The Power of the Blood of Jesus, the Christ

We who believe in Christ, believed we are saved not because we just confess that we believe. We believed because we became convinced of the hopelessness of our sinful condition and the quality of life that it brings forth. We became convinced that this sinful condition was an one way ticket to eternal damnation in the Lake of fire. We simply believed in the good news that God out of his great love for us, sent Jesus, his only begotten son to die for us. Our faith in the death of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God believe that He did it for us, who were lost eternally in our sinful condition. Jesus did it for us, he condemned sin in the flesh so that we may live free in the righteousness of God through him. Jesus did it through his own sinless blood.

The power of the blood answers the question of atonement for those believe in our present day. How about those in the past that did not have the opportunity to be cleansed by the blood? The blood was also shed for them. For after Jesus gave up the ghost and committed his life into the hands of his heavenly father God, moments later it is recorded in the Gospel record of Mathew that the graves of the righteous dead that believed in the coming messiah opened up and those who died appeared to all as they ascended to the heavenly Jerusalem. (Matthew 27:50-53) They must of believed in the coming atonement, provided by Christ. Or how else could they rise form the dead?

Does the power of the blood answer the question of atonement of future sins? It is well known that the blood of sheep and bulls only temporarily atoned for sins for a period of time. Jesus's blood, a blood so precious, sinless, divine could not only atone for all of mankind's sins in the past and the present but is available to atone for all any mans sins in the future. His sacrifice is the one and only sacrifice needed and has put an end to the endless slaughter of livestock which could never take away the sins of men permanently.(Hebrews 5:1-9, 10:11+12)

The Power of the Blood of Christ, puts away the need for works for justification, the need for deeds for righteousness and also the need for pureness of life for holiness. Meaning none of these things, a part from faith in the atoning death of Christ, are able to save a man from eternal damnation.(James 2:14-26)Contrariwise it allows a man to achieve them all thorough faith in the life and blood of Jesus. Through the shed blood of Jesus a soul achieves justification, through the blood a soul receives righteousness imputed, through the blood of Christ a soul is made holy. What a blessing! (Romans 3:21-4:1-5)

Can any deny the blood of Christ? I dare say yes to their own demise for they have sealed themselves up toward the last day. The day of judgement, where all men's sins are judged and condemned. Save for those who trusted in the blood of Christ, their sins are no more in the eyes of God. They are the scarcely saved, who have no works of righteousness to be rewarded. Just their souls redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 1 Peter 4:18)They enter into heaven all their sins paid for by Jesus.

So the question is, will you deny the power of the Blood of Christ on your eternal destination and go to the lake of fire where the devil and his demons await you to torment you for all eternity? Or Will you accept the Blood of Christ upon your soul today and receive heaven as your reward for doing? The Choice for eternity in heaven belongs to you.  God through Christ placed it in your hands whether you spend eternity with God in Heaven or you spend eternity in Hell and the Lake of Fire.  

This is what the Blood of Christ provided for you:  a choice, before His death there was no choice whatsoever.  When you died you died in your sins, not forgiven, not atoned for and you were held accountable for them at the throne of judgement.(Hebrews 9:27)  God at that point can not forgive you, He can not at that point of existence atone for your sins. Why not? You say? Can't God do anything.  Yes He can do anything, except go against what He has promised in the Bible.  He has promised those who do not repent and receive Jesus an eternity in Hell and in the Lake of fire.(John 3:36; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelations 1:18,20:13+14)  God will not lie, or go back on his own words or on whatsoever He has promised.  So when you get to the throne of God's judgment you better have your sins covered and atoned for. It is up to you.

How do I get my sins covered and atoned for? I am so glad you asked.  All you have to do is recite the following prayer with all your heart.

Dear Heavenly Father, 
I, in Jesus' name,  come to you now as an repentant sinner. I confess all my sinfulness to You and ask You to forgive me, for Jesus' sake.  I believe that Jesus, Your only begotten Son, died for my all my sins and washed them away with His blood. I believe that You raised Jesus from the dead according to Your word, the Bible. I now invite Your Holy Spirit into my heart and make me Your child. I promise that I will strive to live Holy everyday with Your help and I thank you Lord for saving me.


If you have recited the prayer above.  Welcome to the Family of God! Your next step is finding a church that teaches the word of God and preaches the Gospel message.  Until you do, you can continue to follow the teachings I share here. 

If you have not recited the prayer above, beware.  The wrath of God is upon your life now.  If God did not spare the Angels which disobeyed and left their estate in Heaven to follow after Satan and cast them out, what do you suppose will happen if you appear before the throne of judgment without your sins covered and atoned for?  Get smart, get saved.

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The Authenticity of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, the Christ

There have been people who question that Jesus ever lived, died and even resurrected. Some have challenged the event as even occurred as it is proclaimed to have happened. Some people have made some statements that at first glance appear to be true. Impressing many to disbelieve it possibly to be true, reducing the testimony of the Death and Resurrection of Christ as a manipulative plot to control large amounts of people and mobilize them against that which is considered evil. If we believe this then this life that so many have chosen to live is a waste of time. So today we answer concerning the authenticity of the death and Resurrection of Christ.

The accusation that I have heard is that the Bible is a book written by man and therefore it is not divine. Our answer to this is that it is true that the Bible has many human authors but it being a book is a wrong perception of what it is. The Holy Bible is a compilation of several books that share a common theme, God's love for mankind and Mankind's relationship with God. What makes the Bible unique is not only its theme but also that it human authors were born at different times and wrote as inspired by God the things and the acts of God in, through and upon men. This separates this compilation from any other library in the world. Men have died preserving its writings over the ages because it tells us, who it is left to how the world began and how human life came to this earth. Eliminate the Bible and we are all left guessing about our origin. Some would have us to believe the theory of mankind's origin was something other what God has disclosed in the Bible. The bible does not speak in probabilities concerning the origin of human life, but the theories that men conjure up speak that way, because they are guessing. The Bible has stories of cultures and countries that do not exist any more in our day, but have been discovered through archaeological finds. Proving in each way that the stories of the Bible are factual and true. So the Bible is a library, set apart because it speaks to mankind's origin, and creation it explains historical events verified by Archeology through men inspired by a Divine creator.

It is in this library we find the testimony of four men, who is bearing witness to the death and Resurrection of a man call Jesus of Nazareth. This is very important because if the death and Resurrection was a fairy tale then these four witnesses could not agree on the death and resurrection ever occurring. What is astounding about these four witnesses that they were written at four different locations at four different times in four different perspectives for four different purposes. Which four men I speak of? Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The first Gospel composed was that of Mark. John Mark was an Evangelist and was under the observation of the Apostle Peter. Before Mark took the Gospel that now bears his name and preached to all those in Northern Africa, he composed it according to the dictation of the Apostle Peter. It is a brief Gospel so that someone could read it in a short period of time, it is full of the demonstration of the healing power of Jesus.

The next Gospel that was composed was done by Mathew, other wise known as Matthias in the Book of Acts, The Gospel that bears his name was written to answer the questions of Jesus' Jewish and kingly roots. It was written for the church at Jerusalem. The Kingdom of God theme and principles run throughout the record.

The Gospel of Luke came next, his gospel account was an research assignment for a Greek senator named Theophilus. His is the most accurate of all the Gospel records. Why? Well he had to be accurate, because that is what he was assigned to bring back to Rome. He interviewed Mary, the mother of Jesus, he compared the gospel records of Matthew and Mark and added additional testimonies of the disciples of James and John of the words and teachings of Christ. If he failed to bring an accurate report he was to be killed by the Romans, He also was in danger of his life because the unbelievers wanted to kill him for making the attempt to compile and write the gospel. Luke traveled with the Apostle Paul and wrote two reports the Gospel record that bears his name and the Book of the Acts of the Disciples, which is a historical record of the orgins of the universal church of Christ. Which all who believe in Christ are a part of.

The last Gospel was composed by John the Apostle of Christ, because there was a question of the divinity of Jesus that the other three Gospels did not address completely. All the other Gospels testified that Jesus was the Son of God, John Gospel explained why Jesus was the Son of God and why he came to us from God and why he had to die for us. He specifically wrote to promote faith in Jesus as the Son of God.

Now John, like Matthew were of the original Apostles of Christ, the other two were written by Believers who were told by the Disciples of Jesus. Now all four of the them recount the death and resurrection of Christ. All the Gospel records were written between AD 25 and AD 70 and were in full circulation in the church community. This makes the Gospel records the closest to being there when the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, happened. Two of the Gospel authors seen it with their own eyes, two seen it through the testimony of those who were there when it happened. Here is the important part, they all died without regretting what they wrote and testified about. Not one of them wrote anything after they composed their Gospel accounts that they were making the whole thing up. They died for what they knew was fact.

This brings us to the actual event, which still lingers with us until this day. Why? Jesus did not want it to be forgotten. How do I know this? The communion that Jesus instituted at the Passover supper was an memorial to remember his death until he returns. To say that Jesus never died, would mean that we would not have to perform communion, because it would have been proven a fairy tale. Seeing that we have witnesses that died testifying of Jesus' death and his soon return throughout the ages that also performed the memorial act of the communion until this day, how can we say Jesus did not die on the cross and not then rise from the dead? Two direct witnesses of the four Gospel authors, who wrote about it, seen these two events with their own eyes. They seen Jesus Christ die,  they seen Christ risen from the dead and then they spent 40 days with Jesus, the Christ after his death just before he ascended into heaven. They died preaching what they knew to be fact.

Neither did Jesus not want us to forget that he died and rose again, for when at the communion table, instituting the memorial blessed the bread said to the disciples that were with him "take, eat, this is my body which is given up for you. Do this, in memory of me " after which he blessed the cup and said " take, drink, this is my blood which was shed for you. Do this in memory of me" After they had eaten the bread and drank of the cup Jesus said," I will not eat again and drink this fruit of the vine without until I come again and eat and drink anew with you in my kingdom..." He did this so that we would not forget that he indeed died and he indeed rise again from the dead, for if he did not do so, how would he return from that place which 500 saw him ascend to? No Jesus' death and resurrection is as authentic as the Bible and as real as the communion that is practiced by believers all over the world. So as many times we eat the bread and drink the fruit of the vine of communion. We proclaim the Lord's death and resurrection until he returns again.

Where is the Berean Bible Fellowship of NJ?

It has come to my attention that many people have come around looking for the BBFONJ in Clementon, NJ.     When they do not find the place in Clementon, they believe that it is a scam.  The BBFONJ  in Clementon NJ is right now a Online only Ministry.  I am seeking a place to base the ministry's  operation in the Southern Camden County Area, which covers a host of townships and boroughs.

Why haven't the BBFONJ found a place yet?  No financial support is one of the biggest reasons.  It takes money to build a Ministry and even though many people have enjoyed the teachings I have put forth through on the BBFONJ blog page: The Herald of Grace,  many people have not financially supported the ministry.  This is like ordering food at a restuarant, comsuming the meal and then not paying the bill, which no good and paying  person would do.  Many of us would pay before we eat anything that we ordered.  But when it comes to Bible teaching or preaching and  the responsibility of supporting the ministry, most of the time it is laid upon the shoulder of the Man of God that has blessed you with the teaching or message to raise financial support. Now we all know that is not right and it is the cause why many ministries do not succeed. If this Ministry has been a blessing to you in any degree, then you ought give it some financial support.

Another reason BBFONJ has not found a place yet is that the Lord hasn't open those doors yet.  BBFONJ  I agree that the BBFONJ has a long way to go in becoming an Educational Enrichment Center for the Christian Community.  But the opportunities are out there ready to be taken advantage of.  However, I will not, as its founder take chances that will doom the ministry financially, so I work toward the goal of wisely setting up what we see is a need in the South Jersey Area.

If you have any suggestions about the direction of BBFONJ as far as establishing a location so that people can come together and fellowship in the word of God feel free to email me at revcrsanchez856@gmail.com.

The principles of recovery Part 5

This is a continuation of a multi-part series of lessons aimed to assist believers who have found themselves out side of the acceptable social and economic circles of our church communities.  In order to give them direction through the teaching of parable of the prodigal son. We continue now with the fifth step on the road to recovery : Reconciliation

 But let us first review the the last four principles we have learned so far:

1)Realization-

Until  you are aware that where you are is not where you ought to be, you will remain where you are.  
To progress from where you are, you must have a new vision for your life, even if you are in the pig pen, for where you are does not foretell where you will be. It is your choice to stay in the pig pen or not.  

2)Resolution-

Until you make a plan to progress from where you are to the place you ought to be,  you will never leave where you are. Here it is said that the reason many people fail is because of the lack of  effective planning to succeed.  

3)Repentance-

We learn that the change of direction, the change of purpose and the possession a new vision coupled with a contrite spirit toward those we may have offended before we each ended up in the pig pen of life will lead us forward to the life we ought be living.

4)Return-

We learned that all the realization, the planning, and the repenting will be for nothing if we each do not act upon them.

Now back to our fifth lesson: Reconciliation

Reconciliation defined: Noun; the process of making consistent or compatible.taken from the root word: reconcile which is a verb.-Source Dictionary.com

Reconcile defined:Verb; to make (oneself or another) no longer opposed. -Source Dictionary.com

Therefore reconciliation is a process where two opposing sides settle their differences and become compatible to each other.  The Prodigal Son was no longer opposed to working for a living, after his pig pen experience, he was ready to reconcile with his father, of whom he felt that he shamed by his loose living in a far away land.  There two persons that participate in a reconciliation, the one who wishes to reconcile and the offended who allows the offender to be reconciled.  In this case the Father of the Prodigal son was each day looking on the horizon for his wayward son, awaiting for his return.  When the Father saw the prodigal son, he ran to him and fell upon his neck.  The prodigal Son recited what he had practiced upon his long journey back home.  How he is not worthy to be his Son, and that he will work as one of the hired hands of the household.  His Father seeing that life had humbled him just so, accepted him back as his son. 

Now in some cases this kind of reconciliation is not possible.  When such a case is not possible what do you do then? What I mean suppose a person makes the effort to reconcile and the other party chooses not to accept and reconcile with them, what then?  Does that person continue to make offers of reconciliation? Or does that person's recovery stop, because of the other party's refusal to reconcile with him?  The answer is that God will accept his offer of reconciliation, even though the other party did not choose to do so.  He should leave the offer to reconcile with the offended party open to them to complete the reconciliation process.  God does not hold that person, who is attempting to reconcile,  liable if the other party chooses not to reconcile with him.  He will find that God will work around this impasse in His Grace and provide an equal or another compatible party to continue his recovery process.  He does not need to force the opposing party to reconcile with him.   

I must point out that when the Prodigal Son did meet his Father he recited that He offended God and then his Father when he fulfilled his repentance offer. He first repented to God.  For some of us that is the only person we can repent to, because it is the only person we have each offended in some degree. If we have offended another and that person has refused to accept our repentance offer and does not reconcile, then we each must depart from that person leaving the door of reconciliation open for the offended party to walk through when that party deem it needful or when God has touched that person's heart to do so.  I have found this to work out well.  If you do not leave the offering for reconciliation for the offended party to complete and harbor bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart, beware that God will not let you continue to full recovery, because you now have made your focus that offended party in the place of the vision that God gave you of the life you ought to be living.  You will stay there until you let the offer of reconciliation stay open.   God deals justly with those who offends his will, forgiving those who sincerely repents and reconciles them back into his family.  He  chastises those who disobey.  What is His will between offender and the offended that are believers?  Forgiveness and restitution,  but there can be no restitution without forgiveness.  For Jesus has said:

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.-Jesus (Matthew 6:14+15)

Also Read Matthew 18:21-35 a parable on forgiveness.

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.  But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.-Jesus (Mark 11:25+26)

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: -Jesus (Luke 6:37)

Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.-Jesus (Luke 17:3+4)

We are obligated to forgive, if someone offends us and they make an offering of repentance.  Forgiveness is the other side of Repentance, when one of us chooses not to forgive another when close the door of reconciliation.   So without repentance and forgiveness, reconciliation is not possible.  If any one of us is walking in un-forgiveness  toward another God's forgiveness toward you is limited to the degree of un-forgiveness you enforce upon another repenting soul.  

The Prodigal Son not only made an offer of repentance, he also stated his willingness to make restitution for his actions and decisions.  Now in the Prodigal Son's case the Father was open to Forgive and restore him.  This is not the case for everyone.  Sometimes you can not receive the forgiveness for your offering of repentance because the person is too far away in an unknown location or deceased by the time for you to reach that person.  If you make your offering of repentance to God first,  it will be acceptable for you to continue on the path of recovery.  If you did not make your offering of repentance first to God and make it your focus to receive forgiveness from the party that you can not receive it from, you will become depressed and obsessed with everyone that is going through a similar situation. You can become disillusioned again thinking that you have failed in making your recovery.  Just remember that God is not a man, that he should lie and what he has said through his Son is still available to you.  This is why the Christian walk is a deliberate walk of faith in God's grace. For no one is perfect, and no one is without need of the forgiveness of God.

So what did we learn? We learned that Reconciliation is made complete through forgiveness. That God's grace allows us to continue on the path of recovery, even though receiving forgiveness from the offended party is not achievable.  We learned that we each need to repent to God first and to the offender second.  We learned that by following the path of recovery we can hold on to our faith in God through Christ.  

The measure that you mete

In various places in the Gospels we find Jesus making this statement,"The measure that you mete, shall measured to you again..." (found in  the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ).  What does it mean?   What did Jesus mean by it?  Why did he apply the statement in certain circumstances? What were we to learn from it? This is the reason for this Bible study:

I. The measure that you mete: What does it mean?

Definition of the word "measure":

A) Biblical: Portion, Degree (Source: Strong's Greek Dictionary of the New Testament)

B) Common: Portion, Scope (Source: Dictionary.com)

Definition of the word "Mete":

A) Biblical: To measure, to estimate (Source: Strong's Greek Dictionary of the New Testament)

B) Common: To distribute or apportion by measure; allot; dole (usually followed by out ): To ration out. (Source: Dictionary.com)

From the above definitions we can safely deduce that the phrase "the measure that you mete"  can also be rendered "the degree or standard or scope that you use or give out toward others or anything"

II. What did Jesus mean by it?

It appears that Jesus was stating a principle.  A principle that will work on its own under certain conditions and circumstances. The question is what are those conditions and circumstances? We will find the answer to that question when we discover when and where Jesus spoke that phrase.

Jesus said it during the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:1-2
"Judge not, that ye be not judged.For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

Jesus said it during the Sermon by the Sea 
Mark 4:24
"And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given."

Jesus said it during the Sermon on the Plain
Luke 6:38
"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

In each case Jesus indicated that this principle of "measuring what you mete" works on its own under these three conditions: Having judgment toward others, giving attention to what is being said and being generous toward others.  In each case the principle works and produces this result: "It shall be measured to you again".  Let us look at each condition so that we can glean from them what Jesus wanted us to learn.

Matthew 7:1-5
"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam [is] in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

It appears that what Jesus wanted us to learn is that we are not to judge people, but in the case that we do judge someone,  let us be aware that the standard that we use to judge that person is the same standard we judge ourselves with.  We can not judge someone with the same issues or problems we have to deal with in order to correct them, is according to Jesus is hypocritical behavior.  We can only help someone correct themselves if we have been delivered of the same issue or problem. We cannot when we have not be delivered of the same issue or problem of the one that we are judging.  That is why it is wise to not judge another person that has a shortcoming or is struggling with an issue,  if we have not be delivered of the same shortcoming or problem ourselves.  On top of that if anyone of us judge harshly, we should expect to be harshly judged.

Mark 4:24+25
"And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath."

It appears that what Jesus wanted us to learn here is that we need to pay attention to what we hear.  The more knowledge we acquire through careful listening the more information and knowledge we will have.  It is when we stop listening for more information that our personal knowledge becomes obsolete  and  not useful.  More than that as our personal knowledge of things takes a hit from personal memory loss, if we don't continue to listen to the information that is being promoted in our communities and our homes.  I would also advise that the information that you hear is Christ centered or practical.  For is also what you pay attention to that dictates the quality of your life.

Luke 6:38
"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

It appears that Jesus wanted us to learn here is that we need to be prepared to be generous. This passage of scripture is often used in application to giving money.  That is well and good, but we have fallen short of the full meaning of the scripture.  Jesus did not place a limit to what we ought to give. Some of us can give our time, some our talents, some our property and some our abilities along with giving money.  I can not tell you how many times I have seen this principle work with more than money.  One time I was a part of a ministry in Vineland, NJ where they had clothes that they were giving away, the more they gave away, the more came in.  Soon they did not have room to have bible studies for the amount of clothes that came in.  Another time I was helping oversee a food pantry ministry in Camden, NJ.  The more food we gave away, the more food and the things to store them with came in.  Soon after that we had to build a storage room and regulate the flow of food coming through the ministry because of the amount of food coming through was great. The only reason I believe this works is because when you give, you do not give to get, you give to bless and God sets up people to bless you in return.  God does not bless selfishness, he blesses generosity, because it emulates His character. God loves that His children emulate him.  So it is clear that whatsoever we give to others will be multiplied back us, if we do it unselfishly and generously.

I hope that this study has bless you as it has blessed me.

Did the Apostle Paul introduce Paganism to Christianity?

There is some people going around claiming that the Apostle Paul not only changed the Gospel message but he also introduced Paganism to and mixed it with Christianity, thereby changing Christianity forever.  The evidence of this claim many of them point to the worship of Jesus as God and blame the Apostle Paul for bringing the idol worship of Jesus into Christianity.  It appears that what they are saying is that the Apostle Paul had people exchange their idols for another: Jesus.  Today we will address that issue by highlighting the following points:

1)Paul's education
2)Paul's view of Jesus vs. the view of the Apostles
3)Paganism in the times of the Apostles
4) Paul's Gospel presentation to Pagans

I. Paul's education:

Paul's education began very young, being a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, he was educated at the feet of Gamiel who was at the time the most respected theologian in Israel.  He was raised in the the town of Tarsus of what is now know as the country of Turkey and was born with the name of Saul, named after one of the great Kings of Israel who was also a Benjaminite. Some time later he became know as Saul the persecutor of the Way.  He had no equal to him in Judaism being a member of one of the strictest sects: the Pharisees. He had an acute sense of Law and Punishment as demonstrated in his zeal to persecute the Church of Jesus, the Christ.  He, by his own testimony was a Pharisee of Pharisees, and kept the Law to the letter.  He initially felt uniquely qualified to root out these believers of "The Way"out of Judaism,  and pursued his purpose with vigor and determination.  Until that day when he met Jesus on the way to Damascus, to continue his persecution of the Believers of Jesus.

It is clear that up to the time of his own conversion to Christ, Paul (aka Saul) believed that the Jews that converted to "The Way", as it was called, believed in some sort of idol worship of a dead man of whom those who had converted to "the Way" proclaimed that he was still alive and has ascended to God in Heaven.  After his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, everything changed. He discovered that Jesus was not a idol, but the Lord God. (Acts 9:1-20)

II.Paul's view of Jesus vs. the view of the Apostles

Paul's view of Jesus is distinctively similar, but not exactly the same as the original Apostles. The reason for the difference is that the original Apostles had an opportunity to walk with and learn of  Jesus for at least 3 years. Paul only had just met Jesus on the road to Damascus and it took him some time before he began to preach the Gospel. The original Apostles were still figuring out what shape and form the church will take.  They initially only preached the Gospel to unconverted Jews, that is until the Apostle Peter was given an inspirational instruction by the Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles as well.

Peter's view of Jesus was shared by all of the original Apostles and is as follows:

1) That Jesus is Lord [God] and Messiah [Christ] -Acts 2:36
2) That Jesus is God's appointed servant which was slain- Acts 3:22+23
3) That Jesus is God's resurrected Son- Acts 3:26
4) That Jesus is God's chosen Savior [Christ, Messiah]of Mankind- Acts 4:12

Paul's view of Jesus was shared by all of the Disciples in Antioch and Damascus  and is as follows:

1) That Jesus is the Christ [Messiah], the Son of God- Acts 9:20, 13:33
2) That Jesus is the promised Messiah [Christ]- Acts 13:33
3) That Jesus is the slain Messiah [Christ]-Acts 13:27-29
4) That Jesus is the resurrected Messiah [Christ]- Acts 13:30+31

As you can see that both views are very similar.  The difference is the audience that each man preached to.  Peter preached to unconverted Jews, while Paul preached to the unconverted Jews and Pagans.  They however shared these views about Jesus.


1) That Jesus was Divine

      a)Peter states that Jesus' status is elevated to that of "Lord" in Acts 2:36. The Greek word    
         that is translated to this English word "Lord", I have discovered that it also means  
        "Supreme over all" and "God". Peter therefore testifies therefore that God elevated Jesus 
         to divine status equal to His own divine status.

     b)Paul states that Jesus' status is elevated to that of being "the Son of God" by reason of 
        Jesus' relationship to God the Creator. God is the Father of Jesus, naturally born to Him and 
        thereby Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. God the creator made Jesus divine, through 
        the process of natural child birth, He made Jesus God and man -Acts 9:20, 13:33

2) That Jesus was the Messiah or the Christ

     a)Peter states that Jesus was Christ. Christ is the English translation of the Greek word which 
        is also a translation of the Hebrew word that is again translated into the English word 
       Messiah. In other words, Christ and Messiah are terms that refer to the same thing. They are  
        exchangeable in English. It is notable that Peter only uses the word "Christ" when speaking 
        in reference to Jesus when he needs to communicate to an audience that knows Greek and or 
        Hebrew.- Acts 2:36, 4:12

    b)Paul also states that Jesus was Christ [Messiah] that was prophesied about by the Holy 
       Prophets in his Gospel message.-Acts 13:23

3) That Jesus, the Christ [Messiah] was slain

    a)Peter states that Jesus, the chosen Messiah [Christ] was slain -Acts 3:22+23

    b)Paul also states that Jesus, the Messiah was slain-Acts 13:27-29

4) That God raised Jesus, the Christ [Messiah] from the dead

    a)Peter states that Jesus, God's son and appointed Messiah was resurrected from the dead by 
      God the Creator.- Acts 3:32

    b)Paul also states that Jesus was raised up from the dead by God the Creator- Acts 13:30+31

As we can see, Peter and Paul used the same views in their Gospel presentations: 1)The Divinity of Jesus, 2)The Messiah ship of Jesus, 3) The death of Jesus, the Messiah and 4) The Resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah. Seeing that they used the same views of Jesus in their Gospel presentations this proves that the worship of Jesus as God was not a Pagan  idea introduced by Paul to the Church, but rather a fulfillment of the prophetic scriptures of the  Bible. It was a popular teaching among the Jews that a Messiah King will come and restore the glorious kingdom of Israel.  They got that teaching from the prophecies of the Bible. Since those prophecies come from strictly Jewish sources and Judaism is strictly a monotheistic faith, then the idea that a child can be the son of God foretold in those scriptures is not a Pagan concept but Monotheistic one. This also proves that Paul did not introduce those ideas into Christianity, for those prophecies that Jesus fulfilled existed before the birth of  Paul and Peter.

III.Paganism in the times of the Apostles

Paganism is a general term , it blinds us to understand  what was really going on in Israel in the days of Jesus and His Apostles.  Also because of Hollywood  many people believe that the only Paganism was the ones the Romans brought with them to the Bible lands.  The truth be told there were several different brands of Pagan beliefs being practiced in the Holy Land.  The reason for this is that in order for Rome to keep the peace among their conquered lands, they had to allow the worship of what they viewed as primitive Gods, the God of Israel were considered be a primitive God int the view of Pagan Rome because they conquered them and took their lands.  The Romans believed in a Living God on earth embodied in a Man: Caesar. However, Caesar was not the only God to be believed upon, the Romans also had a Pantheon of Gods that ruled over various things upon the earth and the king of them all was Zeus. Another reason for the many forms of Pagan worship in Israel is that Israel was a port country and world trade passed through it.  Many merchants brought their Gods and goods with them to Israel and imported them throughout the world. So the Pagan Roman Empire looked at Christianity as another pagan faith because the believers of "the Way" worshiped a man named Jesus as God, just as they worshiped Caesar as a God.  The only problem with the Romans faith in their Caesar, their Caesars kept dying off while the Christians proclaim their God to be still alive after suffering a brutal death on a cross.  Proving to many that Jesus was God and causing many of the citizenry of Pagan Rome to convert to a new faith called by many as Christianity. 

The point is It was and still is very clear in Old testament law that God prohibits idol worship.  So if worshiping Jesus was not idol worship what was it? The Apostles proclaimed that in Jesus, God had come in the flesh to redeem all of Mankind in the fulfillment of the Jewish prophecies.  To them Jesus was God, not a partner to God, Jesus was God manifested in the flesh. An expression of God's love for them and the whole world.  To the original Apostles and Paul they were not participating in idol worship at all. They were worshiping and preaching about the God of the Bible and His Son. Some Jews and Pagans believed the message and some did not. Just like today, some believe the Gospel and some do not.

IV. Paul's Gospel presentation to Pagans


When Paul preached the Gospel to the Pagans, he preached it from the perspective of being a second hand witness. The difference between that being a first hand witness and a second hand witness is the quality and the credibility of sources.  Now this is important to understand, the second hand witness presentation of Paul the Apostle rests upon the quality and authenticity of his sources. If there is a degree of a lesser quality and credibility of the sources the Apostle Paul used in his Gospel presentation to the Pagans, then Paul's Gospel presentation is of lesser credibility than that of the original Apostle and we can accept that Paul mixed Pagan ideas with Christian ones and introduced a Pagan type worship of Jesus into Christianity in order to win converts and take the church away from the original Apostles of Christ.  However the opposite is also true, if the quality and credibility of the sources the Apostle Paul uses in his Gospel presentation to the Pagans we must accept that Paul did not mix Pagan ideas with Christian ones and did not introduce a Pagan type of worship of Jesus into Christianity in order to win souls and take the church away from the original Apostles of Christ.  There is no middle ground, it is either one or the other. So what were the Apostle Paul's sources for his Gospel presentations? They were the same Apostles of Christ and the disciples who heard Jesus speak, seen Jesus suffer and die on the cross and seen him be raised from the dead. 

Consider the fact that Paul's Gospel presentation was not questioned by the Apostles of Christ when He and Barnabas made their missionary report to them. (Acts 15) After the fact that Peter presented the argument to not burden the Gentile believers in Christ with the keeping of the Law of Moses, which no one Jew of them could keep. The salvation of God was presented to the Jews not on the basis of keeping the Law of Moses' administration, but rather it was offered to them on the basis of faith on the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah [Christ]. It appeared to them that God made the same offer to the Gentiles [many who were also Pagans], who would choose to believe in Jesus, the Christ.  Thereby they renounced the pagan Gods that they worshiped and began to worship the one God of creation through Jesus, the Christ. They decided that to make those new Pagan converts observe the law that no one could keep except for Jesus was not just or fair or right. This was also the offer of salvation in Paul's presentation of the Gospel to the Gentiles [Pagans] and Jews outside of Israel. So we see here that the quality and credibility of Paul's presentation of the Gospel is equal of that of  original Apostles for they both testified from the same sources. Even though Paul is preaching from the perspective of a second hand witness, his Gospel presentation is equal to Peter's Gospel presentation.

The only difference between the Gospel presentations of the original Apostles and Paul is that the original Apostles presentation were geared toward the Jewish audience until they were directed by God through the testimony of the Apostle Peter to make a presentation to the Gentiles [Pagans]. Therefore Paul's Gospel presentations took on the added elements of preaching against idolatry and Paganism, elements that original Apostles never had the opportunity to develop in their early  Gospel presentations. The Apostle Peter's missionary work among the Gentile church did not start until the Apostle Paul met his end. Peter's work was more about the encouragement of the believers that Paul and Barnabas was used of God to reach with the Gospel presentation. It was not about discrediting the Apostle Paul's Gospel presentation to the the Pagans. This act of Peter to support what the Apostle Paul established also does not indicate a mixing of paganism and Christianity by Paul, for Peter did not come behind Paul to change what he had  preached to them for them to believe for their salvation. Peter rather came behind Paul to confirm what the Apostle taught in those fledgling churches. When Peter preached his Gospel message to the [Pagans] the Gentiles, he emphasized the knowledge of the ministry of God through Christ to the Jews and accused the Jews of slaying Christ. Paul when he preached the Gospel  message to the [Pagans] Gentiles used the knowledge of his audience conscience of righteousness, their spiritual awareness and revelation of the mystery of the Gospel when preaching his Gospel outside of Israel.

We know as defenders of the Christian Faith that many people believe that paganism or pagan ideas got infused into modern Christianity. The verifiable evidence we provide here points other wise.  The question is  what are you going to do with the evidence?  It your choice to believe it or not believe it.  It is my greatest desire that you believe the Gospel as was preached by the original Apostles and the Apostle Paul that is summed up in the following verses:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.-John 3:16

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.-John 1:12+13

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.-John 3:17+18

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.-John 3:36

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.-John 5:24

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.-John 5:25

While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.-Hebrews 3:15

For he [is] our God; and we [are] the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, [and] as [in] the day of temptation in the wilderness:-Psalms 95:7+8

Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.-Hebrews 4:7

(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.)-2 Corinthians 6:2

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down [from above]:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, [even] in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.-Romans 10:6-10

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.- John 3:3

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.-John 3:5-7

How does one get saved, or born again? One becomes born again or saved when he or she sincerely confesses his or her faith in Christ.  How does someone do this? All you have to do is recite the following prayer with all your heart.

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I, in Jesus' name,  come to you now as an repentant sinner. I confess all my sinfulness to You and ask You to forgive me, for Jesus' sake.  I believe that Jesus, Your only begotten Son, died for my all my sins and washed them away with His blood. I believe that You raised Jesus from the dead according to Your word, the Bible. I now invite Your Holy Spirit into my heart and make me Your child. I promise that I will strive to live Holy everyday with Your help and I thank you Lord for saving me.

If you have recited the prayer above.  Welcome to the Family of God! Your next step is finding a church that teaches the word of God and preaches the Gospel message.  Until you do, you can continue to follow the teachings I share here. 

The Mis-interpretation of Luke 19:27

There is a statement in the Parable of the pounds (Luke 19:11-27) that many opponents of Christianity have used to convey the point that Jesus commanded his disciples to kill anyone that refuse to be ruled by Christ.  In fact this is the verse:

"But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay [them] before me."-Luke 19:27

Of course this is taken out of context and miss-interpreted.  How is this a miss-interpretation? Did not Jesus make this statement?  Yes he did.  So how can we Christians explain this command of Jesus, to kill those who would not be ruled by him? 

First of all, if you notice the disciples were not a military group.  They were not equipped to make war or fight.  Neither did they carry out this alleged command of Christ, did you ever wondered why?  It is because Jesus did not direct them to do so,  because he was reciting not his words but the words of a character in his Parable of the Pounds.  The disciples knew that Jesus was just telling a story, not giving a command to be followed.

One of the reasons for this miss-interpretation of Luke 19:27 is because the opponents of Christianity have a habit of disregarding the context of the verses they cite.  The context of the verse is preceded by the parable of the pounds, which is very similar to the parable of the talents. and is followed by Jesus heading to Jerusalem. The emphasis of the two parables is different from each other however.  The parable of the Talents that is found in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25, emphasizes stewardship.  The Parable of the Pounds not only emphasizes stewardship,  but it also discloses what may happen to those who refuse to comply with the ruler of their time.  Jesus was regarded neither as a ruler or even a nobleman.  Jesus was, in many peoples eyes as a carpenter's adopted son, although he was qualified to be a king of Israel, for he was an descendant of King David. The nobles in Jesus's day were the Romans and whosoever they appointed to Govern Judea.  Jesus through the teaching of this parable was making his disciples understand what rulers do when they take over a dominion, they eliminate their enemies.  They squash any hint of rebellion.  The disciples never took the instruction as a command to slay anyone that refused to be ruled by Jesus.

Another reason for the miss-interpretation of the verse in question, is the fact that the opponents of Christianity believe that Jesus is talking about himself in this parable as the nobleman.  Which is understandable because of the similarity between the nobleman actions and Jesus's claims: The nobleman goes to receive a kingdom, likewise Jesus said that he was on his way to receive a kingdom of his Father in heaven.( Mark 14:25; Luke 22:29+30)  The fact of the matter is that the nobleman could be anyone but Jesus, because Jesus does not command his disciples to kill anyone.  Here are a few direct commands of Jesus to his disciples:

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."-Matthew 5:43-45

"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."

-Matthew 5:21+22

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:37-40

"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and [to] the evil."-Luke 6:35

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." John 13:34

"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you."

-John 15:12

One thing that is noticeable about these commands of Christ, not one of the is a parable or was issued from a parable. None of the direct commands of Christ direct anyone of his disciples to kill anyone for refusing to subject themselves to his rule. So the nobleman's words cited by Christ in the parable of the Pounds to kill anyone that refuses to be ruled by him are the commands of a fictional character and not of Jesus. Jesus does not use parables to issue commands.  He speaks directly to him he directs.

But isn't Jesus a King? Yes but He is a king of truth, a King of conscience. (John 18:33-38) His Kingdom is not of this world, but it is in the world living through the lives of believers in his truth all over the world. Since it is a kingdom of truth, only those who seek the truth may find it and live in it, if they believe it.  For Jesus said...

 "...Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." -John 3:3

How does someone be "born again"? Does he go and be physically born a second time?  Jesus clarifies....

"...Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."- John 3:5-7

How does someone be born of water and born of the Spirit?  Being born of the water is natural childbirth.  Everyone that has been born in this world came into it by natural child birth, in fact when a woman is about to give birth it is said that a woman water breaks and fluid flows out her womb. I have witnessed this personally and can certify and testify to you that the phrase "born of water" is a direct reference to human child birth.  

Ok, so what is being born of the Spirit?  Being born of the Spirit is being born of God. For Jesus says God is Spirit. (John 4:24)

How does someone be born of God? The Apostle John testifies that a person must believe in Jesus in order to be born of God.

"...But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."-John 1:12

So If you accept Jesus and believe in his name you have the right to become a child of God or born of God.  How do you exercise  that right to be born a child of God? The Apostle Paul testifies that all you need is your faith and a confession.

"..That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."-Romans 10:9+10

How do you confess Christ as Lord? Recite the following prayer with all Sincerity.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come to you now as a repentant sinner, in Jesus' name.  I confess all my sinfulness to you and ask you to forgive for the Lord Jesus' sake. I believe that Jesus died for all my sins and washed them all away with his blood.  I believe now that You raised Jesus from the dead as you promised in your Holy Word, the Bible.  I invite Your Holy Spirit to come inside of me and make me your child.  I  promise to strive to live Holy everyday with your help.  I thank you Lord for saving me.

That is it.  No rituals or ceremonies to perform.  No works of the flesh to depend upon.  Just your faith and confession and by faith you are saved.  A wise believer told me once, that if the salvation of your soul in Christ required anything more than His death upon the cross, making His death impotent to save, that is powerless to save, then Jesus failed in his mission, which was to save people from their sins.  We all are lost because we believe Christ, and he could not save us from the consequences of our sinfulness.  We again become subject to the just demands of the Holy Law of God,  which no man is exempt and no man is made righteous before God.  No man since Christ has claimed to be the Son of God and died for the sins of many.  No atonement, no salvation by faith.  Worse yet if Christ had failed to save mankind, we all would have to go back and begin again to offer sacrifices for our atonement.  How many people could be left without salvation? I Thank God, that the facts point to the cross, where Christ died for us all, to the empty tomb where he rose again for our justification.  We have this testimony from those who walked and talked with Him, who seen him live, and seen him die. The same who testify that he rose again and is alive forever more.  Jesus did die on the Cross and was raise back up in the fulfillment of the will of God  and for the Glory of God Amen.  So we have this confidence in our confession of faith, which does not rest in fables or legends, but rests upon shed blood of Christ which has been substantiated by historical records and archaeological finds and the blood of martyrs who was also convinced that their salvation rest on nothing less than Jesus' blood and his righteousness. This confidence you also received when you recited the above prayer and put your trust in Christ. That is if you did.
If you did not, you have placed yourself in a most unfavorable position.  It would have been better if you have not heard of the Gospel of Christ at all.  Why?  Because now you know of the opportunity of salvation and did not take it.   This is what John the Apostle, an eye witness of Christ and of John, the Baptist, testified that John, the Baptist said about choosing not to believe in Jesus......

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."-John 3:36

Ultimately, the choice is yours and yours alone to make: God wrath abiding with you all the way to the Lake of fire, or the possession of everlasting life with God in heaven.  Choose wisely.  It is never too late to choose to be saved.