What We've Been Taught Has a Powerful Grip

Hi Everyone
I have been out of action for many months due to health issues, but that is about to change.
I had major back surgery last year and a quintuple by-pass operation this year so I have been unable to sit at my desk for any length of time or even be bothered concentrating on reading the newspaper.

But I have been passively listening, rather than actively participating in discussion or debate, and I have been hearing a similar story over and over.
"The main thrust of your book that all humanity will be reconciled to God eventually is well supported by Scripture and persuasively described in your book BUT it is quite the opposite to what I have been brought up to believe."

And, I have to say, I held a similar view until I began to look at the Biblical evidence for the complete success of Jesus' sacrifice for the sins of the world on the cross of Calvary. I too believed what I had been taught - that people who left this planet as unbelievers would spend eternity in a place called hell where they would be tormented unmercifully.

I was uncomfortable with this outcome, especially under the supervision of a God of love, but my pastors and ministers were all preaching the same message, often weekly at the Sunday evening gospel service, so it must have been correct, was my silent response.
So I completely understand what these people are now saying to me.
However, they at least have "The Really Good News About God" to present the true Biblical story, which I and others of my vintage did not have.

So, now that I am almost three months post-heart-op and getting stronger, I am preparing to take up the challenge of making God's really good news more readily available, especially on the internet.
This blog, the website and study guides for "The Really Good News About God" are going to be my first focus, probably commencing after spending Easter at home and having a brief holiday with friends at Bright at the end of April.

See you in May for the first of the new blogs.
Blessings, Barry

Study Guide for "The Really Good News About God"

Trust you all had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends as we celebrated the birth of the Saviour, and continues today as we start a new year serving the King of kings.

Due to several other events and challenges that have consumed so much of my time, the Blog has not received any attention for quite a while.
But I have prepared a Discussion and Study Guide for "The Really Good News About God" and would be grateful to receive any feedback from you about its usefulness and possible improvements.
It is in pdf format and can be downloaded using the link http://www.ibtechservices.com.au/DandSGuide.pdf .

The pdf file you download can be viewed on screen (of course) and may be printed in three ways.
If your printer will only print on one side of a sheet of paper (non-duplex printer) then you only have one option.
Your printed copy will be 12 pages printed on 12 sheets of paper in portrait mode (your normal way of printing any document).
If your printer will print on both sides of a sheet of paper (duplex printer) then you have two more options.
You can print a 12 page A4 book containing 6 sheets of paper in portrait mode or a 12 page A5 book containing 3 sheets of paper in landscape mode.
For the 6 sheet A4 book, make sure your printer options are set for portrait mode, duplex printing and the pages are to be flipped on the long edge.
For the 3 sheet A5 book, make sure the printer options are set for portrait mode (YES, portrait mode), duplex printing and the pages are to be flipped on the short edge AND in the print page layout options in your pdf software (probably Adobe Acrobat Reader) brochure or booklet or something similar is selected.

Any comments for improvement of the Study Guide would be appreciated.

By the way, I hope to start writing the next book "The Really Good News About Jesus" soon and I will post bits and pieces of it here as I draft them, looking for feedback as happened during the first book's development. 
Several of you automatically receive an email notification when anything new appears here, but if you want to be removed from that process, please let me know so I don't bother you with my ramblings or requests for comments.

Whether you stay in or opt out, please be assured of my appreciation of your friendship and past input into my thinking and writing. 
 
Blessings Barry

Immersion Bible Reading

For over a decade, Isabel and I lived in Cairns, in beautiful Far North Queensland.
Although the beaches near the CBD were not particularly attractive, its northern beaches were, and still are.
Even if you were too busy to visit during daylight hours, to grab a serve of fish and chips and head north after dark, watch the moon rise over the Coral Sea and make its wavy reflection travel from the horizon to the exact spot where you were seated at the water's edge, was a pure delight.

As appealing as this was, it still didn't touch the wonder hidden within.
Visiting a beach on the Great Barrier Reef, removing your shoes and poking your big toe into the water, even stripping off and going for a swim, are poor substitutes for donning scuba diving gear and immersing yourself deep into the ocean, where a whole new world of vibrant life and colours exploded in front of you.

I have discovered that reading the Bible is quite similar.
Visiting this library of sacred books occasionally, dipping your big toe into a couple of randomly chosen verses, even going for a swim across the surface of a whole chapter or short book, are poor substitutes for immersing yourself deeply into God's message for us and to us.
Reading a particular passage slowly, thinking deeply about what it is really talking about, is the way to discover a whole new world of vibrant reality in which God is involved in everything that happens.

And we discover not only what God is doing, but how he wants us to be involved in that with him as the Holy Spirit enlightens and challenges us.
Immersing yourself in the Bible is the most exciting adventure I have experienced - even more exciting than conducting weddings under water on the Great Barrier Reef.

I am currently reading Ephesians in this way, using various English translations to make sure I am exposed to as many different nuances from the underlying original languages as possible.
If you don't have a current project on the go at the moment, how about joining me in the Ephesians immersion read and sharing your discoveries with me. 

Blessings, Barry

Reef image courtesy of ipetitions.com

Which Comes First - Salvation or Faith?

"When were you saved?" is a question Christians are frequently asked, especially in evangelical circles. In response, many give a date when they "raised their hand" or "walked to the front" in response to an invitation to be saved in a Christian meeting, or had a life-changing experience in some other setting.
For me, that happened when I was a 12 year old.
But was I saved then?
This raises the question, "What comes first - salvation or faith?"

I think Paul answers that clearly when he tells us that Christ died for sinners, not believers.

But God has shown us how much he loves us---it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! [Romans 5 : 8 GNB]

Jesus paid the price for our sin and therefore we have been declared righteous (in right standing) before God. We have been declared not guilty since the death of Christ.
Paul states this also in 2 Corinthians 5 : 19 ...

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. [NIV]

So our salvation came long before many of us were even born into this world, and well before we believed or had faith.

Many times I have heard an illustration that is meant to show that we are not saved until we have faith, until we believe and confess Jesus as Lord.
I use the same illustration, but in a different way.
Here is the illustration.

Suppose someone puts $1 million into my bank account without my knowledge. I have the potential or opportunity to be rich, but since I don't know the money is there and don't access it, I am still poor. Even if I am told the money is there for me, if I don't believe this news I remain poor. However, when I do believe the news and withdraw the money I become rich, then and only then. 

Most users of the illustration conclude that I need to believe that the money is in my account, and there for me to use, and I need to withdraw it, before I can become rich. I need to do something (or some things) in order to be rich.

However, my interpretation is different.
I am rich the moment the money hits my account. The depositor, the bank manager and any court in the land would confirm that. And when I discover it, and withdraw and use it, I begin to experience the benefits of my newly acquired wealth.

Salvation is just like this.
I was saved when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead 2000 years ago. I wasn't even born then so had no chance of knowing that fact. But when I became aware of it, and was given the faith to believe it, I began to experience the benefits of my salvation.

Salvation is a fact established by Jesus many years ago. It was deposited into my account long before I was born.  My experience of it, its benefits and responsibilities, has been growing from the time I was given the faith to believe it and walk in it.

God gives me the faith to believe the fact of salvation, what Jesus did for me years ago. He would not give me the faith to believe something that did not yet exist. So salvation must come before faith.

This fact helps me see how God will fulfil his plan to save all, as all have already been saved even though only relatively few have been given the faith to believe it and walk in it at this stage.

Blessings, Barry

Koorong has "The Good News" for Sale

Koorong has begun selling "The Really Good News About God" (in Paperback and eBook versions) from its website and a few of their shop-fronts have at least one paperback copy on their shelves.

The Really Good News About God uses everyday language to address some of the deep questions most of us wrestle with at some point in our lives.
Who am I?
Why am I?
What is life?
What is death?
Is there a God?  If so, what is God like?
Does life on this planet have any purpose?

The Really Good News About God is an easy, refreshing read, written in an informal, conversational style, not weighed down by theological or religious language.
It's a good place to start exploring these important questions, as the author offers positive, uplifting answers from the Bible that challenge the good news/bad news dualism often promoted by mainstream Christianity.

I am currently talking to Dymocks about selling the book, and a theological training college in the US about including it in their student reading list.
So God's wonderful plan of eventual salvation for all mankind is starting to get around.
Thank you for your support and encouragement.

Blessings, Barry

God's Unconditional Love

One of my dear Christian friends does not agree with my hypothesis (as he calls it) of universal reconciliation.  His main reason?  He disagrees with my basic concept of God's unconditional love for his creation. Nowhere, he says, does the Bible say that God's love is unconditional.
He feels that God's love has conditions attached to it - conditions like our attitude to God, our willingness to repent of our sins, etc.

I guess he is correct in the sense that the Bible does not have the phrase 'unconditional love' in its text. But neither does it have the word 'sovereignty' or 'universal' or 'evangelical' or several other English words that we use to express a Biblical concept or theological idea. It is the concept or idea that is important and that needs to be based on Scripture, not whether an English word that English-speaking people use to describe that concept is in the Bible.

My evidence for God's 'unconditional' love?  Just a few brief references.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [Rom 5 : 8]
For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, ... [2 Cor 5 : 14]
When we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. [Rom 5 : 6]
Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." [Luke 23 : 34]
Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification for all people. [Rom 5 : 18]
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
[Matt 5 : 44, 45]

I use the term 'unconditional' to mean constant, dependable, (which are probably unbiblical words also) just like the sun is constant and doesn't depend on conditions outside of itself to determine whether it radiates heat and light or not. Sometimes we see or feel the sun differently because of overcast conditions or we are indoors, but the sun is still the same, doing the same thing all the time. Its performance (character) remains constant - it is in this sense that I would say it is unconditional, even though how we experience it is dependant on certain conditions.

In a similar way, how things experience the sun is dependant on their personal condition. For example, sun shining on clay and ice-cream produces very different effects.  The condition of the recipient determines the outcome, in the same way, as my friend points out, that people in different conditions experience blessing or discipline or hardship under exposure to the love of God.

In summary I believe God's love is unconditional (constant, perfect, reliable) even though it produces different effects due to the different conditions on which it falls.  For me, God's love is always perfect, operating for our good, whether in blessing or hardship, as it works all things towards God's predetermined glorious end.

What is your opinion of using 'unconditional' in this way?
Blessings, Barry

That Unpardonable Sin

I know we have discussed this before (about 5 years ago), but today I was prompted to post a fresh thought on this most interesting verse.
Here it is ...

Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. [Matthew 12 : 32  NIV]

Firstly, let's make the obvious comment.
There is no unpardonable or unforgivable sin.  How can there be?  
Regardless of what this verse might or might not say, Jesus died on the cross and paid the penalty for all our sins, as we have been assured many times through the Bible.  For example 1 John 2:2; 2 Corinthians 5:19.

Secondly, by looking at our verse here, we can see that this is also true.
All sin against Jesus will be forgiven - a statement of assurance.

Sin against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this age (the age in which Jesus lived and spoke these words) or in the age to come (the church age in which we are currently living). 
However, the age after that, which includes the judgement pictured by the Great White Throne and the purification and cleansing pictured by the Lake of Fire, will surely look after this sin.

Whatever speaking against the Holy Spirit means or includes, it must wait until a future age to be forgiven. This seems to indicate that people who have committed this sin will miss reigning with Jesus in his kingdom, will not be resurrected until the final age begins, so will be among the last to be prepared for eternal fellowship with God.

Blessings, Barry