Hell will not prevail

 Hell will not prevail

The Psalmist writes,

"The fool says in his heart, 

"There is no God." 

                                     Psalm 14:1

C.S. Lewis said of Christianity,

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” C. S. Lewis.

For me I believe there has to be something to Christianity. We are a people who preach peace, love and living in harmony with our fellow man. We present to those who will listen to us the way we believe you get to heaven. Then leave it up to the individual to decide for themselves if we are right or wrong. 

A true Christian will never force their faith on anyone.

That being said if Christianity is untrue. If God does not exist why are some governments putting  Christians in forced labour camps?

Why wont some allow people to convert to Christianity? 

Why are atheist trying to get Christian symbols out of schools and other public places?

It seems to me if there is nothing behind the Christian faith then the symbols and practices of Christianity are meaningless.

Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate, (361-363 A.D.)  an ancient adversary of Christianity. Said in his work against Christianity:

“Jesus…has now been celebrated about three hundred years having done nothing in his lifetime worthy of fame, unless anyone thinks it is a very great work to heal lame and blind people and exorcise demoniacs in the villages of Bethsaida and Bethany.”

At the end of his life Julian was forced to say:

“Thou has conquered, O Galilean!”

Over the centuries many men and governments have come against Christianity yet none have prevailed. 

Christianity is stronger today than it has ever been and it is still growing even in countries that try to suppress it.

It continues to grow because it is of God, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

Think about it.

Moral teacher or Son of God?

  Moral teacher or Son of God?

John’s gospel records this event in the life of Jesus,

(Jesus said) "I and the Father are one." 

Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" 

"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." John 10:30-33.

Jesus here makes a bold statement about himself. One he I am sure knew could get him killed. He equated himself with God. Something considered blasphemy in Jewish circles at the time. A crime deserving of death. Yet he still made it. 

C. S. Lewis makes the point,

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

So who do you think Jesus is?

Please think about it.

The Choice

The Choice
The apostle Paul wrote,
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."  
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:9-13.
In my previous Blog post I noted that Jesus said,

"I am the way and the truth and the life.

 No one comes to the Father except through me." 

                                                                     John 14:6.

What the apostle Paul is saying here is this is the way to heaven.
 “That if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
It’s really that simple. Going to heaven is as simple as truly believing that “Jesus is Lord” and that God raised him from the dead.
Unfortunately having the faith to believe this, is a difficult for many people. Yet it is the foundation of Christian belief.
The writer of Hebrews stated,

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and certain of what we do not see."  

                                                     Hebrews 11:1

"And without faith it is impossible to please God,

 because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists 

and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." 

                                                                                            Hebrews 11:6.

So the question becomes; do you believe Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead?
Please think about it.

Your Choice

Your Choice
Luke’s gospel quotes Jesus as saying,
“Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to?  
It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Luke 13:20,21.
This is like the message of Jesus today. For over two thousand years now the message of salvation through Christ Jesus has gone throughout the world. It has reached every nation in the world.
Sadly many nations do not like the message. Christians around the world are persecuted for their faith daily.
Oddly many governments who are atheist who say there is no God persecute Christians harshly. Which begs the question if God does not exist what have atheist nations to worry about? They can’t be hurt by something that doesn’t exist.
The fact is what Christians teach is true whether you want to believe it or not. Ultimately the choice is up to you the individual.
Before you make that choice however I would say at least read the New Testament for yourself. Don’t rely on what others say about it. Read it for yourself and then decide whether you believe it or not.
Please think about it.

Two Choices

Two choices
The book of Acts records these two incidents in the life of the apostle Paul.
“When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.  
As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,  explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,’” he said.  
Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women. 
But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.  
But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”  
When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil.  Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go. 
As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.  
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  
Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. 
When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up.  
The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea.  
The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. Acts 17:1-15.
Here is an illustration of how two types of people receive the message of Jesus Christ even today.
Some accept the message of Christ with open arms and hearts. They believe what believers in Christ Jesus tell them.
On the other side is a wide spectrum of people in the world that are opposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Radical religious groups, terrorist, political groups, governments even Atheist that say they know best. Groups that try to stop the spread of the gospel.
Ultimately however it is up to you the individual. What I would ask anyone who is reading this and not a Christian is to read the New Testament and see for yourself what those early believers in Christ Jesus believed. Then make up your mind as to whether you will follow Christ.
Please think about it.

The First Sermon

The first Sermon
The book of Acts records this speech of Peters on the day of Pentecost. Peter states,
“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.  
This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.  
But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.  
David said about him: “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope,   because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 
You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ 
“Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.  
But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.  
Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.  
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.  
Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.  
For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ’ 
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  
The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”  
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. Acts 2:22-42.
Here is something of note. Peter’s first sermon was on the day of Pentecost when devout Jews from all over the known world were in Jerusalem.
It is safe I think to assume that because this was a major Jewish holiday, the majority of people who heard Peter’s sermon were devout Jews from all over the world. They knew the Jewish scriptures. They knew the prophesies about the Messiah, the Christ.
It is to these people Peter presents what he and all followers of Jesus believed.
1. Jesus was handed over by wicked men with God’s foreknowledge to be put to death.
2. Jesus died and was raised from the dead.
3/ Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God.
4. Peter emphatically states,
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Peter believed Jesus was the Messiah.
When the crowd asks Peter what to do, he states what all believers in Jesus believe you should do,
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38.  
The bottom line here is the same today as it was in Peter’s day.
Every individual who hears about Jesus has a choice. You either believe Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, the suffering Messiah who died for your sins or you do not.
The choice is yours.
Please think about it.

Why would Christians

Why would Christians
John’s Gospel records,
“Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  
So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” 
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:24-31.
Here is a simple question that begs an answer. Why would the followers of Jesus say he rose from the dead if he did not?
After all to say anyone rose from the dead would seem to be an outlandish belief. Something quite unbelievable.
The apostle Paul even says,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18.
The early followers of Jesus were in the process of building the church. To make a outlandish claim like Jesus rose from the dead had the potential for stopping them. Yet they persisted in that belief as do all believers in Christ Jesus to this day.
Thus it is my contention that either the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is true. If not it is one incredible lie believed by millions for over two thousand years and by close to 3,000,000,000 people on the earth today.
The question is not however what believers in Christ Jesus believe it is what you the reader believe.
Please think about it. 

In a Nutshell

In a Nutshell
The Gospel of John records an interaction between Jesus and a Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council and Jesus. Jesus tells Nicodemus, 
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:16-18.
This is the message of Jesus Christ in a nutshell. In very clear terms it makes three statements.
1. God loved the world so much He sent his one and only son into it, so that whoever believed in Him would have eternal life.
2. He makes it clear that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world in any way. He came to save all who would believe in Him.
3. He gives a warning. Making it clear that whoever believes in Jesus in not condemned. But whoever does not believe is condemned.
This is a core belief of all who believe in Jesus Christ.
All who hear about the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ must decide for themselves if what the apostle John wrote here in his gospel is true or not.
If it is untrue then no one has anything to fear.
If on the other hand it is true then there are eternal ramifications. 
Please think about it.

Lazarus Rising

Lazarus Rising
The Gospel of John records,
“On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.  
Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.  
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  
But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 
“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” 
And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.”  
When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.  
Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.  
When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. 
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.  
“Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 
Jesus wept. 
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.  
“Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  
I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  
The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” 
                                                                                                   John 11:17-44
Here is the story of Lazarus as recorded by the apostle John. Like all the gospels John’s was written within living memory of the events.
Like all the miracles Jesus performed if not true and proven to be a lie would be detrimental to the cause of the fledgling Christian movement.
Especially something like raising a man from the dead. This is an incredible claim at any time. Yet early Christians and Christians to this day believed this.
So Christians then and now are either believing a lie that has lasted centuries or the truth. It’s the same for not only the story of Lazarus but all that is said in the New Testament.
Within the New Testament there are if you think about it incredible statements made about Jesus. Foremost Jesus claim to be the Son of God the Saviour of mankind, God incarnate.
Jesus said,
“I and the Father are one.” 
                                    John 10:30.
He also said,
 “...I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
                                                                                                                                                 John 14:6.  
To claim to be equal to God under Jewish law at the time was a serious crime punishable by death,
When Jesus was on trial before Pilate the Jews reminded the Roman governor of that law. John’s gospel records,
“The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” 
                                     John 19:7
Jesus knew all about the law yet up to his dying breath he never wavered in His claim to be God. Luke’s Gospel records Jesus while on the cross as calling out to God the Father asking forgiveness for those who are crucifying him. Luke records,
“ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
                                                                                                                         Luke 23:34a
C. S. Lewis points out,
“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” 
                               C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Within the story of Lazarus lies a question that I believe all people must answer. When speaking to Martha the sister of Lazarus,
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 
“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” 
This is a question you must answer. This is a question that everyone who hears about Jesus must answer.
Who do you think Jesus is?
Please think about it

A Lunatic

A lunatic?

C. S. Lewis wrote,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” 
                                                                                         C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
There are many in the world today who would dismiss Jesus as simply a man. There are some that even say Jesus is a myth. These people are mistaken. Jesus is a real person who lived on this earth. A turning point in human history.
C. S. Lewis in the above statement from his book Mere Christianity, makes a valid point. For Jesus to say what he did, at the time he did it, in the culture he was living in meant would be crazy. No sain man would have done it.
Kenneth Scott Latourette, former President of American Historic Society
In A History of Christianity wrote,
“It is evidence of His importance, of the effect that He has had upon history and presumably, of the baffling mystery of His being that no other life ever lived on this planet has evoked so huge a volume of literature among so many people and languages, and that, far from ebbing, the flood continues to mount.”
“As the centuries pass by, the evidence is accumulating that measured by its effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet. The influence appears to be mounting.”
“No other life lived on this planet has so widely and deeply affected mankind.”
                                                                                                    Kenneth Scott Latourette
Napoleon Bonaparte said,
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel.  Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
                                                                                      Napoleon Bonaparte,
Jesus is no man he is God incarnate, God in the flesh.
Jesus said of Himself,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 
John 14:6 
Quite a bold statement. Saying that He is the only way to heaven.
The gospel of John states,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 
                                                                                                   John 1:1-4, 12-14 
Again quite the claim John stating Jesus is the creator of the world. AND that he came into the world He created.
If even this claim is wrong then people have nothing to fear. If however the claims of Jesus are correct people everywhere have at the very least something to think carefully about.
Please think about it.

Of Christianity

Of Christianity

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
                                                               C. S. Lewis.
The first church I ever attended had a huge sign emblazoned above the alter saying, “What think ye of Christ.”
Throughout the ages there have always been men and women who have questioned the credentials of Jesus. Men and women who have chose to simply call him a good man.
Likewise there have been many who deny both the existence of God and Jesus, calling them a myth. That is there choice.
That’s the nice thing about God, he gave us a choice whether to believe in him or not.
The evidence is all around us not just in the scriptures but in the world as a whole.
The Psalmist wrote,
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” 
                                                                                                                               Psalm 19:1.
The bible is a book of faith but it does not ask us to accept what it says with blind faith. Quite the contrary it asks us to read it with an open mind and see the truths that are in it.
It challenges us to look around at the world, the universe, we live in and see just how perfect it is. So perfect that it could only have been created.

Once we have read the bible and looked around at the world, we are then asked to make that leap of informed faith. The writer of Hebrews saying,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 
                                                                                                 Hebrews 11:1
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
                                                                          Hebrews 11:6 
If the Bible is wrong it is then as C. S. Lewis states,
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance,...” but if it is true then it is also true what Lewis said, it is “...if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
                                                             
Think about it.