More From Les Miserables

Let's follow through Valjean's truth from "Les Miserables" one step further.
Remember what he said to Cosette?

"You will learn.
Truth is given by God
To us all in our time,
In our turn."

And remember what God says to us .....

Consequently,
just as one offence resulted in condemnation for all people,
so also
one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.
[Romans 5 : 18]

Firstly. let me highlight the fact that what we do has no effect on whether we are justified or eventually have life.
What Jesus achieved on the cross (his righteous act) did it all.  Jesus didn't just start a process for us to complete.  He didn't lay a foundation that we must build on. What he did resulted in justification and life.  It certainly doesn't need any action from us (including belief) to validate it. (1)

Just as we had no say in the result or consequence of Adam's "one offence," so we have no say in the result or consequence of Jesus' "one righteous act."
God has decreed them both, without any input or approval from us.

Now. let's consider the truth from Valjean.
Just as we cannot experience the curse placed on us by Adam until we are physically born, so we cannot experience the victory placed on us by Christ until God chooses to reveal it to us, until we are spiritually born.
For the firstfruits, that will happen in this life; for the rest of creation it will happen in the next..... each in our turn.

Isn't God magnificent?
Blessings, Barry

(1)  Unfortunately, this is not what mainstream christianity teaches.  It teaches that we had no say in the result of Adam's offence, but we do have a say in the result of Christ's righteous act - we can thwart the work of Jesus by our so-called "free will" but we can't stand up against Adam's.  Does this sound like we have been taught that Adam is stronger and his work is more powerful than Jesus and his ????? 

What is the Gospel?

To answer this question it is imperative to remember that "gospel" means "good news."  
So when we hear evangelists preaching the gospel we expect to be hearing them announcing or explaining good news.  
That is a given, surely.

I guess that's why we see the gospel described in the Scriptures as "the gospel of the grace of God" and "the gospel of Jesus Christ" and "the gospel of the kingdom of God" and "the gospel of peace" and "the gospel of the glory of Christ."

I can't find anywhere anything like "the gospel of the wrath of God" or "the gospel of everlasting torment."  
How absurd to suggest that either of these could be associated with the word "gospel."
Yet how many times do we hear wrath and everlasting torment masquerading as gospel preaching in our churches and on our television screens?

How different is this from Paul's statement in Romans 10:15 ?

As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”  [NKJV]

The gospel is glad tidings of good things.
It is the good news that through Jesus God has reconciled us to himself - he is at peace with us.

God loves us and is on our side.
God holds nothing against us - any of us - whether we know it or not, whether we believe it or not, whether we appreciate it or not.
What God has done through Jesus does not depend on us in any way.
It is totally his decision, his work.

Now that's good news; that's the gospel; that's what God calls us to preach.
And the Christmas season is a great time to preach it - to explain to people the mission of the babe in the manger.

Blessings, Barry

Keeping the Right Focus

Several conversations I have had in the last few days have centred around judgement, hell, the lake of fire, punishment, etc.
My conversation partners were so focussed on these topics that they completely missed God's ultimate purpose to reconcile all people to himself.

God made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
[Eph 1 : 9 - 10]

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Jesus, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
[Col 1 : 19 - 20]

When we focus on the judgement, punishment topics, isolated from God's purpose, and isolated from God's love and sovereignty, we quickly get back to the position that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross completely failed for the majority of God's creation, and man's will has usurped God's.

But when we focus first on God's love, will and sovereignty, we can easily see God's judgements and punishments as the correction of a loving Father, in control of his family, moulding his children to become the people he has designed them to be, in the likeness of his begotten Son, Jesus.

We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
[1 John 3 : 2b]

If we saw a parent smacking a child and knew nothing of that parent's love for the child or desire to improve the behaviour of the child for its own well-being we might have a distorted view of that parent and his/her character.
Equally, of course, if we saw a parent belting and belting and belting a child, for whatever reason, we would be horrified and would question that parent's love for the child and the motivation for the punishment.
Unfortunately, many people view God like this, as an angry, incessant "belter" of his wayward children, because they don't know his heart and purpose.

Let's focus on God's character and purpose first and then we will see how easily the punishment verses, correctly translated, complete the picture.

Blessings, Barry

Heresy

I continue to be amazed at the accusation of heresy levelled against me by leaders and others in the mainstream church.

I think God is love and therefore loves all of his creation, yet I'm the heretic.
I think God is more powerful than those he has created, yet I'm the heretic.
I think God's free will is more likely to be achieved than man's "free" will, yet I'm the heretic.
I believe Paul when he told Timothy that God is the saviour of the world, not just believers, yet I'm the heretic.
I think Jesus died for the sins of all mankind, not just those who accept him in their lifetime on this planet, yet I'm the heretic.
I believe Jesus when he said he would draw all people to himself, yet I'm the heretic.
I believe the Bible when it says that at the completion of the ages God will bring everyone in the heavens and on earth together under the headship of Christ, yet I'm the heretic.

So you can see why I was delighted to find this definition of heresy.

"Heresy" is often nothing more than the rejection of widely held error.

Isn't that something?
I'm a heretic, and proud of it.

Blessings, Barry

Trusting God

Although I finished writing Chapter 2 a long time ago, I am far from finished learning about the sovereignty of God.

One of my "side" studies recently has been about the kingdom of God, and I have been asking the Lord to show me if the kingdom (the millennium) has already commenced or is still in the future.

In the process of this investigation I have been considering the position that the kingdom of God is not a physical thing to be set up somewhere, sometime, but is God's rule in the hearts of people who are committed to him and who trust him.  And it is this kingdom that will spread and cover the earth "as the waters cover the sea" as all people are eventually reconciled to God.

An application of this definition of the kingdom is our willingness to be content with whatever God sends us - good or bad - because of our willingness to trust God's love and sovereignty.
Indeed it could be a good test of whether we are "in the kingdom" or not.  To be worried about anything suggests we are not trusting God in that thing.  And I am so guilty of that - not trusting that God is sovereign in ALL my circumstances.

God loves me and will never send me wrong things.  They may be things I do not like, be extremely unpleasant or cause great hardship, but they are never wrong if they come from a loving God who only wants the best for me and is planning to make me Christ-like.

Whatever God sends me will be beneficial - if I allow it to do the thing God designed it to do.
Remember my translation of 1 Cor 10 : 13 that I shared a couple of months ago?

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide the planned outcome (or sequel) so that you can endure it. [BSV]

It is becoming a key verse in my life.

The greatest evil ever was the murder of Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son.  
But look at the benefit to the whole world that evil brought!

Hope you're learning to trust God in ALL things quicker than I am.
Blessings, Barry

Will the Real God Please Stand Up

Remember the TV Game Show called "Tell the Truth?"
The show featured a panel of contestants who tried to correctly identify a certain character who was accompanied by two impostors.

As a result of questioning the character and his/her imposters, the panel had to choose which of the three was the real character.
The real character was required to always tell the truth, but the imposters were permitted to lie in answering the panel's questions.

After the panelists had made their choice of which character they thought was telling the truth, the real character was asked to stand up and identify him/herself.
Sometimes the impostors had done such a good job in their deceiving role, the panel was totally surprised when the real character was revealed.

This reminded me of the real God accompanied by the impostor Gods of mainstream christianity.
The Calvinist God has the ability to save all mankind, but doesn't choose to.
The Arminian God wants to save all mankind, but does not have the power or ability to.
The real God, the God of the Bible, has the will, power and ability to save all mankind, and sent Jesus to be the Saviour of the world to make sure it happens.

We need to encourage people, and especially those in the churches, to start asking questions about the character and actions of the presenting Gods, to see if they can determine the real character, the One telling the truth.

Eventually the real God will stand up, much to the surprise of those who have been deceived by promoters of the impostors.

Blessings, Barry

Growth is God's Desire For Us

In a recent comment to the "Trustworthy Sayings" post, I mentioned that Rog's linking of hardships with God's refining fire reminded me of Paul's comment about temptations in 1 Corinthians 10 : 13.

Here's the NIV translation of this verse.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.  And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. [NIV]

It is typical of most English translations, but does it make sense?
..... God will provide a way out or a path of escape so that you can endure the temptation ?????
How can you endure something by avoiding it?

Let's think for a moment.
What is your own personal experience of facing hardships, temptations and crises?
Does God usually provide you with a way of escape?
If you're like me, that rarely happens.
He is more likely to provide encouragement, wisdom, strength, endurance or some other way for us to grow and mature and become Christ-like, rather than a way to remain weaklings looking for outs, excuses and escape chutes.

What Bible character was ever given an escape route?
Moses, Joseph, Job, Jonah, David, Hosea, Paul, Stephen, Jesus ????????
Have a quick flick through Hebrews 11.

God sees that the size of the problem is never more than we can cope with, but there is usually no escape from it.
So I began researching the translation of this verse.

Here's my translation.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide the planned outcome (or sequel) so that you can endure it. [BSV]

If God is sovereign, and all is from him, through him, and to him, then we can be sure that any trial that God brings our way will also have its planned outcome in place, ready to be experienced also.
Which also guarantees that everything works together for good, for those loving God and fitting in to his plans.  [Romans 8 : 28]

So we need to trust God in all our trials and hardships, because he will also have the planned outcome ready to be achieved as well - not an escape chute so we can avoid the refining fire and growing experience God desires for us.

Blessings, Barry

Trustworthy Sayings

On my journey through Revelation (again), I lingered at chapter 21 verse 5 (again).
I'm a sucker for verses like this one.

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"  
Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

It's a bit like

This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.  
That is why we labour and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, and especially of those who believe.
[ 1 Tim 4 : 9 - 10 ]

What a pity more people don't believe God when he says things like this.
And especially when he tells us that these statements are trustworthy.

This situation begs a huge question for me.
Don't Christians trust God, even with his trustworthy sayings?

I think so many, and particularly Christian leaders, have a lot to answer for.
They disbelieve God.
They discredit God.
They discount God's love and sovereignty.
They diminish the significance and value of Jesus' death and resurrection.

I wonder what these leaders think of God's stated purpose to be the Saviour of the world and to have everyone bowing their knee and confessing the Lordship of his Son.

I've even found pastors who become angry when I suggest that God saving all people might even be a possibility.
Which is a bit like the anger shown by the early workers in the vineyard when they discovered the owner was more generous than they thought he ought to be. (Matthew 20)
Or the disgust displayed by the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son. (Luke 15)

We've got a long way to go before we become Christ-like, haven't we?
Blessings, Barry

Church Leaders Hostile to God's Plan

Hi Glenn
Thanks for your question.  It has given me a great day today.
I had never even thought about such a question before you asked it last night.

I have previously considered and made decisions about the lesser question - 
why can't people, especially church leaders, see what God is going to do for all mankind?
-  but I have never considered why they are so hostile to the plan.

Why is God's plan to save all so abhorrent to most Christians, and especially to church leaders?

So ...... I have spent much of the day waiting on God, in prayer and in His Word.  
I've had a wonderful day.
I won't go into any of the details of my journey through the day, but simply say that I believe "God's plan to restore all" challenges mankind's real god at the deepest level.

Most of mankind's real god is self, and their most prized possession is their free will.
This is true of most Christians as well.

Man prides himself on his right and ability to make his own decisions as a free agent, as do most Christians. 
Most Christians are proud of their decision to choose Christ, to be saved, to become a disciple, to join the church, or whatever.
I became a Christian when I .....
I was saved when I .......
I was appointed a church elder or board member when I ........
I led this person or that person to Christ when I .......
And on it goes.

They believe their wise and/or clever choices have given them "rightly deserved" advantages over those who haven't been so wise or clever, and they should get the credit for that.

When the idea that it is God who chooses who and how many will be saved, and when and how that will happen, most Christians, and particularly church leaders, are threatened to the core.
Things aren't under their control as they thought and they can no longer take credit for the good things they have done.
Their choice to invite Christ into their hearts or to enter the ministry or to accept the appointment or position they now have is no longer considered to be their doing.

Self, their god, has been brutally challenged and dethroned - and they want none of it.
Don't talk about it. Don't even think about it. It's heresy. It's dangerous. It will get you into trouble.  Don't associate with people who talk like that.

They will happily preach on the sovereignty of God, as long as you don't take it to extremes or suggest it applies to everything and everyone.
For them, God is a lesser sovereign than self.
For them, God's plan for salvation only works when we agree to it.
And if you suggest that we might not have the final word on this, look out.

The second chapter of my book is on the sovereignty of God.
That should guarantee it will never be recommended to those in mainstream churches.

Blessings, Barry

A Recent Conversation

A Recent Conversation with Woodsy.
Woodsy is a local father with three sons who can't understand why I believe that God is going to eventually save everyone.
-------------------------------------------------
Barry:  If you had to choose one of your children to hopelessly suffer forever and not be able to receive any help or relief from you, who would it be?
Woodsy:  I would never do something as ridiculous as that.  I love them all, and wouldn't choose any of them to suffer forever. 
B:  Great, you're not a Calvinist. You must believe God loves all his children equally and chooses none of them to be eternally lost.
W:  Certainly.  God must love his children at least as much as I love mine.
------------------------------------------------
B:  If one of your boys foolishly puts himself in danger, and you have the chance to save him from the consequences of that choice, would you do it?
W:  Of course I would.
B:  Even when he didn't want you to interfere?
W:  Of course.  I wouldn't want him to be hurt.  I might leave him there for a while to help him see the error of his ways, but I wouldn't let him be permanently damaged or risk his life.
B:  So, you would over-ride his freewill, if it's for his ultimate good?
W:  Certainly.
B:  Do you think God would do the same for his kids who have made foolish decisions?
W:  I suppose so ....... I would certainly hope so.
B:  Great, you're not an Arminian.  You must believe God is sovereign and uses his position and power to keep his kids safe from long-term harm.
W:  Hmmmm .....  But doesn't he allow us a free choice ...... to go to heaven or hell?
B:  Would you with your boys?
W:  No, but ......
B:  So you care for your boys more than God cares for his children?
-------------------------------------------------
Woodsy didn't finish the conversation.
I would have enjoyed telling him that God loves his kids even more than we love ours, and that he would never let his kids totally destroy themselves no matter what choices they made or how loudly they protested about his interference.
And I would also have enjoyed showing him the verses in Scripture that convince me of that.
Blessings, Barry

What We Learn from the Costa Concordia

I gave you this one yesterday by email, but thought it was worth putting on the blog.

Because each new post or comment on the blog is sent to all of us by email to keep us in touch with what is being added to the blogsite, you will have a double up in your email INBOX,  Sorry.  Barry

In the largest passenger ship loss since the Titanic, 33 of the 4,252 passengers and crew of the Costa Concordia perished. The captain of the ship was arrested on preliminary charges, including manslaughter.
Despite the fact that some 99.2% were saved, it remains a tragic loss of life. Every life on board the ship was of unique value, and their individual death is a great tragedy.

Just the other day, my dear friend and brother, Jim Burson, shared with me an astute illustration spawned by this cruise ship incident.

"There was a large passenger ship with a thousand people on it. The captain assembled all passengers and announced to them, 'The ship is about to sink, but I have GOOD News. Fifty of you will be able to make it to dry land.'

"This is the 'Good News' of traditionalism, but I contend that it is not 'Good News' at all. For the nine hundred and fifty who are about to perish, it certainly is not 'Good News.' For those fifty who will not perish, it is not 'Good News,' because they likely will leave behind children, wives and husbands. Most of all it is not 'Good News' to the captain because he knows it was his responsibility to assure the well-being of his passengers."

Here is what we learn from the Costa Concordia: the captain is always responsible for his ship – and all under his care. Any loss is unacceptable, even .8%. This is even truer concerning the Sovereign of the Universe. He is responsible for all He has made – for His entire creation – and He emphatically declares Himself to be the "Savior of all men" (I Timothy 4:10).

In effectually discharging His responsibility God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to "take away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), proclaiming Him to be the actual "Savior of the world" (John 4:42).

In spite of all of this, Christianity has the faithless audacity to bring an indictment against God: the vast majority of His creation will be eternally lost, and His Son will utterly fail, being guilty Himself of dereliction of responsibility for His Saviorhood.

Our Lord Jesus Christ "came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10), and He Who leaves the 99, tirelessly and unfailingly will "go after that which is lost, until He finds it" (Luke 15:4). Some of Christianity would have the nerve to suggest that only a fraction will eventually be saved. However, if Christ's rate of salvation was that of the Costa Concordia's – 99.2% – He would be an utter failure, as He was not declared to be the "99.2% Savior of the world."

Salvation is not the responsibility of the crew or passengers, but of Salvation's Captain (the "Captain of their salvation" – Hebrews 2:10, KJV) – the successful "Savior of the WORLD." He, and He alone, will see to its full and complete accomplishment. The Good News is that the ship Salvation is in unwaveringly capable hands. Father and His Son are in absolute control.

Rest, and enjoy the cruise.

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.  

You'll have to excuse the American spellings in most of these quotes, but it is truly amazing how many people have held this "universalist" position, in one form or another, over the centuries.

Since discovering all these authors I have been tempted several times to stop writing my book as it has all been said before, but I am definitely continuing, as my presentation will be much "lighter" and more geared to 'the man in the street' than most of the books and sites I have discovered.


Blessings, Barry