Child Abuse? Mark 9:42

Mark 9: 42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

At first notice, it would appear that Mark was writing about an abusive situation with a child. Not so. Jesus was referring to ordinary believers that were so very new to the Christian faith and lovingly obedient to Christ! But some Christians, possibly legalistic and inadvertently were derailing their faith were (and are) heavily subject to judgement! All of us “apologists” and “teachers” need to be aware of this!

God Bless

Brian Mason

What Does It Mean To “Fall From Grace”?

“Falling from Grace” is only used once in the Holy Bible and you will find it’s use in Galatians 5:1-5 (ESV),

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Paul was writing in regards to those who were turning law-works into something that was saving them from “falling away from grace.” This is not about someone losing their salvation. Again context is a mighty thing when reading scripture.

God Bless

Brian Mason

Nicene Creed

This creed was written at the First Ecumenical Council, held at Nicea, located in the area we now call Turkey. The year was 325 and it was written in response to the Arian heresy that did not believe in the Divinity of Jesus Christ. As in the Athanasian Creed, the word “catholic” written in this creed does not mean the Roman Catholic Church, but the the Universal Christian Church. Here is the creed:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

God Bless

Brian Mason

Athanasian Creed

Athanasius was the the fourth century bishop of Alexandria and was a paramount force in the defense of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus Christ. When reading this creed it is important to know that the “catholic” word is not the Roman Catholic Church, it is in reference to the “universal faith” of Christianity.

1. Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith;

2. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

3. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;

4. Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.

5. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit.

6. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.

7. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.

8. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated.

9. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.

10. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.

11. And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal.

12. As also there are not three uncreated nor three incomprehensible, but one uncreated and one incomprehensible.

13. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty.

14. And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty.

15. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God;

16. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.

17. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord;

18. And yet they are not three Lords but one Lord.

19. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord;

20. So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say; There are three Gods or three Lords.

21. The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten.

22. The Son is of the Father alone; not made nor created, but begotten.

23. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

24. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.

25. And in this Trinity none is afore or after another; none is greater or less than another.

26. But the whole three persons are coeternal, and coequal.

27. So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.

28. He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.

29. Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

30. For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man.

31. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of substance of His mother, born in the world.

32. Perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.

33. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood.

34. Who, although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ.

35. One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of that manhood into God.

36. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.

37. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ;

38. Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead;

39. He ascended into heaven, He sits on the right hand of the Father, God, Almighty;

40. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

41. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies;

42. and shall give account of their own works.

43. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.

44. This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved.

God Bless

Brian Mason

Why Does God Allow Crime To Continue?

A question that has long faced God’s believers. There is not an easy answer to this issue, and it should be left up to attributing it to a mystery of God. To me, it would seem that all the sufferings are necessary for Gods overall plan. The Lord Jesus will put everything straight so we must wait. Many times in my personal life I have been cheated, and crimes have been committed against friends and me and family members. When stepping back, I could see on this earthly level that they seemed actually to turn out to have a purpose. Some don’t seem like there is a reason, but I know that God has a plan for everything.

Isaiah 46:10, “Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure

Psalm 73 sheds some light as well;

Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.[a]
11 And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength[b] of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.

God Bless

Brian Mason

What Is The Biggest Issue For The Atheist To Answer To?

Evolutionists will bring up evolution on the Darwinian level however that theory is not only preposterous now with the advancement of science clearly showing evidence for design, and not to mention there is not one bit of conclusive evidence for Darwinian evolution. I would suggest that after all the “huffing and puffing” own of the atheist aiming at the door of creation is; “How can the atheist account for existence?”

If the atheist states that the universe has always existed it would mean by definition that the universe is infinitely old. So if that were the case, we would have likely run out of usable energy by obeying the 2nd law of thermodynamics.

Christianity is the answer! Since the universe had a beginning, it needs an agent to bring it into existence. The evolutionist will claim that the universe “spontaneously” sprung into life says, Stephen Hawking. What? How would this happen? A universe from nothing equals something? I think his next statement would likely be that fairies started it all. But then that would beg the question as for to where did the fairies originate?

Crickets…..

Psalm 90: 1-2

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Please pray that those who are now unbelievers see the light from the Holy Spirit and they “see” that light.

God Bless
Brian Mason

Matt Dillahunty’s Contradiction?

Matt D. Gives it up in the first 40 secs. Matt says he has had a keen interest in magic all his life. Does this sound like a Christian? Matt was never a Christian by his words. Magic by biblical definition is forbidden: Ezekiel 13: 17-23;

““Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are prophesying from their inspiration. Prophesy against them, 18 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to hunt down lives! Will you hunt down the lives of My people, but preserve the lives of others for yourselves? 19 “And for handfuls of barley and fragments of bread, you have profaned Me to My people to put to death some who should not die and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’” 20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you hunt lives there as birds, and I will tear them off your arms; and I will let them go, even those lives whom you hunt as birds. 21 “I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands to be hunted; and you will know that I am the Lord. 22 “Because you disheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him grief, but have encouraged the wicked not to turn from his wicked way and preserve his life, 23 therefore, you women will no longer see false visions or practice divination, and I will deliver My people out of your hand. Thus you will know that I am the Lord.

Matt has also stated he was a Christian; I don’t think so.

Please pray for Matt and all his followers

God Bless

Brian Mason

When Will Jesus Return To Earth?

Even Jesus did not know the day or hour as he told us in the book of Matthew:

Matthew 24: 35-37
Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away. 36But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.”

That being said there are a few differing opinions as to when Jesus may return.

“Millennium” is of Latin derivation meaning one thousand years, and in this article, it will be about the “Thousand year reign of Jesus Christ when he returns to the earth. The “thousand year reign” is found six times in the book of Revelation.
Scholars have not come to an agreed upon consensus on when this will take place. However, there are several trains of thought. So let me define what each perspective is:

Pre-millennialism – Jesus will return before the thousand year rule.

Post-millennialism – Jesus will not return until the whole world is converted to Christianity and one thousand years of peace on earth has elapsed.

Pro-millennialist’s – These people do not know if there is going to a millennium or not. If one does occur then, they are fine with it.

A-millennialism – do not believe there is going to be a millennium at all.

I have not given any of these positions much thought at all. “When specifically” Jesus returns is not important to me. I just know that He will return, and what a remarkable revelation that will be for the believers!

God Bless

Brian Mason

What Is The New Covenant?

If one is to read Jeremiah 31:31-34 it is clear:

“31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke,though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

This scripture is applied to the future Israel. However the language of the writer of Hebrews in context, it is defined as the “believers” Jew or Gentile. The Gentile was grafted into the New Covenant based on the body of Jesus Christ forever and ever. Hebrews 10: 15-18:

15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”
17 then he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Jesus said; Matthew 26:27-28:

27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

God Bless

Brian Mason

Was Peter The First Pope?

No. In fact, there is no scriptural evidence that Peter was even a bishop in the church in Rome. And there is no indication he was ever in Rome, to begin with.

The Holy Bible has no writings of any “pope” nor anything that would suggest some office of a pope existed as well. Quite the contrary is written in scripture! It is strictly forbidden!
Jesus said;

Matthew 23:8-9, “8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

Why does the Roman Catholic Church go against a direct order from Jesus Christ? The pope claims to be a “father”!

Please pray for the followers of this apostate church.

God Bless

Brian Mason