revelation" of the Gospel, and they can choose again - to relate to God on his terms through Christ Jesus, or to go their own way. God is in no way obligated to go further in the revelation of himself to those who are on "Negative Volition" upon "God Awareness." God is also not further obligated to those who reject his "Specific Revelation" of the Gospel. Nationalities and peoples who learn and propagate false religion are on "Negative Volition" toward the God of creation, and the likelihood of any turning to YHWH is remote. But to the few among them who are seeking the one and only true God, he goes the extra mile to meet their need by providing Gospel hearing.

When someone exercises "Positive Volition" towards God at "God Awareness," God then becomes obligated to send along "Specific Revelation" concerning himself to this seeker of God. I say it again: when one exercises this "Positive Volition" upon "God Awareness," it then becomes God's responsibility to bring to them "Specific Revelation" concerning himself and his will for that one's life - and he does. God sets into motion various resources which he has at his disposal in order to bring about the desired results. He brings together both the seeker and the information sought by means of either a missionary, an evangelist, a preacher, the written Word, or another believer who has been prepared, and who is willing to testify concerning the unmerited favor he has recieved from God through Jesus Christ. What is this "Specific Revelation" concerning the person, work, and will of God? It is called in Christian circles, “The Gospel” - in the original Greek: "Euaggelion," a word which means "Good News," or "Glad Tidings." Indeed it really is good news if someone can find deliverance from the ever-present dilemma of an uncertain future. God reveals his favor, mercy, kindness, and loving care towards mankind through the proclamation of the "Good News," as well as himself, his judgement, his reward, eternal life, and his will for mankind.

The "Good News" or "Glad Tidings" is God revealing himself to mankind more specifically than he has in his "General Revelation" by the creation of all things. It is the "Good News" of the coming of God to man. It is the "Good News" of God becoming a man in order that we might comprehend him. It is the Infinite allowing himself to become finite in order to demonstrate his essence and attributes in a form we can readily understand and identify with. He made himself something we can relate to more readily than our being overwhelmed with his mighty power and majesty. Mankind was created in the image of God, so how adequately the plan of God unfolds as God reveals himself more Specifically in the form of a man for the sake of his crowning creation - man. The Infinite allowed himself to be born as an infant in order to become a man, revealing himself in a form like our own that we may come to know and relate to him. He is Jesus Christ - the visible manifestation of the invisible God - though because of his creation God is not really invisible, since the manifestation of his existence is proclaimed everywhere for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear [Romans 1].

This was predicted by the prophets of Israel hundreds of years before it happened. More Specifically, the prophet Isaiah prophesied: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end." Christmas! Daniel also declares that his kingdom will be without end. There are many such prophecies given concerning him. Of thirty of the most notable prophecies concerning him it is said that the statistical probability of all these coming true concerning the one Person they refer to is one in ten to the three hundred fortieth power. I have heard others say in the past, one in ten to the twenty third power. Who is this One of whom the prophets spoke? It is Jesus Christ, called the Son of God by virtue of his essence.

Therefore it is written that Jesus Christ is the visible manifestation of the invisible God. This is found in Colossians chapter one and verse fifteen. Colossians is a letter that was written by the apostle Paul who was an ambassador sent by our resurrected Savior to bear the message of the coming of God to all of the Gentiles. The sent ones were all called apostles, sent by Jesus to bear witness to the truth: that God has indeed manifested himself in the flesh, as Jesus Christ, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. Again, fulfilled prophecy: "The Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin will conceive and bear a son; You, O virgin, shall call his name "Immanuel." which means "God is with us."" Christmas! Therefore, since Jesus was born an infant of a virgin, signifying that he did not inherit our inherent sinful nature, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, solely, uniquely and emminently qualified to effect our salvation by being the sinless, spotless, substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. The name, "Jesus" means, "Salvation," or "Savior"; the title, "Christ" means, "Messiah," or "Anointed One"
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He is the empirical evidence of the existence of God. He was empirically examined by those whom he recruited for service as they testified, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; for the Life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and show unto you that Eternal Life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard we declare unto you....” 1st John 1:1-3. All that remains is that we accept their report as of credible witnesses. The convergence of the several testimonies of numerous witnesses greatly augments the argument for credibility in any case, and in this instance, there were at least twelve, let alone the five-hundred that viewed his resurrection and ascension all at once.

The Apostles were witnesses to the manifestation of God, and bore testimony to what they had touched, seen, and heard. There were twelve sent abroad giving testimony to what they had witnessed, that Jesus, the Christ, is God manifested in the flesh, and that he is indeed the Savior of the world. They were to baptise and make disciples. Jesus said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. I and the Father are one and the same." Therefore, if you want to know what God is like, study Jesus Christ. God is manifested through Jesus. Jesus is God and man, man and God. This only happened once; it will never happen ever again. No one else forever in time and eternity can ever again fulfill these prophecies as they have already been fulfilled by this one man, if it be lawful to even call him a mere man. According to Hebrews one, Jesus Christ is uniquely the last and final spokesman for God. Anyone else who lays claim to this title is a deceiver and seeks to mislead you. Jesus Christ did many mighty irrefutable miracles which were the credentials giving veracity to his words, demonstrating the sanction of heaven upon his mission as the Savior of all mankind. The collective testimonies of those who were eyewitnesses bear sufficient evidential weight to the veracity of his claims, that he is indeed the Savior of the world.

Appropriating the Provision of God our Savior

Now why does the world need a Savior. Why is Jesus Christ exclusively and specifically the Savior of the world? The world, meaning the agregate of mankind, needs a Savior because it does not individually nor collectively measure up to the ideal expectations of the One who created it. Remember Adam and Eve in the Garden? God created man with free will, but the free will of man does not naturally produce in its present state that which its creator desires in a free moral agent. It naturally manifests rebellion against God, therefore incurring a just God's wrath, judgement, and retribution. God, who is holy, righteous, and just, really desires a relationship with each and every one of us, but he cannot compromise his essence in order to fellowship with persons who inherently manifest this defect. He must therefore initiate a way for reconciliation that is acceptable to the just demands of his holiness and righteousness.

The way for reconciliation has to be through the satisfaction of God's justice for all of man's sin and ineptitude so that he can deal with his creation in a personal way and remain intact still being God; otherwise, if he compromised his essence, he would cease to be God, and would therefore be subjective, vascillating and unreliable. The required price for our sin and ineptitude is the death of a qualified sinless substitute. Because we cannot accomplish this on our own, he provided Jesus in our stead. Even if we did die for our sins, it would not be acceptable, for we are infinitely blemished creatures. What was needed was a worthy perfect sacrifice without spot or blemish. Thus Jesus Christ, the tangible manifestation of the living invisible God, as God's only begotten son, alone sinless and without defect, perfect and acceptable to God, was allowed to be crucified on a Roman cross in our place, according to the foreknowledge and plan of God. God was through Christ, reconciling the world to himself, the just sacrificed for the unjust, in order to satisfy the just demands of God's holiness and righteousness for all, so that God could save us, bless us, and take us to heaven, all without compromising his essence. God then raised him from the dead as proof of his acceptance of this sacrifice for our sins, one for all, once for all time, effecting our reconciliation with God and making atonement for our sins. He was seen and touched by above five hundred witnesses who faithfully testified to what they had seen, that God had indeed raised him from the dead, and that he was taken up to heaven before their very eyes.

The wage of sin is eternal death - Greek: thanatos - which actually means, “separation” - an ultimate permanent separation from God in everlasting punishment according to the just demands of God's righteousness and holiness. Without the shedding of innocent blood there is no remission of sin. This has always been the fundamental principle with which God has dealt with man. The multitudinous sacrifices under the Jewish Law pointed forward to this ultimate and final substitutionary sacrifice by the Son of God for our salvation. The ineptitudes of man are sin in the eyes of God. The shedding of the innocent blood of Jesus Christ satisfied the justice of God on behalf of all, so that the Father could forgive us our sins without compromising his essence. What remains to be done is for each individual person who becomes aware of these facts to fully appropriate God's provision for their sins through exercising faith, e.g. confidence - relying upon, faithing and trusting in - the Lord Jesus Christ, that he lived, he died, was buried, and was raised again from the dead for their sins. They are to accept and trust, faithing into him as Savior, and Lord, then their life will be under new management.

As I think of free will and motivation, I always get angered at the preachers and evangelists who utilize coercive techniques and illegitimate pressures of accountability to achieve tabulated results which will recommend them to their next engagement. Salvation is conclusive in the soul. God is a gentleman. God respects a person’s right to privacy, and we ought to follow suit and give them that same courtesy. I hate it when the man says “Every head bowed and eyes closed - whoever is not saved etc. lift your hand,” and when the “altar call” is given you are made to feel pressured into responding overtly, simply because you and he both know you lifted your hand, and you do not want to be made to appear rude, stupid, or insensitive to what he has said. And so you go forward and become a jack-ass before the whole crowd as you submit to the rampid emotional revolt flooding the crusade as a herd mentality stampedes throughout the crowd. You can believe - be saved - and not go forward or lift your hand because God knows the heart of every man. Salvation is conclusive in the soul. The only public profession of faith, other than the sharing of your faith with others in personal evangelism, is your baptism.

As we have already seen, God has provided for us the way for reconciliation through his son, Jesus Christ. Through faith in him our sins are forgiven and we recieve a catharsis - a cleansing; we are brought near to God, and he is brought near to us. This is called a relationship; God becomes our Father and we become his child because we are born again by his Spirit. God is Spirit, and all who are born of his Spirit through Christ are his children; therefore a birth relationship is implied when we can truly call God our Father. God is not the Father of all mankind, but the creator of all mankind. We are not all brothers and sisters unless we have been born anew by the Spirit of God through faith in Christ Jesus. God becomes your Father when you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as the satisfaction of the justice of God for your sins, and believe that God has raised him from the dead for your justification; then you are brothers and sisters of those with like faith - all born anew of the same Spirit. When you have placed your faith in the Son of God you are spiritually born again, and it then becomes God's responsibility as your Father, to care for you, his child; then you can fully trust and rely upon him for your every need - not necessarily your wants - but your needs. He gives you logistical grace for tactical victory over sin and evil by his Spirit which he puts in you, and you are then able to live a life that is pleasing to him, and as a result, are able to parlay that into eternal rewards which will accrue in a manner commensurate with your faithfulness and obedience to him.

God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Therefore Jesus proclaims, "Repent - have a change of heart with corresponding conduct demonstrating your repentance - and believe (trust or faith into) Jesus." The apostle Paul says, "The Word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart; this is the Word of the faith which we proclaim; because if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation; for the scripture says "Everyone trusting in him will not be put to shame."" He has also said, "The Grace of God which brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying impiety and worldly passions, we might live sensibly, righteously, and godly in this present age, confidently expecting the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself on our behalf, in order that he might ransom us from all iniquity, and cleanse for himself a special people, zealous of good works" [Titus 2:11-14].

As a born again believer in Christ, one is to be zealous in doing good. The people of God do good, not to be saved, but because they are saved, and empowered by the Spirit of God within them. People cannot be saved by doing good works, for these do not satisfy the just demands of God's violated righteousness, and come from an imperfect motivation. We cannot buy our way into God's heart, or impress him with our philanthropic achievements. Man must repudiate all his human righteousness and come to God for one hundred percent of the God kind of righteousness which is in Christ Jesus. Man just cannot be saved by being good, working hard enough to impress God, or otherwise; for when has one worked enough? How much is enough? And by who's standard will they be judged worthy? And what about the disparities among men - the differences in geography, ability, resources, and opportunity? The criteria for salvation must be fair and just to all. The ground at the foot of the cross is level. All persons become saved the same way.

Therefore, a just and fair God declares to all people everywhere, that man must repudiate all of his human "righteousness" and come to God for that Righteousness which alone is the standard, and acceptable to him, which is Jesus Christ alone. The righteousness of Jesus is imputed to us when we believe. Therefore Jesus Christ himself is our righteousness. Not one person can win their way into God's favor through human effort and achievement. There is only one way to God which has been substantiated and made very clear - God's way - through Jesus Christ; for he created the world, and he makes the rules; thus Jesus said, "I, and I alone, am the way; no-one comes to the Father but through me!" It sounds narrow and bigoted, but that is the way it is. There is only one way and we must all come to God for a relationship with him on his terms - not our own.

A Prayer of Repentance to God

If you have trusted in Christ Jesus by means of this testimony, you can pray this prayer:

"Dear God in heaven, I praise you and thank you for your grace, mercy, longsuffering, kindness, loving care, and the salvation which you offer to me through the merits of your Son and my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

"I thank you that he satisfied the just demands of your holiness and righteousness on my behalf, by dying on the cross in my stead, thus paying the price for my sins, the penalty for which I, and I alone, do richly deserve. I know that you could not compromise your essence in saving me, blessing be, and taking me to heaven, apart from the satisfaction of your just demands for my sins, for my sins are such a blatant affront to, and violation of, your holiness and righteousness. I understand that you will honour my volition, and that as a free moral agent, I can not on my own ever produce that which you desire. I now really see that I am totally unable in my own power to accomplish what you desire of those who you call your people. Therefore I am justly chargeable as a sinner, and am in need of your salvation which is in Jesus Christ; who alone is worthy of acceptance as payment in full for the weight of my sins; whom you also raised up from the dead for my justification, and who also is presently sitting at your right hand ever mediating and interceding for me when I stumble and fall into sin. Sanctify me now, by giving me your Holy Spirit, who will empower me, and enable me to do your will. Help me to walk in a manner worthy of your calling, and of bearing your name; and I pray that I would not bring reproach upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ as I live my life in this world. Amen."

If you prayed this prayer to God in sincerity, not necessarily out loud, but in your heart, you are saved, have the Holy Spirit, and eternal life with God. No lights - no razzle-dazzle, no running an aisle, no visiting a pastor's study, no praying through, no hanging on - salvation is concluded quietly in your soul. You may not feel any different, but you will begin to see the difference - in your life. What you need to do next is get a Bible, matriculate with God's Church, be baptised, and commune with God's people. A cluster of coals burn brightly under a fire, but take one out by itself, it soon grows cold. You need the fellowship, accountability and encouragement of other believers. Also, study the Bible regularly, and mature in The Faith. This way you will be able to live a life commensurate with the calling of God. Avoid internet chatrooms until you are firmly grounded in the faith, for they are rife with those willing to destroy your confidence in God.

It is written in scripture, "If we keep on confessing our sins, he is faithful and just to keep on forgiving our sins, and he keeps on cleansing us from all unrighteousness" [1st John 1:9]. The name of the game is to keep your accounts with God short. When we accidentally or willfully sin against God as believers - and we will - its human nature to err - our fellowship with God is impeded because we are then maladjusted to the satisfied justice of God, for he cannot condone or gloss over sin. Therefore God has provided us with a method of stall-recovery, called confession and repentance. To repent of your sin means to have a change of mind and heart with corresponding conduct, such as forsaking that sin. Confession of sin restores fellowship with God, procures forgiveness, and renews the enabling power of his Holy Spirit. You are only accountable for what you know to be sin. Jesus continually cleanses us of sins of ignorance as long as we maintain our fellowship adjustment [1st John 1:7].

The advantage to being constantly controlled by the Spirit of God is in what is called the fruit of the Spirit. These are love, joy, peace, endurance, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control. When you have all these things operating in your life, you will know for sure that you have been born again by the Spirit of God. Every believer is also a priest with direct vertical access to the throne of God. When you pray to God he hears you, and you can be assured that he will always act in your best interest. Spiritual growth is a life-long process, with many ups and downs. All believers are at different stages in their growth at any given time; but God will make all things work out in the end according to his purpose and will for our lives. Imagine the honor and privilege of being a useful tool in the hand of the Almighty God, serving him in gratitude for what he has done for you. Constantly maintaining your fellowship with him will be the way to guarantee your readiness for his leading. Therefore, do not be discouraged if and when you fall. Just repent, confess, get up, and keep on walking. This is what God expects of you in being able to handle your sins. You were redeemed - bought out of the slave market of sin - never to be put up for sale again. You are now a precious possession of God; you are not your own; you were bought with a price - the precious blood of his son, the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Volitional Immutability

What about those who keep on refusing to believe? Is there a point in time where their will might ever change? I have touched on the foreknowledge of God and have shown that his election is not arbitrarily based upon a whim of sovereignty, but is fairly and justly based on his foreknowledge of the volitional choices of those who will, and who will not, believe the "Good News" of Jesus Christ [John 3:18; Romans 8:29; I Peter 1:1-2]. God knows the hearts of men and works accordingly. Therefore, evangelism is to be Spirit-led. It is evident that God is not to be trifled with, but that he is to be reverenced with a healthy fear, awe, and respect. There is a limit to God's patience when one has been exposed to his "General Revelation," and even his "Specific Revelation." God has been manifested in the flesh. The Gospel has been readily available all over the world. But in his sovereignty he may limit the number of opportunities given to any person in which a decision may be made, simply due to the willful hardness of their hearts. That is why it is written, "Today is the day of salvation." God honors one's freedom to choose, but the freedom to reject may be the means whereby one is irremedially doomed to perdition by his own stubbornness. God must of necessity remain faithful to his own essence in principle.

Now, when an individual experiences and exudes "Negative Volition" at "God Awareness," then God is in no way obligated to go any further in the revelation of himself than he has already gone in his "General Revelation" or "Specific Revelation" to that person. His obligation to that person has been fulfilled, even if he never ever hears the Gospel. He must accept "General Revelation" before he is even qualified to receive "Specific Revelation." "General Revelation" is automatically brought to all in the world. It is stated in Paul's letter to the Romans that though men knew God - not intimately, but by general revelation - they worshipped him not as God, but created substitutes, and became vain in their imaginations. Lingustically "became vain" is a first aorist passive indicative which is punctiliar action received and completed in past time having present results. This shows that they had received this vanity from God as a result of their initiated rejections of God at General and/or Specific Revelation. This is a judicial act of God upon the unbeliever that cannot be reversed based upon the foreknowledge of God [John 3:18]. It is also, according to 2nd Corinthians 4:4, a deliberate judicial blinding by God upon those that have reached the point of no return by their own persistent refusals of God's grace, and their decisions to reject God out of hand all together. As a result, they are given over to their own depravity in order to habitually practice a list of abominable things listed in Romans chapter one, which were unthinkable a generation ago, and which are indicative of the action that has occurred to them, evident to the perspicacious. A man who knowingly rejects the knowledge of God is judicially condemned as a result of God's absolute foreknowledge of his own free will choice in spite of all evidences to the contrary. This status is called "Volitional Immutability." It is where a person will in no way consent to the existence and authority of a God over themselves. This person is like a moth headed for the flame of a candle; if in observing its fate, you reach out your hand to catch it, thereby seeking its highest good, and it goes through great effort to evade your attempts at salvation, there is nothing much you can do to prevent its demise: it will perish as a result of its own freedom to choose. You are then in no way guilty of negligence or a lack of concern. In the same way, God cannot be chargeable for the demise of those individuals who through the exercise of their own "Free Volition," choose to evade God's efforts to redeem them from the consequences of the path that they have chosen. Though God has payed for the sins of the whole world, only the few that believe will benefit. God created us free moral agents; he did not make us programmed to do his will, but to have the ability to willingly chose a relationship with him or not. Coerced volition is not a premium with God. It is apparently worth the irremedial loss of many souls who reject God in order to glean a faithful few who will love God of their own free will.

In the Gospel of John, chapter three, verses seventeen and eighteen Jesus says, "God has not sent his son into the world to condemn the world, but that it might be saved through him. He that believes in him is not condemned; but he that does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed (according to the foreknowledge of God) in the Name of the only begotten son of God." Belief is not mere mental assent - that Jesus was a good man, and did appear on the scene for awhile, or whatever else some may espouse and tout as their belief. This is not saving faith. It is written that the devils believe and tremble, for they know their fate, yet they are not saved, for they have seen first-hand and rebelled anyway.

In the apostle Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter one, he explains that when men turn thumbs down to a knowledge of God, God gives them over to their own depravity and a reprobate mind, and they are filled to the brim with sin in order to practice those things which are not fit to be mentioned here. When you see two men or two women kissing and holding hands, know that the justice of God is not sleeping. In chapter two, he intimates that men suffer "Volitional Immutability" when they despise the goodness and mercy of God, when his revelation comes their way and it is rejected. Yes, in Romans chapter nine, it is shown that God hardens the hearts of men according to his will, based on his foreknowledge of their choices, and his love is directional - towards those who choose him, and against those who deny him and reject his will. In all fairness God presents the opportunity for a relationship with him to all persons, but the choice is theirs. They choose first upon "God Awareness," and choose again when and if they are exposed to his "Specific Revelation." The grace of God to believe is given upon God's foreknowledge of the person's heart [Romans 8:29], but it will not go where it is not wanted. He will raise up one missionary in order to reach one sinner on "Positive Volition" in Africa, while mission boards arrogantly and shamefully cut him off for being marginally productive.

Paul also writes in his second letter to the Corinthians, chapter four, verse four: "Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The God of this age has blinded the minds of those who believe not, so that they cannot see the truth of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" [Col 1:15]. The God of this age" is not Satan, as many mistakenly preach. If he had such power, nobody would ever be saved. The God of this age is YHWH. As previously shown, "Volitional Immutability" occurs when "Judicial Blinding" takes place. This is a sovereign and just act of God upon those who willfully reject the knowledge of God, and refuse to believe the truth of the Good News of the coming of the Messiah.

Yes, we are looking forward to the return of our Lord in blazing glory from the heavens, and every eye shall behold his glory and majesty. He will destroy evil, render Satan inoperative, and assume his place on his throne of glory. Our reward will be in his hand. He will not re-appear in this world again as a mortal man, for he has already done that, and effected our salvation thereby. Therefore, any man who appears on the scene claiming to be the Christ, or Messiah, henceforth is a deceiver and an antichrist, miracles or no, he is to be avoided as a plague.

Christians look for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in power, bringing with him those who have died in Christ for to resurrect the dead, and to set right all that is wrong in this world. He will come in the clouds of heaven with great glory, and every eye shall see him. His coming will be like the lightning - shining from horizon to horizon. But God's final act of "Judicial Blinding" will occur in the preceding rise to power of a pseudo-christ, more commonly designated as the Antichrist, in the last days at the end of this age. This is to test and judge the world for its sin. Paul writes in his second letter to the Thessalonians, chapter two, "And then that Lawless One will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth, and destroy with the splendour of his appearing. The coming of the Lawless One will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all manner of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders, and in every kind of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a strong delusion in order that they will believe the lie, and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth, but have delighted in evil." This is resultant "Volitional Immutabilty."

Therefore, do not fail to receive God's cleansing, the gift of the indwelling and empowering Holy Spirit, and the gift of eternal life. Don't be like the moth - evading God's efforts to save you from the destruction of the flame. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Adjust to the justice of God in faith, before the justice of God adjusts to you in judgment.

So the way to go seems very clear. Believe and be saved; appropriate God's provision; receive eternal life by becoming his child. Its just a matter of choice. A child trusts simply and completely without reservation. This is how we are to trust in God. God will carry his end; we are to be willing to follow through and do his will. His will is that we believe, trust, and rely upon the One whom he has sent, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, and to lovingly care for one another; and he will make you all that you can be in him.

The next step would be to join the Church - a local assembly of believers that honors God and proclaims The Truth and be baptized. Then you are to keep on growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord through regular attendance, assimilation of the word of God as it is taught, and regular Bible study, applying what you have learned as you go. After you have matured in The Faith, then you can serve in whatever capacity God has called you to.

The Attributes of God

We will now examine some attributes of God. His attributes are consistent with his character. God is perfectly holy, righteous and just, and cannot be compromised in any way whatsoever. Jesus tells us God is Spirit and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. As such, God is eternal, without beginning or end. It is hard for temporal individuals as ourselves to fathom a concept so far from the realm of our experience. God by nature is a trinity, meaning he is three persons in one, one person in three, and this also is hard for us to fathom. God is eternal; and if Christ is God manifested in flesh, then Christ is also eternal. He did not begin in a manger in Bethlehem of Judea. The pre-existent Christ has always been - as God manifesting himself to his people in theophanies called "The Angel of the Lord," always speaking with the authority of God, as God, to his subjects. God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, as well as God the Son, all were present and had a hand in the creation in the beginning, saying, "Let us create man in our image." God the father is God the Son is God the Holy Spirit. He is inseparable, yet able to manifest himself in three distinct forms. God's Spirit resides within every believer, yet his Spirit is not divided into separate parts. God the Son was born as a baby, yet God the Father and God the Holy Spirit were still in control of the universe while God the Son divested himself of heavenly glory for our sakes. God is all-knowing and all-powerful; these attributes are demonstrated in his creative ability. God is everywhere at the same time in all time; only we are restricted within the element of time; therefore, God is able to know our future, as well as our past - an element of his omniscience, as he stands outside of the constricts of time, able to enter into any time or place he chooses.

God is separated from all that is common or profane, this is what is meant by holiness. God is holy. God is a God of justice, fairness, and integrity. James says that every good and perfect gift comes down from God, the Father of all luminaries, in whom there is no vascillation nor hint of reneging [James 1:17]. It is impossible for God to exhibit any taint of unrighteousness or unfairness in any way, shape, or form; thus we are able to, with confidence, trust our well being and our destiny to his care and determination. When God judges the earth and metes out the eternal destiny of every person, past and present, we can rest assured that he will be perfectly fair according to his omniscience. Some may ask, “What about the pagans who never heard the Good News” “Is God justified sending them to hell if they have never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ?” “And what about those pagans prior to Jesus Christ?” The General and Specific Revelations of God as explained above address these questions. God knows all, and knows if a culture or individual wants to relate to him on his terms. He knows the heart of every man, and how he will choose given the chance. Provision was made for the sojourner prior to Christ according to each dispensation. Provision is aptly provided now in the dispensation of Grace.

God does not change. It is impossible for God to vacillate, be uncertain, or renege on his word. God does not need to be a control freak in order to remain secure in his omniscience. He allows us free will and this is calculated into the equation of his sovereignty. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever, though he has dealt with man differently according to each dispensation. God is absolutely sovereign; his will always prevails. This is demonstrated in the election of those who are saved and become God's children through faith. According to his foreknowledge God elects and calls those who will believe his "Specific Revelation" of himself, and trust and rely upon Christ for their salvation. He also knows those who will not. Those who will not believe are condemned already according to the foreknowledge of God because they would refuse to do so given the opportunity. Though the provision of Christ is sufficient for all, not all will appropriate this provision, therefore all salvific solutions remain potential until appropiated. This is how Christ died for all men, yet all men are not saved. Christ saves all men without distinction, not without exception. If Christ died for all men, then were all dead, past, present and future. He did not die for some and neglect the others. His provision is sufficient for all, but only potential in the case of the object's unbelief. God would be unjust if he had done it any other way. Arbitrary election as the Calvinists would have it is dead wrong, and makes God appear fickle and unfair, as if some men had more to offer God than others; but this is not the case. God does not “gift” the ability to believe arbitrarily. God has chosen those he knows will believe given the chance, and then gives them the faith to believe when their time comes [Romans 8:28-32]. Men reject God because they want to. Thus they do not qualify for salvation and eternal life by virtue of their choice based upon their "Negative Volition." This is the risk involved with free will. God is a God of integrity, and therefore his election is not based on an arbitrary whim of sovereignty, but on his foreknowledge. He has made provision for all in all fairness and potentiality, but only those who accept are benefited. Apparently, salvation of the few valuable possessions who trust God through Christ is well worth the loss of the majority of mankind for all eternity.

God is in control. There is no such thing with God as being almost or partially in control; that would be like almost being alive - either you are or you are not. Therefore God is in absolute control, chaotic as this world may seem to be from our point of view. God only allows evil in the world so much as what good can and does come out of it. The World Trade Center disaster is a prime example. Three thousand perished, but millions turned back to God as a result. Think of the preservation of God also in that there were not fifty thousand persons there at that time as is usual. Nothing catches God by surprise, but whether prosperity or adversity, all is either by his directive or permissive will. His will is tempered with provision for the exercise of our own free will. Choices we make carry consequences, both good and bad, both for ourselves, and for others. The judgement of God is always at work in the world. God is perpetually happy. Some imagine that God is an angry deity, ready to pounce on our every infraction. They fail to realize that the wrath of God is already in effect in the consequences of our violations of his standards and principles. If his attitude were based in response to our lack of obedience, he would be perpetually angry. This is not the case.

Though this enumeration of some of the attributes of God is far from exhaustive, it gives one a relatively intelligent assessment of the One who is his creator. It is hard to imagine such things as these occurring in one personality, especially in our finite little minds, because the whole of our being and experience is governed by limitations.

Now, Hebrews also tells us that our God is a consuming fire. God has manifested himself as such numerous times throughout biblical history. An example of this is recorded in the Old Testament book of Exodus, chapters nineteen and twenty. In light of these attributes, what is due is a healthy fear, awe, admiration and respect for him. God is worthy of our praise, reverence, worship, adoration, and obedience.

God is not, cannot, and will not be deceived, manipulated, trifled with, exploited, or trivialized. We are to do his bidding, not he ours. God owes us nothing; we owe him everything, and can only be recipients of his unmerited favor and mercy. By both creative right and redemptive right we are subject to him as his creatures, though many times we behave as if we weren't, and we are therefore reliant upon him for our well being. At the same time, God's very attributes make him absolutely reliable in providing for our needs, and we can fully trust him to be an ever present help in our time of need. If he provides the common graces of air, food, and water for the lost man, he will surely provide for his own children, though he sometimes allows for the consequences of foolishness and disobedience to teach us something.

It is also written that God, as to his nature, is light. In him there is no darkness at all - darkness being representative of ignorance and evil. Light by its very nature dispels darkness; darkness must give way to it. Light represents truth, and error likewise gives way to the presence of truth, even as evil is dissipated by good.

Also written is that God, as to his nature, is love. This love by definition is not emotional or erotic, neither familial nor affectionate, but it is a self-sacrificial loving care which seeks the highest good of others without any expectation of return. It is divine subject love, aimed at an object - the qualities, characteristics, and attributes of such being of no consequence. This is the kind of God-like love we are to emulate. This is loving the unlovely, the unlikeable and the enemy. This is the kind of love God has for the world, that he would send his only begotten son into the world, to die on our behalf for our sins, in order to satisfy the demands of his justice when we were all his enemies by nature. "God so loved the world" - that is the motivating factor; "that he gave his only begotten son" - that is the function of his justice; "that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" - that is the resultant blessing.

God is not moved by emotion or sentiment, though his mercy is driven by his compassion, but is governed by the principles of his character. If God were to relate to us in such an emotional manner he would cease to be God, and would be unreliable and untrustworthy since emotions and sentiments vacillate, and cannot be objective in scope or operation. In 2nd Peter it says that God is not slack concerning his promise of judgement, but is long-suffering towards us - not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. Look at Jesus as the manifestation of God. Jesus is not on his knees, begging people to come to him. To the contrary, he was always plying the trade of hard sayings to thin the crowds who followed him of those with improper motivations.

God's love is also directional. He may cause or allow the demise of certain individuals who are detrimental to the well being of others who are to remain intact for his purposes according to his sovereign will. In wars, disasters, or accidents, many may perish while certain ones are miraculously preserved. The will of God is that none would perish, but that all would come to repentance, yet according to his foreknowledge and fairness, the many are called but the few are chosen, because, unfortunately, many refuse to believe and be saved, and are therefore expendable.

Again, God only allows bad things to happen only so much as good can come of them. An example of this would be again the World Trade Center disaster. It is truly unfortunate that the collective destinies of each of the persons there have brought them together for this terrible event. The free will of evil men negatively affected these many others. Yet, some things cannot be avoided in this imperfect world. This is a sad, but realistic perspective for life's tragedies. The majority would perish because they did not qualify for God's salvation by virtue of their unbelief, and were thus expendable according to God's foreknowledge. Those who believe and yet die are called home to heaven because it was their time according to God's foreknowledge. All may be taken in order to confront relatives and others with the finality of death, the brevity of our existence, and the true issues and meaning of life. Those who believe and survive do so because God is not finished with them yet and they may have a particular destiny to fulfill. And those who believe not and yet survive, are allowed to because they will be saved in the future, or are to be the parents and grandparents of offspring who will in the future, or in future generations, believe and be saved according to the foreknowledge of God. But for some believers, it may be the sinning unto death for failure to repent of unconfessed sin as it was with the high profiled Princess Diana. They sin to the point that they have become a poor testimony to the saving grace of God, and therefore a liability to God's reputation, cause and plan for the world. He must remove them from circulation by whatever means he chooses.

God also seeks our highest good in allowing crises, and difficulties, and hardships to come into our lives. Nature is replete with examples of things that must struggle in order to develop strength for survival and propagation. For us this is so that we may learn to trust, rely, and lean upon God in the development of our inner strength and character, and be able to withstand whatever may come our way as we throw our cares upon him and trust that he will bring us through. Faith stretched and exercised produces inner strength for utility in life's trials. God does not allow his people's faith to atrophy. The Spirit of God drags the weak, kicking and screaming, to places where the flesh dare not go, in order that the weak may become strong. In doing so we are able to become a help to others in need, because we have been there ourselves, and God can use us for this purpose.

Indeed our God is an awesome God who's ways are as high above our ways as the heavens are above the earth. He is worthy of our confidence, trust, worship, praise, and allegiance, and we can always count on him to seek our highest good in everything, for God as to his nature is “love”.

Confidence in God gives courage towards man and circumstances; but our confidence is only as strong as our knowledge of him. Therefore it is an imperative that we become fully acquainted with the Lord and God whom we admire, serve, and worship. This is accomplished as we give daily diligence to the study of God's written revelation, the Holy Bible, and place ourselves under the authority of one of his competent pastor-teachers - who truly believes, since there are many who don’t - in a local assembly of believers, usually called the Church, and faithfully learn and grow to the status of spiritual maturity, thus glorifying God, and being useful in his service. The local assembly is for the saved. The lost have no business being there. The notion that evangelism must constantly be plied in the assembly is a misnomer. Many evangelize the saved over and over again in an attempt to reach the lost in a Church - forgetting that the main purpose for the assembly of saints is for their edification unto maturity. The pastors are evangelizing the lost while the sheep entrusted to their care are starving to death, and then they wonder why they have so much carnality in the body. They forget that it is not what you do for God that counts, but what you are for God. If what you are is right, then what you do will be right, and God will be properly glorified. Evangelism belongs outside of the church, and edification belongs inside the Church. The Church is to be the spiritual “boot camp” for believers, to bring them to spiritual maturity, to prepare them for battle against worldliness, the carnal nature, and Satan, and to teach them how to reach others for Christ.

A Word from the Apostle Paul

On Mars Hill the apostle Paul said to idolators who were ignorant of God, yet who had a monument erected to the unknown God in case they had missed one, "What therefore you worship in ignorance, this, I announce to you: the God who made the world and everything in it; he being Lord of heaven and earth does not dwell in shrines made with hands, nor is he in need of anything that he should be served by human hands since he gives to all life and breath and everything else. And he made of one, every nation of man to dwell upon all the face the earth, having fixed the times and boundaries of their habitation, hoping that men might perchance be seeking after God, groping after and hopefully finding him, though he is not very far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being, as in fact, some of the poets among you have said: "We are also his offspring." Therefore, being God's offspring, we ought not to suppose the divine nature to be like gold or silver or stone - an engraved work of art after the imagination of man. So then, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now declares to all men everywhere to repent, because he has set a day in which he is about to judge the inhabited earth in righteousness, by that Man whom he designated a guaranteed offering for all, having raised him up from the dead."

"If any one be in Christ, they are a new creature: old things are passing away; behold, all things are becoming new. And the all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; meaning that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their sins unto them; and has committed to us the Word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ; and as though God did beseech you through us, we ask you on behalf of Christ; be reconciled to God. For he has made Christ to be sin in our stead, who knew no sin, in order that we might be made the righteousness of God through him."

Our faith in God will be imputed to us as righteousness, "if we believe that God raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was given over for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom we also have access by faith into his unmerited favor wherein we stand, and rejoice in the confident expectation of the exaltation of God. And not only so, but we exult in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation produces endurance, and endurance, character, and character, a confident expectation. And this confident expectation does not let us down, because God has poured his loving care into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. For when we were powerless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. Hardly will one die for a just man; yet perhaps for a good man one might dare to die; but God's loving care towards us is worthy to be received in this: that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Better yet, therefore having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved through him from God's wrath. For if being enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, even better, having been reconciled, we shall be saved through his life. And not only this, but we are also boasting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have presently received the reconciliation."

The Conclusion

It is a given fact that we must all die someday; no normal human being has ever escaped the inevitable. If it is true that our soul, that immaterial part of our being, goes on through eternity, it is then incumbent upon us to ensure where it is that we will spend eternity when only two legitimate alternatives are presented to us. This is especially true in light of the fact that we must one day stand before Almighty God to be judged. Can you imagine standing before the awesome God of the universe in the nakedness of your sin, shame, and unworthiness with nothing to cover yourself with, or acceptable to offer on your behalf? Better to be clothed with the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ which alone is acceptable to God as payment for our sin. People will be judged unworthy of heaven and cast out for only one thing: having rejected the righteousness of God which comes to us only through the Lord Jesus Christ. People will only enter into the blessedness of heaven as God's children by being born anew by his Spirit through faithing into the Lord Jesus Christ, for today, this is the prescribed manner in which one is to approach God, be purged of sin, and made acceptable.

Therefore it is written in the scripture, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness (that is, Jesus Christ), and all that you have need of will be added to you."

It is also written in the scripture, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing by the Holy Spirit, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified in his unmerited favor, we should be made heirs according to the confident expectation of eternal life."

Therefore, believe (trust or faith into) on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Join a local assembly of believers for fellowship with brethren of the same mind. Be immersed in baptism as the outward profession of the faith you possess within, which also is the symbol of the death and burial of your old self with Christ, and your resurrection to newness of life in Christ. Immerse yourself in his word unto spiritual maturity; and then offer yourself in his service as he will lead you to do in good time. Soldiers are never sent out to do battle fresh off the street. They must endure boot camp in order to be readied and trained for effectiveness. Likewise in the economy of the Lord; he never sends neophytes to do his work. They must be properly and fully prepared for his service. Therefore, submit to instruction and become a suitable instrument for God's use. Enjoy your new life in Christ; be joyful in the Lord; you have a secure future.

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