Tag Archives: God

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“Lead Us Not Into Temptation”

The Temptation of Christ, 1854“Lead Us Not Into Temptation”

James R. Aist

Introduction

Have you ever wondered why Jesus would include the phrase “lead us not into temptation” in His instruction to His disciples concerning prayer, found in Matthew 6:9-13? The New International Version reads “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” It struck me as odd that Jesus would say such a thing. At first glance it appears as though Jesus was implying that God the Father tempts people to sin, because, after all, our prayers are to be directed to the Father (John 16:23-24). But, does God really tempt people to sin; and if He does not, then what could Jesus possibly be referring to here? Let’s have a closer look.

Does God the Father Tempt Us to Sin?

James addresses this question directly and unequivocally: “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” (James 1:13-14). This passage makes it clear that Jesus could not have meant to imply that God the Father tempts people to sin when He said “lead us not into temptation.” What, then, could Jesus have been referring to?

The Temptation of Jesus

Perhaps the answer lies in the details of an earlier run-in that Jesus himself had with the Devil. Here’s the way Matthew describes how this came about: “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1). Here we see that the Holy Spirit did, in fact, lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted, but did He actually do the tempting? No, He did not; the Scripture says that it was the devil who did the tempting; the Holy Spirit only arranged the meeting. If you read on in Matthew 4, you will see that the temptations that the devil used against Jesus were powerful and, potentially, very enticing. Moreover, to trick Jesus into complying, they were bathed in Scripture, making it appear as though it would be within the will of the Father for him to accept the devil’s offers. We can only imagine how difficult it may have been for the human side of Jesus to withstand such temptations. In retrospect, it could have been a terrifying experience for Jesus.

Jesus Was Concerned for His Disciples

What I am suggesting is that the reason Jesus instructed His disciples to pray “lead us not into temptation” was that He, himself, was so severely traumatized by these vicious attacks of the devil that He wanted his followers to be spared the kind and intensity of trial that God the Father, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, had put him through, and that He was concerned that they might not fare as well as He did if they were tested like that. This suggestion seems to be all the more likely when one compares the wording in the two relevant passages: “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted” and “lead us not into temptation.” It makes sense to me that Jesus instructed his disciples to pray “lead us not into temptation” because He didn’t want his disciples to go through what He went through. What do you think?

(For more articles on BIBLICAL TEACHINGS, click HERE)

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Am I Good Enough for Heaven?

One Good DeedAm I Good Enough for Heaven?

 James R. Aist

“I will not work my soul to save, for that my Lord alone has done; but I will work like any slave, because I’m loved by God’s dear Son!”

— William Henry Griffith Thomas

Introduction

I suppose that if we could live a sinless life, then no one would need a savior; we could, in effect, save ourselves. But the sad truth is, we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). So, is it even possible to somehow qualify for heaven, and if so, how can we do that? There is a popular belief in today’s world that, in order to qualify for heaven when you die, you must live a sufficiently “good” life here on earth. To be clear, let me state this commonly held belief in a different way: we will spend our eternity in heaven only if our “good deeds” sufficiently outweigh our “bad deeds.” According to this way of thinking, heaven is a reward, or payment, that we earn for ourselves by doing good works. All major world religions, with one exception, teach this doctrine of “salvation by works” in one form or another. The exception is Christianity. But, unfortunately, many people even in Christian churches believe in salvation by works. Because what we believe about “salvation” will determine where we will spend our eternity – whether in heaven with God or in hell with the devil and his angels — let’s take a good look at why “salvation by works” is a false doctrine and how it is that you can, nevertheless, become “good enough for heaven.”

I Want to Be Judged by My Works; It’s Only Fair, Isn’t It?

Oh, really? Are you sure about that? Do you realize that God, who is himself perfect, requires you to be righteous (i.e., morally perfect) in order to qualify for heaven (Matthew 7:21)? Therefore, if God were to judge you by your works, then you would be found unqualified, because He would be judging you by both your good and your bad deeds, not just your good deeds; your bad deeds would disqualify you from heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). That would be fair alright, but you would not spend your eternity in heaven! This is what we often refer to as “the sin problem.” Maybe “fair” is not what you want after all. But if not “fair”, what then?

God Has Made a Way

“Jesus doesn’t love us because we are good enough; He makes us good enough because He loves us.”

Being painfully aware of how our sinfulness disqualifies us for heaven, and determined to save us anyway because of His great love for us, God came up with a brilliant and clever way to qualify us for heaven, even though we cannot qualify ourselves by virtue of our works. He sent a Redeemer (His name is Jesus) to pay the penalty for our sins, which is death (Romans 6:23). This Redeemer was himself without sin (Hebrews 4:15), and, therefore, possessed, by virtue of his sinless nature, the righteousness (moral perfection) of God. And He made it easy for us to qualify for heaven along with Him. All we have to do is believe in Jesus; no works of any kind are required (John 6:29)! Our righteousness, then, is not self-righteousness, but it is the perfect righteousness of Jesus that is attributed to us when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus doesn’t love us because we are good enough; He makes us good enough because He loves us. Now, from a purely human perspective, this plan may not seem to be fair, but it is merciful (i.e., we do not receive the condemnation that is our due because of our sins), it is gracious (we receive favor that we do not deserve) and it is effective (we have God’s word on it). And that is exactly what we do need to solve our “sin problem”!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

We refer to this amazing plan of salvation as the Gospel (i.e., good news) of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God that brings salvation to all who will believe in Him (Romans 1:16; John 3:16), confess their sins and repent of them (I John 1:9; Matthew 4:17), and accept Him as their Lord and Savior (Acts 16:31), trusting in His finished work on the cross (1 Peter 2:24) to qualify them for heaven. This is God’s one and only plan to reconcile mankind to Himself — there is no other path to God (John 14:6; Acts 4:12) – and He is the only one who can establish the ground rules, because “Salvation belongs to our God…” (Revelation 7:10). You can find an excellent article that explains this Gospel in a different way by clicking HERE.

What Are You Waiting for?

God wants to save you (Matthew 18:14)! If you have not yet allowed God to save you, then right now would be a good time to do so. All you have to do is…

Repent (turn away from your sins): “The Lord … is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9);

Believe and Trust in Jesus: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16);

Accept His Forgiveness: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1); and

Receive the Peace of Christ: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1).

What Just Happened?

If you went through these steps with genuine sincerity and conviction, then you have just been born-again and have become a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. Congratulations! I recommend that you read through the following articles to help clarify some of the remaining questions that you may have. Just click on the links provided below:

Repentance: Confess, Turn, Persevere (click HERE)

What Does “Born Again” Mean? (click HERE)

What Now?

Becoming born-again is just the first step in your life in Christ. It is important that you begin now to actively live out your new life in at least the following ways:

1) Tell someone, perhaps a close friend or relative, that you have become a Christian, and share with them how it happened (Mark 5:19);

2) Get a Bible of your own and begin to read and study it daily. I prefer the New International Version. Begin with the Gospel of John, and then go to Hebrews and then to the Gospel of Matthew. Remember this: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17);

3) Begin to pray to God daily. Now that you are a born-again Christian, you have every right to “… approach God’s throne of grace with confidence…” (Hebrews 4:16). Thank Him for how He is blessing you, praise Him for His awesome nature and tell Him your concerns and needs. Take your time; you just may begin to find that He is speaking into your mind and spirit as you pause and pay attention; and

4) Find and begin to attend a conservative, bible-believing Protestant (not Roman Catholic) church weekly (Hebrews 10:25). Here are some general guidelines for finding a good Protestant church:

  • Get your hands on a written statement of what the church believes. This may be called a “Statement of Faith”, “What We Believe”, “Our Doctrines” or the like;
  • In that statement of faith, look for declarations that a) the Bible alone is the inerrant, inspired word of God, b) that salvation is by grace through faith alone, not by works (referred to as “merit” in the official Roman Catholic Catechism), and c) that the finished work of Jesus Christ is the all-sufficient payment of the penalty for our sins;
  • Find out if the church is pro-life and considers the practice of homosexuality to be sin, as the Bible says it is. If these tests are not met, find another church, because that church does not really believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God;
  • I recommend that you avoid liberal Christian denominations that no longer adhere fully to essential, historical biblical truth and practice, such as the United Church of Christ, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Presbyterian Church USA, the United Methodist Church, the American Baptist Church, the Anglican Church, Seventh Day Adventist and the Episcopal Church; and
  • By all means avoid cults that may appear to be Christian, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, and Universalist Unitarian churches.

(For more articles on BIBLICAL TEACHINGS, click HERE)

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The Mass Deposit

English: The Louvre museum as seen from the ri...The Mass Deposit

 James R. Aist

 This cute little story took place in June of 1972. I had just completed a postdoctoral research study in Zurich and had the unique opportunity to travel around Europe for about three months before starting my new job as an Assistant Professor at Cornell University. My wife and I had an eleven-month-old daughter, Beverly, who was our first-born and our pride and joy. After a brief stay in the Swiss Alps, we headed for Paris to begin our tour of Europe. Being the faithful Roman Catholics that we were, we were determined to attend Mass on the coming Sunday morning. Since we also planned to take a guided tour of the prestigious Louvre Museum after lunch, we found a church just across the river Seine from the Louvre and attended Mass there. This was a very old, smallish, rather ornate Catholic church that, from the outside, gave the impression of a mini-cathedral. Everything about that Mass was done in the high-church tradition, if you know what I mean. The Sanctuary was only about one-third full, and most of the worshipers seemed to be very devout, and very serious, little old ladies. Both the Sanctuary and the proceedings were quite formal and dignified, and we stood out as obviously being American tourists. Or so it seemed to us, anyway. We were determined to be just as formal and dignified as the others, so as not to draw attention to ourselves and distract from the very somber and serious tone of the Mass. We knew that would be a tall order, what with our baby daughter and all, but we were hoping that her generous breakfast of mother’s milk would keep her satisfied, at least until the Mass had ended. But we were definitely not prepared for what happened next.

Everything was fine until about mid-way through the Mass. Beverly began to get fidgety, as one might expect of a young baby, and we had no other way of keeping her from “crying out loud” (literally) than to let her down to the floor so that she could crawl around a bit. We were reluctant to put her down, however, because that floor was visibly dusty and dirty as one might expect in such an ancient church with limited finances for upkeep. We were afraid that she would get dirty crawling around on the floor, and we didn’t want to have to take her through the Louvre looking like that. Besides, what would those dear little old ladies think of us if Beverly would happen to get away from us for even a moment and begin to crawl up the center aisle, creating a spectacle? But we had no choice really, so down she went. I was sitting next to the center aisle, so it fell to me to keep her corralled. Everything seemed to be going just fine at first, so I began to pay more attention to the Priest than to Beverly. Next time I checked on her, she wasn’t there! So I wheeled around in the pew, and there she was in the middle aisle on her hands and knees about half-way back to the front door of the church. When she saw me looking at her, she turned around and began crawling back to me. So, as inconspicuously as possible (relevant factoid: I’m six feet-five inches tall and weigh well over 200 pounds!) I crouched down,  got slowly out of the pew, quietly made my way back to her and picked her up. And that’s when I saw it. There was a trail on the floor behind her consisting of five or six little brown balls that had bailed out of her diaper while she was crawling back to me! Needless to say, I had a mixed reaction to this development. On the one hand, the scenario – all things considered – was hilarious beyond belief. But on the other hand, I didn’t dare even crack a smile, much less laugh out loud, for fear of creating a scene that would seriously compromise the solemnity and dignity of the Mass. So, as quickly and as quietly as possible, I returned the little darling to her mother, secured a couple of facial tissues from the “baby bag”, and retraced my steps to the scene of the “crime” and retrieved the “mass deposit” that Beverly had innocently left in the center aisle for all to see. Little did I know that it would be Beverly who would make the floor “dirty” and not the other way around!  And, I could see from the looks on the faces of all those devout  little old ladies that it was all they could do to keep from bursting into laughter themselves.

I have to admit that we were eager for the Mass to end, so that we could get out of there and give vent to our pent-up laughter; it really was a hoot! And God still laughs to this day every time I tell this story. If you listen carefully, you can hear Him now. He’s the one with the deep-pitched, booming laughter.

(For more articles on TRUE TALES, click HERE)

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A Homosexuality “Fact Checker” for Born-again Christians

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A Homosexuality “Fact Checker” for Born-again Christians

James R. Aist

“With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape.” (Proverbs 11:9)

Introduction

Without question, homosexuality has become one of the most important religious, social and political issues of the 21st century. The homosexual movement has forced itself to the forefront in virtually all aspects of our society and culture, including marriage, family, church, politics, government, education, media and human rights. Therefore, I believe that it is incumbent upon born-again Christians to become well-informed about homosexuality, even though this is not a topic that is either enjoyable or entertaining. To help you get an idea of how well-informed you are, or are not, about homosexuality, I have developed this quick and easy–to-use “Fact Checker”. It will not only show you your current level of knowledge of the facts and truth about homosexuality, but it will also point you to key resources that will correct any misperceptions that you may have picked up from the liberal media or well-meaning, albeit misinformed, friends, relatives or co-workers.

User’s Guide

Below are 24 True/False Statements. Read each statement carefully, and write down your answer – either True OR False – before going on to the next statement. Do not scroll all the way down to the Correct Answers section until you have finished responding to all of the statements; that would defeat the purpose, now, wouldn’t it? With each answer in the Correct Answers section, I provide a link to an article that will elaborate on the correct answer, just in case you would like to explore that particular point more fully. (NOTE: you will not receive a grade for your performance on this exercise, and it is impossible to fail. This is merely a teaching tool for your own personal benefit.)

True/False Statements

1.  The Bible does not condemn “same-sex attractions” as sin. Is this True or False?

2. Jesus would be friends with homosexual sinners. Is this True or False?

3. Science has proven that homosexual people are “born gay.” Is this True or False?

4. Because there are some loving, committed homosexual relationships, God approves of “gay marriage.” Is this True or False?

5. God gives “same-sex attractions” to some people, making them homosexual. Is this True or False?

6. Some born-again Christians are homosexual. Is this True or False?

7. Many homosexual people change to heterosexual spontaneously, without any intervention. Is this True or False?

8. There is no such thing as a “homosexual pedophile”. Is this True or False?

9. A homosexual lifestyle is, on average, equivalent to a heterosexual lifestyle in terms of longevity, monogamy, health and parenting outcomes. Is this True or False?

10. The so-called “gay agenda” is an invention of right-wing, Christian fundamentalists. Is this True or False?

11. In general, it is relatively easy for a homosexual person to change to a heterosexual orientation. Is this True or False?

12. Modern biblical scholarship has shown that the Bible does not really condemn homosexual behavior. Is this True or False?

13. Jesus wants to change the sexual orientation of homosexual people. Is this True or False?

14. God does not require practicing homosexuals to repent in order to inherit eternal life. Is this True or False?

15. The best source of up-to-date, unbiased and reliable information on homosexuality is our mental health organizations. Is this True or False?

16. Homosexual people were “born that way” and cannot change to heterosexual. Is this True or False?

17. The Bible records the first known transformation of homosexual people to a heterosexual orientation. Is this True or False?

18. The homosexual movement seeks only to gain tolerance of homosexuality, not acceptance and approval of it. Is this True or False?

19. Homosexuality was removed from the “official” list of mental disorders in the early 1970s because new, scientific evidence proved that homosexuality is not a disease. Is this True or False?

20. Religiously and secularly mediated change in sexual orientation occurs at rates comparable to those achieved by therapists and counselors for treatment of psychological disorders and behavioral problems, such as alcoholism. Is this True or False?

21. There are more ex-gays than there are gays. Is this True or False?

22. There are two “false Bibles” that deviate substantially from the actual text of the ancient manuscripts upon which modern English versions are based, in order to leave a false, favorable impression of God’s view of homosexuality. Is this True or False?

23. God loves heterosexual people more than homosexual people. Is this True or False?

24. Homosexuality occurs in all cultures and tribes. Is this true or false?

 

Correct Answers

Wait for it…

Wait for it…

1.  The Bible does not condemn “same-sex attractions” as sin. This is TRUE. Check it out HERE

2. Jesus would be friends with homosexual sinners. This is TRUE. Check it out HERE

3. Science has proven that homosexual people are “born gay.” This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

4. Because there are some loving, committed homosexual relationships, God approves of “gay marriage.” This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

5. God gives “same-sex attractions” to some people, making them homosexual. This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

6. Some born-again Christians are homosexual. This is TRUE. Check it out HERE

7. Many homosexual people change to heterosexual spontaneously, without any intervention. This is TRUE. Check it out HERE

8. There is no such thing as a “homosexual pedophile”. This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

9. A homosexual lifestyle is, on average, equivalent to a heterosexual lifestyle in terms of longevity, monogamy, health and parenting outcomes. This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

10. The so-called “gay agenda” is an invention of right-wing, Christian fundamentalists. This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

11. In general, it is very difficult for a homosexual person to change to a heterosexual orientation. This is TRUE. Check it out HERE

12. Modern biblical scholarship has shown that the Bible does not really condemn homosexual behavior. This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

13. Jesus wants to change the sexual orientation of homosexual people. This is TRUE. Check it out HERE

14. God does not require practicing homosexuals to repent in order to inherit eternal life. This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

15. The best source of up-to-date, unbiased and reliable information on homosexuality is our mental health organizations. This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

16. Homosexual people were “born that way” and cannot change to heterosexual. This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

17. The Bible records the first known transformation of homosexual people to a heterosexual orientation. This is TRUE. Check it out HERE

18. The homosexual movement seeks only to gain tolerance of homosexuality, not acceptance and approval of it. This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

19. Homosexuality was removed from the “official” list of mental disorders in the early 1970s because new, scientific evidence proved that homosexuality is not a disease. This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

20. Religiously and secularly mediated change in sexual orientation occurs at rates comparable to those achieved by therapists and counselors for treatment of psychological disorders and behavioral problems, such as alcoholism. This is TRUE. Check it out HERE

21. There are more ex-gays than there are gays. This is TRUE. Check it out HERE

22. Two “false Bibles” deviate substantially from the actual text of the ancient manuscripts upon which modern English versions are based, in order to leave a false, favorable impression of God’s view of homosexuality. This is TRUE. Check it out HERE

23. God loves heterosexual people more than homosexual people. This is FALSE. Check it out HERE

24. Homosexuality occurs in all cultures and tribes. This is FALSE. Check it out HERE.

Well, how’d you do? Did you learn anything? Do you now have a better understanding of the various issues concerning homosexuality?

(For more articles on HOMOSEXUALITY, click HERE)