Only those who are believers and are living by God’s spirit are children of God and are joint heirs of the kingdom along with Jesus. It is they who will inherit the blessings that God promises and they who will share in Jesus’ glory, but they will also share in his persecution and suffering (John 1:10-13, 1 John 3:9-10, Rom 8:7-17).
Continue readingCategory Archives: Theology
Different Topics concerning Theology like Spirituality, Ecclesia (The Church), Eschatalolgy (End of Days), Soteriology (Salvation), and Super Natural Beings
Traditions Of Men vs God’s Word
Jesus’s main critique of the Pharisees was that they were substituting God’s law with man-made traditions. The Pharisees were scapegoating laws in the Old Testament by reinterpreting certain verses. These reinterpretations would later end up in the Talmud. For example, they interpreted Deut 24:1 to allow for “any cause” divorce or adding “hate your enemies” to love your neighbor in Lev 19:18. Jesus, of course, corrected them in Matt chapter 5:31-32 & 5:43-48, as well as Matt 19 & Luke 10:25-37.
Continue readingChristians and Foreigners
Jesus says in Matthew 22:34-40 that the 2nd greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18). The first is to love God with your heart, soul, and strength (Deut 6:4-5). 1 John 4:7-8 says that love comes from God and anyone who doesn’t love is not of God, for God is love. This means it is impossible to love God and hate your neighbor. The Great Commission, according to Matthew 28:18-20, is to teach all nations. The word nation in the New Testament is translated from the Greek word ethnos (ἔθνος), which is where we get the English word ethnicity. This means that biblical nations aren’t specifically referring to nation-states but rather people groups (ethnicities). This refers to the ethnic separation by language at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 10 and 11.
Continue readingPersecution vs Punishment
Peter makes a distinction between persecution and punishment. When bad things happen and people mistreat Christians, they must ask themselves, “Do I deserve this”? If we did something wrong to another, we must apologize, but if they are just haters, then we rejoice as James 1:2-4 says so that our faith can grow, and we are to love on and pray for our enemies as Jesus says in Matt 5:43-48, Paul echoes this in Romans 12:9-21. We must never forget that God is our avenger, so we must not retaliate against people who harm us (Deut 32:35). Let’s look at some of Peter’s writing on the subject.
Continue readingMarital Submission
The Bible instructs spouses to submit to one another, with wives being taught to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord, and husbands to love their wives as Christ loves His church (Ephesians 5:21-33, 1 Peter 3:1-7). Submission is not about being a spouse’s slave; it is about following their lead and choosing to love them even when we don’t feel like it or they don’t deserve it. This means trusting God to lead the husband, and the wife follows. This means continually loving the wife even if she rebels. The submission to the command to love our neighbor as ourselves applies in marriage in a deep, intimate way. If the husband, who is responsible for the family, is failing in his role, God can lead the wife to take action. If she has to choose between God and her husband, God would ultimately come first.
Continue readingChristian Nationalism
Is Christian Nationalism biblical? We can’t apply scriptures that are specific to Israel or the Kingdom of God (which are monarchies) to a democratic republic nation like the USA. Unfortunately, some people cherry-pick Bible verses out of context to make human agenda-based arguments. From a Biblical perspective, American nationalism is no different from Chinese, Russian, or Iranian nationalism. There are Hindu Nationalists in India and Buddhist nationalists in places like Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar who persecute people of Abrahamic faiths. Nationalism just leads to persecution, which is not Christ-like.
Continue readingJesus vs the Talmud
Jesus’s main critique of the Pharisees was that they were substituting God’s law with man-made traditions. The Pharisees were scapegoating laws in the Old Testament by reinterpreting certain verses, and these modifications are preserved in the Talmud. For example, they interpreted Deut 24:1 to allow for “any cause” divorce or adding “hate your enemies” to love your neighbor in Lev 19:18. Jesus, of course, corrected them in Matt chapter 5:31-32 & 5:43-48, as well as Matt 19 & Luke 10:25-37.
Continue readingGod and Gentiles In The Old Testament
Are all Gentiles (non-Jews) Evil in the Old Testament? Was it fair for God to judge Gentiles in the Old Testament when they didn’t have His Torah (Law)? Did they even know who he was or that he was the real God?
Continue readingMisconceptions About the Bible
There are a lot of misconceptions about the bible because of pop culture theology and church traditions. There are many misconceptions about the Bible because of pop culture theology and church traditions. We all need to go back to reading what the text actually says. Here are a few examples that are only a taste of what there is to uncover.
Continue readingAmbassadors for Christ
Believers in Christ are ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor 5:20), which means we represent Christ’s kingdom on earth. An ambassador is someone who lives in one country but represents another. Believers were made citizens of the new kingdom when they were born again.
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