Acts 3:19 Turn to God

Acts 3:19 says, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out”. “Be converted” is old English and has changed meanings. It is not passive in Greek. It is better translated today as that we must act and “return to God.” The word converted means something totally different today. The purpose for turning to God is, “so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” This refers to a breeze that refreshes a weary soul. There is no delay indicated for the times of refreshing. Forgiving refreshment begins immediately and will culminate in those times of refreshing that Jesus brings at his coming.

Luke 24:47 Repentance INTO Forgiveness

In Luke 24:47 we read that “repentance and forgiveness [repentance INTO forgiveness] of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Preaching against sin is not to condemn, but to save, to lead us to forgiveness. The opposite of sin is not impossible moral perfection, but faith. The Old Testament proved that letter-perfect law-keeping is impossible. We fail law-keeping. Repentance is not keeping the letter of the law, but changing from unbelief to faith in God. Paul taught that the purpose of the law was not perfect obedience in the letter, but to expose sin. Gospel preaching is not better morality, but forgiveness, absolution.

Luke 24:39 Jesus is not a Ghost

A recycled heresy, Marcionism calls Jesus a ghost. In Luke 24:36b-48 Jesus proves he is not a ghost, a spirit without a body, “Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones”. The disciples disbelieved for joy, it seemed too good to be true. Jesus then ate with them. The Hebrew scriptures are summarized by the description “the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms.” He opened their minds to understand the scriptures. We too need divine help to understand the Bible. There were three parts to Jesus’ instructions: he would suffer, be raised and repentance resulting in forgiveness must be proclaimed to all nations.

Do we Confess our Sins?

1 John 1:9-10 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” One US President was famous for saying that he had no sins to confess. But humble confession that we have not attained sinless perfection, is a hallmark of true Christianity. Self-righteous judgmentalism hides behind a mask of legalistic perfection. It makes us liars and fake Christians. We must learn to openly and humbly admit what Jesus taught, that even our thoughts are often sinful.

Historical Evidence

Paul reminds the church of God in Korinthos that the Gospel which he first preached to them included the resurrection, even though some no longer believe in it. He presents a creed, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” Notice that Paul twice says that this was according to the Hebrew Scriptures. He also gave historic evidence of the resurrection, “that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present”.

Jesus' Mock Parade

Imagine for a minute a grand parade. It might be one of those that celebrates military might with tanks and rockets. It might have brass bands, flags waving and marchers goose-stepping in rhythm, with a dictator either clapping from a grandstand or even at the head of the parade. Then imagine some time later a mock parade with a popular religious leader riding a donkey, and instead of flags, people waving palm branches. That’s what Palm Sunday is all about. It mocks and challenges this world’s pride and arrogance. We often think of Jesus riding a donkey as religious not political, but we forget the implications for Caesar, Pilate and Herod.

Mark 11:1-11

Selfishness Destroys

Jesus taught that selfishness destroys us. How? Selfish people are combative because they always want things their way, so they lose relationships. Selfish people kill their own joy by complaining. Selfish people have unrealistic expectations of themselves and others, so people don’t want to be around them. Selfish people can’t take criticism, but they constantly criticize others, so because of the negative atmosphere people walk away. Selfish people make love conditional upon serving their needs and so hurt others. Selfish people lie and manipulate, so they can’t be trusted. Selfish people believe they deserve the largest portion and don’t consider how others feel, and so drive friends and family members away.

John 3:15 Problem, Cause, Solution

In John 3:15 we read, “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Ancient Israel was often critical of God. One one occasion, God punished them by sending poisonous snakes into their midst (Numbers 21:4-9). The people regretted their whining and Moses prayed and following God’s instructions made a bronze snake on a pole. Looking on the bronze snake that was lifted up, they lived. When we look to the cross and believe in Him, we too will live. The solution to a snake problem was a snake. The solution to the problems of man is the man who was lifted up on a cross.

God’s Anger is Love

Why do we get angry when a gunman attacks a school, precious children or the elderly are abused, or terrorists line up innocent people and cut their throats? Is it because within us is some measure of love for others? Perhaps we can understand then how a loving God is also an angry God? If God knows the long-term consequences of sin to hurt and destroy us, He hates sin and is angry when we choose to sin. If God created marriage as a blessing, He hates what destroys it. If God knows that only He can provide us true blessings, He hates the false idols and lies of counterfeit religions.

Arrogance over Cheddar Man

A Washington Post article declares "Meet Cheddar Man: First modern Britons had dark skin and blue eyes." This is preposterous! If it were statistics, we would mock and say that a sample of one proves absolutely nothing. But, these are the gods of science who may not be questioned, at least that’s how it’s reported. Perhaps true scientists are more humble than this nonsense! Sadly, we have the same ridiculous thing that separates Christians, where dogmatism is used as a weapon. Dogmatism in science or religion can be a cover-up for lies or egotistical ignorance. When we say words like maybe, possibly, and I could be wrong, then we are truly honest.