Summary: The eternal existence of every human being.
The biblical Trinity and some other specifics of the biblical Christian faith.
The main reason for the lack of interest shown by many people in the Christian
religion is to be found in the "explanations" of some Christian preachers which they have heard
or read in the past. These tend to be something on the lines of "You must come to belief in God,
otherwise you are lost", or the like. A statement of this kind is practically incomprehensible to
unbelievers, who are going to wonder, "Who is God? What is belief? And why should I be lost?
‒ It’s bullshit!" And so they turn their backs in disgust.
As should be fairly plain, this is a matter of bridling the horse at the tail. And we would hardly
expect this to turn out well, either with the horse in actual fact, or ‒ metaphorically
speaking ‒ in terms of the argument. If I am to be persuaded to believe, I must first know
why. And when I have heard the relevant arguments, I can then consider whether they appear to me
correct and convincing or not. Only then am I really in a position to make a sensible decision
either for or against. So I would like here to try to do exactly that ‒ first of all to
present the reasons why a person should come to biblical Christian belief, and only this belief, in
the first place, and then give a few brief indications of the way in which this can happen.
True Christian belief has its origin and foundation in the Bible. This is roughly
comparable with the origin and foundation of human society (the national community) being located in
the family. Recent attempts to found a society on the homosexual "family" are condemned to
failure for want of fertility, in just the same way as the endeavors of many world religions to
redeem humanity without the Bible are. Pointless effort in both cases, for neither is able to bear
fruit.
The Bible makes some fundamental statements about the origin and future of humanity. Seeing that
there has already been more than enough controversy about human origins between evolutionists
(including scientists who deny the existence of God) and creationists (including Christians who
believe in God as the creator of all things), we will just give a short account here of what
scripture says about the future of human beings.
According to the Bible, human beings have a quite different kind of life to look forward to from
what is generally known: God has created humanity for eternal life. And that does not just apply to
Christian believers! All human beings ‒ including unbelievers, criminals, mass murderers,
blasphemers and idol-worshipers ‒ have eternal life! The fact that we must all die does indeed
mean the end of our material and earthly life, but the spirit of the human being lives on ‒
and in the resurrection, at the end of the world, it will be reborn and come back to life with a new
body
The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.
1Cor 15,46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural;
then the spiritual. 15,47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from
heaven. 15,48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so
also are those who are heavenly. 15,49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will
also bear the image of the heavenly. 1Cor 15,46-49;
Sometimes at this point we find the argument advanced that "No one has ever come
back from the dead". But this is contradicted by a whole cloud of witnesses in the Bible. After
rising from the dead Jesus Christ appeared first of all to his disciples, and then to more than five
hundred people (1Cor 15:5-8). The fact of the resurrection, then, is on much the same level of
reality as the persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Nero, or the persecution of Luther by
the Catholic church. And as the apostle Paul confirms in the above passage (1Cor 15,49): "Just as
we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly." That is to
say, we human beings will go exactly the same way as Jesus Christ went before: we will die like Adam,
certainly, but we will rise again, be clothed with a new body and continue to exist for all
eternity, like our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now we come to the crucial point of the argument: while all human beings have an eternal
existence, they will not all spend this existence with God. This is because after the resurrection
of all human beings, at the end of the world, there follows the judgment of God, where people will
be judged in accordance with their deeds. And this is where the good are separated out from the bad.
The just and the faithful will enter into the eternal community of God in the light ‒ into "eternal
life", as the Bible calls it ‒ but sinners will be banished into eternal separation from
God, into darkness from which no further salvation is possible. Just as darkness is driven out by
light, so it is inevitable that sinners will be banned from God’s holy presence.
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
1Jn 1,5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to
you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 1,6 If we say that we have
fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 1Jn 1, 5- 6;
As we have seen above, only the just and the faithful will live in the light of God
in eternity, while sinners will end up in the darkness, far distant from God. God is light ‒
not just symbolically, but in actual fact: God "dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has
seen or can see" (1Tim 6:16). But on the other hand the Bible tells us that all human beings are
sinners, and as such are already in spiritual darkness while they are alive and so have no community
with God. The reason for this distance from God, in the case of normal human beings, is their
sinfulness. But what is sin, actually, and why does it separate us from God?
We do not propose here to give a listing of individual sins, but rather to give a brief account of
sin as a basic principle. God gave human beings Ten Commandments (Ex 20:1-17), so that they should
be able to live peacefully on this planet and to develop and prosper. Any disrespect of these
commandments, then, is the same as disrespecting God, and in face of God’s absolute justice is
sin. Some people, now, will say that they haven’t killed anyone, they haven’t stolen anything,
they haven’t brought false witness. But meanwhile they busily overlook all the other commandments
‒ like that which says you shall not have other gods besides me, you shall not covet, and so
on and so forth.
But Scripture tells us that in face of God’s absolute justice every sin, even the smallest, is
punished by death. "For the wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23). And this does not just refer to
physical death (the "first death", as Scripture calls it) but to the "second death", namely
condemnation at the Last Judgment to eternal damnation far from God. But here our own experience
confirms that under these conditions there really are no human beings without sin, and so all human
beings are sinners in the sight of God and are separated from him. But this again is unacceptable
from the point of view of God’s love, since the love of God desires that all human beings shall be
saved.
God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1Tim 2,3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
2,4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2,5 For there
is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 2,6 who gave Himself as
a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 1Tim 2, 3- 6;
And here we have some inkling of God’s "dilemma": his absolute justice calls
for the death of the sinner, but his love wants all human beings to be saved. It was a very similar
situation that was experienced by Prince Shamil, an Avar leader of the northern Caucasus in the
early 19th century, of whom the economist Roscher relates the following incident:
"In order to ensure unity and discipline in his tribe, the Prince had
issued the strict order that no one was to take anything from the booty, which belonged to the tribe
as a whole. Anyone who transgressed against this order was to be punished with a hundred lashes of
the knout.
Then the order was disobeyed for the first time ‒ by the Prince’s elderly mother. What was
now to be done? If the punishment was not carried out, the justice of the Prince would be put in
question, and the seriousness of his orders for all future time would be undermined.
Rosher tells us that the Prince shut himself in his tent for a whole day. Then he came out, and gave
instructions that the punishment was to be carried out.
But as the first lash came whistling down on the back of his mother, he tore off his coat, threw
himself over his mother’s body, and called out to the soldiers, ‘Keep on striking, and not one
blow too few!’
And so he had found the solution! His mother was saved, and at the same time the torn and bleeding
back of the Prince showed how seriously his commands were to be taken and how important to the tribe
were justice and righteousness."
(After Werner de Boor: Der Brief an die Römer [The Epistle to the Romans], WStB Publications, R.
Brockhaus Verlag [R. Brockhaus Publishers]).
And neither could God abate the demands of his justice: sin must remain sin, and be
punished by death. In Old Testament times, however, God had permitted the Jews to atone for their
sins by sacrificing an animal, so that the animal died for their sins. But there would hardly be
enough animals in the world, now, to atone for the sins of the entire human race, So a sacrifice
needed to be found which would be of such value in face of the justice of God that it would be able
to atone for the sins of all human beings who had ever lived and who ever would live. And that is
why God sent his own Son into the world, so that he should provide the vicarious sacrifice for the
sins of every individual human being.
I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Jn 14,6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and
the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have
seen Him." Jn 14, 6- 7;
So the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, ransomed us from our guilt with his death,
and from this point on every human being has the possibility, through his or her personal acceptance
of this redeeming sacrifice, to have all his or her sins forgiven, whatever the nature of these may
have been, and to enter into community with God. But the prerequisite for this is first of all
belief in the grace of God shown in his Son, and then the actual, personal acceptance of this offer
from God by the sinner in prayer. This gives people community with God while they are still alive,
as well as in eternity after their death and resurrection. Anyone who does not do this, however,
remains in darkness and will be condemned by God’s judgment.
I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
Jn 12,46 "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone
who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. 12,47 "If anyone hears My sayings and does
not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
12,48 "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I
spoke is what will judge him at the last day. Jn 12,46-48;
So as we can see, it is not a matter of obtaining eternal life. That is something
all human beings have already. It is rather a question where we will spend this eternal life, after
our death and resurrection: in the light, with God, or in the darkness of eternal damnation. We only
have to look at the unbelievers and the godless all around us: they just live for the day, and have
no idea what they have to expect. In the resurrection they will be delighted to find that they are
by no means dead, but will live eternally. But then their God will condemn them in the judgment,
because all their lives they have paid no heed to God and have denied him. And he will have them
thrown into the eternal fire, into outer darkness. There they will weep and gnash their teeth
because of what they have neglected to do in life and can now never more make up for.
Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Mt 25,41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart
from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Mt 25,41;
Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mt 25,29 "For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he
will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken
away. 25,30 "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Mt 25,29-30;
The consequence of sin and salvation through grace.Sin is every act that goes against the commandments of God
(Ex 20:3-17; Mt 5:21-48). The consequence of every single one of these
acts is the death of the perpetrator – and not just the first, physical
death, but the second death (Rev 21:8), to which the sinful person will be
condemned at the Last
Judgment after Resurrection
from the dead – the rebirth (Mt 19:28, 25:31) – with his or her new and eternally existing body. Just as the
first death is merely a transitional period up till the resurrection, so
too the second death is
not an extinction of the human person but rather an eternally prolonged
existence, distant from God in the darkness of damnation. |
A basic prerequisite for conversion is the realization that God does not compel us
to do anything. We have complete freedom, either to accept this offer of God’s or to decline it.
From this we can also infer the fact that we cannot obtain redemption by our own efforts, of
whatever kind ‒ not by any good deeds, generous charitable donations, pilgrimages, ascetic
practices, self-chastisement, recitation of masses and so on and so forth. We could never settle
this price which the Son of God has paid for us on the cross. It is a gift and a grace of God. God
offers us redemption. But he doesn’t force us to accept it.
Now in order really to become a Christian, I must carry out the following three simple steps:
1. I must admit that in God’s eyes I am a helpless sinner.
This is stated unambiguously in Rom 3,22-23: "For there is no distinction; for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God." All human beings are sinners without distinction. That means that
while there may be differences between human beings in the scale of the sin, there is still no
difference between them, as all have sinned. This statement includes me. In thought, word and deed I
have constantly neglected God’s commandments and have fallen short of that which I should have
been. In consequence I have been banished from God’s presence, as Isa 59,2 explains: "But your
iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from
you so that He does not hear." I cannot do anything about this condition myself. Even the best
deeds on my part are unable to obtain God’s goodwill. I am a hopeless, helpless sinner. I need a
Redeemer to bring me back to God.
2. I must believe that Jesus Christ, who died for me on the cross,
actually is this Redeemer whom I need.
The Son of God loved me and sacrificed himself for me on the cross (Gal 2:20). He carried my sins in
his own body (1Pet 2:24). He was made sin for me (2Cor 5:21). And what is more, he voluntarily
underwent the punishment that was due to me for my sins. He was wounded for my transgressions, and
smitten for my iniquities. This is best expressed in 1Pet 3,18: "For Christ also died for sins
once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God."
3. I must come to Jesus and lay claim to my personal share in that
which he did for all of humanity.
He died so as to be the redeemer of the world; I must ask him to be my redeemer. He carried the sins
of all human beings; I must ask him to take away my sins. He suffered in order to bring all men back
to God; I must ask him to bring me back. Jesus explains in Revelation 3,20 exactly what I must do:
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come
in to him." The house is an image standing for my life. Jesus stands outside, at the door. He
doesn’t push against it with his shoulder. He doesn’t need a crowbar. He waits patiently until I
open the door. Then he will enter, and through his entering he will become for me the redeemer I
need, as I have confessed. I will find myself reconciled with God. The wall between God and me will
have fallen away and I will enjoy the communion with God for which I was created.
Before this last step, however, it would be as well to be quite clear about the
consequences. The Lord Jesus himself constantly warned the people who followed him when they were in
danger of being driven by irresponsible emotions while under his dominion. He insisted that they
should not start to build without having first calculated the cost. We too must consider, before
taking this step, what the implications of it are. It is a rich reward we have in Jesus, but we will
also find that we have to pay a price. What demands does Jesus make of me, if I accept him?
I must renounce sin. "Repent and believe in the gospel," he says in
Mk 1:15. Faith that accepts Jesus must be accompanied by repentance which rejects sin. Repentance
does not mean that I am just sorry for the past. It isn’t enough to be upset about it, I must
actually repent ‒ and that means that I must turn my back on everything that I have recognized
as being wrong in my former life, and I must be willing to banish it for ever from my life for Jesus’
sake. I will not be capable of doing it with my own strength, but I must be willing to let him do it
for me.
I must give myself to Jesus. He wants to be both my Redeemer and my Lord. He wants to take
possession of my house ‒ my life ‒ and to rule there. So as from today I make the
decision to place the future in his hands, to do my utmost to discover his will and to follow it, in
both small and great matters. I do not want ever to forget what he has said about self-denial and
following in his steps (Mk 8:34).
I must confess Jesus before men. I realized that I cannot be a disciple in secret. If I confess my
Lord, he too will confess me before the Father (Mt 10:32). I am well aware that I may lose some of
my friends and acquaintances as a result, and that it may make me the object of some derision. But I
will not be ashamed of my Redeemer, and so neither will he be ashamed of me when he comes. (Lk
9:26).
As a properly believing Christian, you should then talk to your God every day. Not
by rattling off some texts you have memorized, but in a real dialog ‒ where we tell God in
spirit about our daily cares, and also our joyful experiences. Then we give thanks for the help we
have received, and pray for important things. But this talk with God should not be carried on in a
church or in public, but in a quiet room of our house or apartment where we can be sure of being
alone and undisturbed.
But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and pray to your Father who is in secret.
Mt 6,5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites;
for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen
by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6,6 "But you, when you pray,
go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father
who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 6,7 "And when you are praying, do not use
meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many
words. Mt 6, 5- 7;
As the Lord tells us here, God is not to be found in churches (synagogues) or in
public. The people who pray there do it in order to be seen and heard by others. We do not have to
look for God in any kind of church, because if we believe, God is already here with us, his spirit
indwelling our spirit.
God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
Jn 4,23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be
His worshipers. 4,24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and
truth." Jn 4,23-24;
And as our first prayer after our conversion, perhaps we should address our Lord as
follows:
"Lord Jesus Christ, I confess humbly that I have sinned in thought,
word and deed. I am conscious of my sin. My sins have separated me from your holy presence. I am
incapable of pleasing you.
"I believe firmly that you died on the cross for my sins, that you carried them in your own body
and suffered the punishment that is due to me. I have contemplated in my own mind the cost of
following you.
"I seriously repent the sins of the past, and turn away from them. I am willing to give myself to
you as my Lord and God. Help me not to be ashamed of you.
"So I come to you now. I think that you have been standing at the door and knocking for a good
while already. Now I will let you in. Come in, Lord Jesus, be my Redeemer and my Lord, now and for
all time. Amen."
And finally just two words of advice: after our conversion we shouldn’t expect any
overwhelming feelings. Our faith does not depend on the momentary state of our emotions. The only
thing that we can expect is an inner tranquility and peace, through the Holy Spirit. And then, of
course, along with our daily prayers we should read the Bible every day, seeing that man does not
live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Mt 4,4). And this word
of God, as spiritual nourishment, can only be found in the Bible.
Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of GOD.
Mt 4,4 But He answered and said, "It is written, ‘man shall
not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of GOD.’" Mt 4,
4;
(See also Chapter 13: "The Last Judgment.")
The biggest mistake of all time.A lot of people share the view of the well known
American actor and film producer John Malkovich, who
said in a recent interview: "… Life just comes to an end, and
then it is over." – But these people will be surprised when they
get to this supposed "over", and suddenly find themselves
alive again. that they will live for ever and there is a God. In the light of this, the well known evangelist and
preacher Wilhelm Busch said to his hearers, "You don’t
need to accept the message I am giving you. You can choose not to
convert to Jesus. But just be aware that this means you are choosing
hell! You have complete freedom – it’s your choice!" (Discourse
55) |
The eternal existence of every human being.Every individual human being who leaves the amniotic sac
of his or her mother alive in being physically born – who is "born of
water" (amniotic fluid), that is to say (Jn 3:5) – receives a human
spirit (1Cor 2:11) from God (Jn 4:24) with eternal existence (Mt 25:46).
In the first, temporal and earthly part of their existence – in their
life, human beings have the possibility of deciding, in complete freedom,
without any compulsion and with the help of the spirit given them by God (Gen 2:7; 6:3),
whether or not they will give this God, the creator of all life, their
complete trust and entire love. God will give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Rom 8,11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised
Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead
will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in
you.. Rom 8,11; In the Resurrection (Rom 6:4-5),
the "rebirth
from the spirit" (Mt 19:28; 1Pet 3:18; Jn 3:7), human beings are
again given a body (Mt 22:30; Jn 3:8; Rom 8:10-11), similar to that of
the Son of God after his resurrection (Jn 20:26-27). If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 1Cor 15,42 So also is the resurrection
of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable
body; 15,43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it
is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 15,44 it is sown a natural
body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is
also a spiritual body. 15,45 So also it is written, "The first MAN,
Adam, became a living soul." (Gen 2,7) The last Adam became a
life‒giving spirit. 15,46 However, the spiritual is not first,
but the natural; then the spiritual. 15,46 However, the spiritual is not first,
but the natural; then the spiritual. 15,47 The first man is from the earth,
earthy; the second man is from heaven. 15,48 As is the earthy, so also are
those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.
15,49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image
of the heavenly. 1Cor 15,42-49; With this body the human being
will then stand at the Last Judgment
before the Son of God, who has been given the task by God (Jn 5:22, 26-27)
of judging every human being on the basis of their earthly deeds and their
decision for or against God while still alive (Rom 2:16). "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know
Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you." Jn 14,15-17; In the light of this, the well known evangelist and preacher Wilhelm
Busch said to his hearers, "You don’t need to accept the message I am giving
you. You can choose not to convert to Jesus. But just be aware that this means you
are choosing hell! You have complete freedom – it’s your choice!" (People who are unable to believe) (See also Discourse 22: "Is
there such a thing as the immortality of the soul?") For all those who would like to have it short and
modern: |
The Biblical Trinity and some other specifics of the biblical Christian faithUnlike all other religions in the world, biblical Christianity is not
a religion. It is a relation. A relationship with – or
connection to – God, as our Father in Heaven. That is why our Lord
Jesus Christ told us: Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Mt 23,9 9 "Do not call anyone on earth your
father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Mt 23,9; So, in biblical Christianity, we do not call anyone on earth
our Father – the one and only Almighty God in heaven is our Father. In fact
God created not only us but all human beings, with Adam and Eve, our archaic parents, and is
therefore the father of us all. But very few people want to know anything
about this. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Jn 4,23 "But an hour is coming, and now
is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 4,24 "God is
spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Jn 4,23-24; And as Paul also confirms to us in his first letter to the
Corinthians, God’s Spirit dwells in us if we are God’s children. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1Cor 3,16 Do you not know that you
are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
3,17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the
temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. 1Cor 3,16-17; So this is a very similar connection to the one the Son of
God had with the Father during his mission on earth: Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? Jn 14,10 Do you not believe that I am in the
Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to
you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding
in Me does His works. 14,11 Believe Me that I
am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of
the works themselves. Jn 14,10-11; Finally, the Lord Jesus himself also tells us that the one
who loves him will be recognized by the fact that he will keep the word of
his Lord. And therefore the Father will love him, and both Father and Son
will come and make their abode with him (in his spirit). If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. Jn 14,22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him,
"Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to
us and not to the world?" 14,23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If
anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We
will come to him and make Our abode with him. 14,24 "He who does not
love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine,
but the Father’s who sent Me. 14,25 "These things I have spoken to you
while abiding with you. 14,26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to
your remembrance all that I said to you. Jn 14,22-26; So, let us summarize: Paul tells us above, in 1Cor 3,16,
that the Holy Spirit dwells in us if we are children of God. The Lord Jesus
tells us above, in Jn 14,23, that the Father and the Son will come to us and
abide with us if we love the Son. Thus we have united Father, Son and Holy
Spirit in our spirit! It is therefore obvious that it is in the nature of spiritual beings to integrate
themselves both in the spirit of a human being, as well as in other spiritual beings. In their spiritual
form, they are non-material and can merge into each other, as when we empty one glass of
water into another on the material plane, and the two both waters become one (trinity). However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; ‘Acts 7,48 "However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says (Isa 66,1-2):
7,49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is the footstool of my feet; what
kind of house will you build for me?’ says the Lord; ’Or what place
is there for my repose? 7,50 ‘Was it not my hand which made all these
things?’ Acts 7,48-50; In the biblical Christian faith, therefore, there is no rite, no liturgy, no
"masses", no priests, bishops, cardinals, popes or anything else like that.
Biblical Christian believers themselves are God’s temple and in their spirit
have immediate and direct connection with their heavenly Father. For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 2Cor 6,14 Do not be bound together
with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness,
or what fellowship has light with darkness? 6,15 Or what harmony has
Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
6,16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? And it is also this spirit of the children of God who will
live after the resurrection as a spiritual being in the eternal dimension
with our Father in heaven, after he has walked the path that our Lord Jesus
Christ has already gone before us as the first fruits (1Cor 15:20-28). But you, when you pray, go into your inner room and pray to your Father who is in secret. Mt 6,5 "When you pray, you are not to be
like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and
on the street corners (or on the "Wailing Wall"! / FH) so that they
may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6,6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door
and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees
what is done in secret will reward you. 6,7 "And when you are praying, do
not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that
they will be heard for their many words. 6,8 "So do not be like them;
for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Mt 6,5-8; |
The proof, that this false evangelization in the congregations is a worldwide
problem is constituted in a Youtube-video by two correctly believing preachers in the USA
highlighting this very issue of false doctrine in the congregations in exemplary fashion and
explaining it in an approachable way:
Hell’s Best Kept Secret, why modern evangelism
often fails.