Tag: jesus

Importance of Sound Doctrine

~ Sherry ~ 2 Comments

Form the book, Bible Readings for the Home, 1943, a family devotional and study book:

Does it matter what one believes, so long as he is sincere?

God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. – 2 Thessalonians 2:13

“…and belief of the truth.”

Doctrine affects the life. Truth leads to life and to God; error to death and destruction. No one would think of saying it matters not what god one worships, so long as he is sincere, any more than he would think of saying it matters not what one eats and drinks, so long as he relishes what he eats and drinks; or what road he travels, so long as he thinks he is on the right road. Sincerity is a virtue; but it is not the test of sound doctrine. God wills that we shall know the truth, and He has made provision whereby we may know what is truth.

The influence of all idolatrous worship is degrading.

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It is idolatry, not only to worship a false god, but the true God in a false manner. – Thomas Watson

Overcome Paganism with Christianized Paganism? 🤨

~ Sherry ~ Leave a comment

I was listening to VCY and they defended the Christ Mass with the scripture verse: Be not overcome of evil but overcome evil with good. – Romans 12:21 Well, they almost had me there! It sure sounds like a good way to validate the Mass of Christ. Does it apply, though? Does it cancel out other scriptures that tell us not to worship God as the heathen do in worship of their gods? Does it override these scriptures? –

Deuteronomy 12:30-32 …and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

Jeremiah 10:1,2 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles…”

Leviticus 10:10 “And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.”

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

Ephesians 5:11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them.

That’s just a few scriptures that would have to be ignored for the Romans 12:21 verse to apply. Scripture never contradicts itself. There must be a rightly interpreted scripture verse, passage or teaching based on scripture (the whole of the Holy Bible), to show that Romans 12:21 can be used to validate the observance of the Mass of Christ. I haven’t found it yet..

The following quote, from Kevin Reed’s, The Canterbury Tales:

In a Lutheran/Anglican posture, Mr. Jordan is asserting that the church has been granted broad discretionary power to establish means of worship. This is similar to the Anabaptist notions, which allow the ‘moving of the Spirit’ to govern the present activities of the church, without any direct appeal to the law of God. In both cases, the church has the power to worship God according to the devices of men. However, the Anabaptist opts for subjectivism (due to an emphasis on individualism); the other opts for traditionalism (with an emphasis on the corporate consensus). Yet, the law of God rejects both a subjective appeal (Deut. 12:8), and an appeal to the consensus (Deut. 12:30-31). Rather, the biblical admonition directs men to the scriptural pattern of worship (Deut. 12:32).

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. – Job 14:4

Subtle Idolatry Practiced by Christians

~ Sherry ~ 11 Comments

Presentations that confuse the distinction between God and His created world

A picture or movie of Christ because of inherent limitations, resides in the world of created things. Whatever aspirations may be intended, it can rise no higher than that which it is. Hence it blurs the distinctness between God and man, confusing the Creator with the creation. The Apostle Paul reveals the cause of this confusion, “Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”[xvii] This digression, the Apostle tells us, continues because, “professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man….”[xviii] The problem is this: “to whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto Him?”[xix]. The Scriptural answer is unequivocal: “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”[xx]

Any attempted portrayal of Christ transforms the medium itself into a mediator between God and man. The viewer, restricted within the confines this humanistic plane, imagines that he knows the Lord, at least in some measure. With this inculcated image of Christ throbbing within his mind, the viewer is allowed to wander, silently thinking his own thoughts, constrained by an impression that is not Christ. Thus, the viewer’s mind continues to be conformed to the world by the created image and by his own subjectivity. Although such visual presentations appeal strongly to the sensual impulses, they do not present explicitly to any man the objective truth concerning the Lord.

Our knowledge of Jesus Christ must be formed from the truths in Scripture and not by subjective impressions of artistic interpretation. In the latter, the artist and the viewer coalesce God and His creation into a single entity within the picture, and this is the visible expression of idolatry. This spurious image lays the foundation for a pantheistic concept of God. Marvel not then that, “Soaring pagan numbers have churches worrying and calling for stricter controls on cult TV programs and films that celebrate sorcery like “Harry Potter,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.”[xxi] The command given in Scripture is to choose God’s way so as to know and follow Christ in His Word! When obeyed, upon the pages of Scripture, in the words of the Law, in the grace of the Gospel, we know Him in spirit and truth.

We do not see Jesus Christ with the physical eye. This is the whole meaning of faith. The excellence of the object of faith is the unseen Jesus. While sense deals with things that are seen, reason is a higher plane. Faith however ascends further still and assures us of abundance of particulars that sense and reason could never have found. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” [xxii] Faith nourishes itself – “I had fainted unless I had believed to see” [xxiii]- upon the power and promises of the Unseen. We can understand, then, the logic and consistent purpose of why the Lord God forbids images.

Source

“You shall have no other gods before Me. Exodus 20:3

When you bow your head to pray, who is it you see? It’s near inescapable but not unforgiveable if you strive to walk in repentance of it.

Intercessory Prayer – Standing in the Gap

~ Sherry ~ 2 Comments

Based on Daniel’s prayer for his people as he stood in the gap for them:

Oh Lord, our great and awe-full God, who keeps covenant and mercy with those who love You and keep Your commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity and done wickedly with our Christo-paganism by rebelling against Your precepts and judgements; nor have we heeded Your servants, the watchmen, who spoke to us in Your name. Oh Lord Jesus, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face for our idolatrous ways of worshipping You. You have been distant from us because of our prideful rebellion and our love for the pagan/papist “holy” days full of men’s traditions, of which our devotion to them has blinded us to Your commandments against such worship of You. To us belongs shame of face, but to You belong mercy and forgiveness even though we have sinned against You. We have not sought Your Word nor repented that we may worship You in spirit and in truth; to obey Your voice and heed Your warnings, that these feast days are of a false gospel leading to the false messiah, the pagan god, Tammuz. But now, our Lord, our Savior from sin and God’s wrath, our Deliverer, turn away Your anger and deliver us from our prideful rebellion and convict us of our sins against You, that we may purge from our worship to You all vestiges of paganism and syncretism. Cleanse us with Your precious blood and, by the power of Your Holy Spirit and grace, lead us to walk on Your path of righteousness. Hear our prayer for the sake of Your erring children and, once again, cause Your face to shine upon us that we may be pure and true witnesses of Your salvation before a most dark world. O Lord! Hear us! O Lord! Forgive us! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, and for Your children who are called by Your name. Call them to come out of Babylon! In Your holy name we pray, amen.

Daniel’s prayer- Daniel 9:1-26

Christmas Did Not Come from Saturnalia?

~ Sherry ~ 1 Comment

“Saturnalia, an ancient Roman festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn, occurred in mid‑December. Saturnalia rituals later became Christmas traditions. ” ~ Bing

Last night I listened to a radio host say that Saturnalia is not the origin of Christmas as we have been led to believe. However, my signal was weak, and it faded out before I could hear his argument. Now I am on a search to see if this is true. I’m putting “Christmas did not come from Saturnalia” in the search bar. Here is what I have found:

“Christmas didn’t only take from Saturnalia. Christmas is a synthesis of several different celebrations, including Yule and other Druidic practices. The idea of having a Christmas tree, wreaths, and other greenery comes from Norse and Germanic folklore. Caroling comes from pagan songs, for instance.” – Bing

That’s practicing superstitions. Superstitions are beliefs causing actions that are outside of Scriptures.

FTA: Saturnalia, held in mid-December, is an ancient Roman pagan festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn. Because of when the holiday occurred—near the winter solstice—Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many of the traditions we now associate with Christmas, such as wreaths, candles, feasting and gift-giving. ` Saturnalia

Saturnalia and Christmas — how a Pagan Roman festival paved the way for modern Christmas

Finally! I found an article to prove that Saturnalia is not the foundation for Christmas! Christmas & Dec. 25th: NOT Derived from Saturnalia -written by a Roman Catholic…🤔🤨🙄 Early Church fathers were not immune to error, so keep that in mind when you read this article. Satan is clever and can make us believe a lie as truth. That’s why discernment and knowing the scriptures is not an option but a necessity.

FTA: Fr. William Saunders, in one of his consistently excellent articles for The Arlington Catholic Herald (12-19-13), wrote:

St. Luke also recorded how the Archangel Gabriel told Mary that Elizabeth was six months pregnant with John (Lk 1:36), which means the Annunciation occurred March 25, as we celebrate. Nine months from March 25, or six months from June 24, renders the birth of Christ at Dec. 25, our Christmas.

St. Luke related the announcement of the birth of St. John the Baptist to his elderly parents, St. Zechariah and St. Elizabeth. St. Zechariah was a priest of the class of Abijah (Lk 1:5), the eighth class of 24 priestly classes (Neh 12:17). Each class served one week in the temple, twice a year.

Josef Heinrich Friedlieb has established that the priestly class of Abijah would have been on duty during the second week of the Jewish month Tishri, the week of the Day of Atonement or in our calendar, between Sept. 22 and 30. While on duty, the Archangel Gabriel informed Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would have a son (Lk 1:5-24). Thereupon, they conceived John, who after presumably 40 weeks in the womb would have been born at the end of June. For this reason, we celebrate the Nativity of St. John the Baptist June 24.

“Christmas is on Dec. 25, but it wasn’t always. Dec. 25 is not the date mentioned in the Bible as the day of Jesus’ birth; the Bible is actually silent on the day or the time of year when Mary was said to have given birth to him in Bethlehem. The earliest Christians did not celebrate his birth.” – Bing

Here is my understanding of when Christ was not born, that I think makes the most sense: From Luke 2

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

In Israel there is much cold, and snow and it would have been an undue hardship for the travelers heading to their hometowns for the census. Now, it could be that the travelers would have left for home in the fall and spent the cold months there. Most likely they left after harvest was done.

8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

If it is cold this time of year in Israel, then shepherds are not going to be tending their sheep at night when the temps drop making it even colder. In a teaching by a Messianic Rabbi that I read years ago, he said that these sheep were for the sacrifices and were without blemish. The shepherds would not have exposed these sacred animals to the detriments of freezing cold nights.

Oh my! That Roman Catholic “Father” sent me on to a side note of Christ’s birth date. Simply put, God did not tell us when Jesus was born. Could it be because He did not want us to worship Him in the same manner as the heathen (pagans) do in their worship of their sun god? I believe so!

My final note: Whether Saturnalia is or is not the foundation for the Christ Mass (I have found no good evidence to say it’s not) we are not to do as the heathen do in our worship of Him. Baptizing paganism has no scriptural authority. Slapping a “Jesus” mask on the sun god Saturn/Tammuz does not make him the true Jesus. If we are to observe Our Beloved Savior’s birth on a particular day, our Father would have revealed the day His Son was born. Let us rejoice that our Savior was born on any, or all, our days. Hallelujah! Amen! 🤗