A Case for Political Pacifism, From a Non-Pacifist!

 What I am definitely not saying:

I am not saying that the Bible forbids Christians voting for political candidates or for various amendments, laws, etc.

I am not suggesting that Christians should decline to fight in wars, or refuse to defend themselves or others under certain circumstances. I do believe a case could be made for choosing personal pacifism, not fighting for your own life or rights. However, fighting to protect the weak and defenseless, those in the category of widows and orphans in the Bible, are certainly worthy of our taking up arms if needed, either personally or as part of the armed services. Defending our own lives, so we can continue to protect and provide for the weak in our care, seems like a reasonable case for self defense as well.

I am not saying that I have all the answers about any of these topics.

What I am trying to prove:

That Christians are not commanded to vote in elections, based on Biblical teachings.

And,

That using terminology such as "Christians are obligated to vote", "Christians should vote" or saying things like "All Christians should support... in the coming election", is potentially making a law where God has not. This would be a very dangerous thing, assuming there is no actual biblical mandate to vote! 

The case for Christian political participation: 

I am not aware of any clear biblical teachings about voting in secular political elections, as those who followed Jesus in the time the Bible was authored, had no opportunity to exercise such a right.

Further, 

Even though there was much political corruption and abuse of power, by terrible evil rulers, there is very little said about politics in the NT scriptures, and most rebuking of political characters is reserved for the Jewish leaders and later false teachers in the church, as opposed to secular government figures.  

John the baptist did take the time at some point to rebuke Herod for his sexual sin, but Jesus and Paul used all their time before evil Roman leaders to highlight the kingdom of God and preach the gospel.

With that said, I do think you can make a good case for voting based on general biblical principles of doing what we can to bring about good in the world.

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Rom. 12:18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

Matt. 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

1 Cor. 10:24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

OK, now that is a pretty short list, but these verses represent the kinds of biblical passages we might use to promote Christian political participation. We would, based on these, likely seek to vote for candidates and policies that would best protect orphans and widows, promote peace, seek to establish a more righteous nation and support policies that are on the whole best for humanity.

I am all for that! However, I do think it is a stretch to insist these must be practiced in the political realm. Clearly they are aimed at our own personal lifestyle, and while that does not preclude using politics to further what we think is best, politics is not the most plain application of them and politics is always a mixed bag. 

We may just as well find we are supporting much evil as we seek to promote good in politics, and we are to be careful of our associations on earth:

2 Cor. 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 

Eph. 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

We also need to be careful we don't get too attached to this kingdom, as we are truly citizens of God's kingdom:

Col. 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 

Am I taking these verses somewhat out of context? Yes, but I had to do the same with the verses which might be used to support Christian voting. Do I believe these passages forbid Christian voting, definitely not! Nor do I believe any other passages command Christian voting!

What are we commanded to do regarding politics? 

Rom. 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

1 Tim. 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

OK, so  here are my conclusions based on this very short survey of NT biblical texts regarding the obligations of Christians for politics and in particular voting:

First, while I am very thankful for the freedom to vote, and I generally try to stay informed and exercise that right, I don't believe the scriptures would compel or forbid voting by Christians.

Further, trusting God's sovereignty in the realm of politics is absolutely essential to our faith and witness! Whoever God allows in power, we are to pray for them, and obey them, unless they ask us to sin, in which case we must respectfully decline (Acts 4:18-20). 

Finally, we must be very careful that those lost people we interact with never have the slightest notion that our hope is in anything but Jesus!

1 Pet. 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; ¹⁶ having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. ¹⁷ For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Heaven forbid anyone gets the impression our hope is in any particular candidate or political party!

"Approving of those who practice evil"

It is so obvious I know everyone has probably all ready thought of it, but how perfectly does our current culture fit the descent into sin described in Romans 1:18-32?

Rom. 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, ²¹ because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. ²⁷ Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

²⁸ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,^[c] wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, ³⁰ backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹ undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,^[d] unmerciful; ³² who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (NKJV)

Consider the issue in the news so prominently this week -

A man, once famous for being the most successful Olympian of our age, has now become a celebrated and brave hero for taking various female hormones, having his penis removed, and receiving other types of cosmetic surgery.

To give a man an award or put him on a magazine cover for his willingness to destroy his God given body, for the sake of his own misguided desires is just plain sick. I am sure many would have encouraged their children to be like Bruce when he was simply a famous athlete, but will they really want them to grow up and be like Bruce now?

As sad and shocking as it is, I think they will!

I think the willful suppression of the truth about God as described in Romans 1:18, has led us to the end of the line or the bottom of the pit, as it relates to our cultures descent into sin. Twenty years ago you might have found only a tiny percent of the population that would support self mutilation, men and women using the same bathrooms, same sex marriage, or many other things which are now widely accepted.

Rom. 1:24 describes people being given over by God, because they had rejected the evidence He had given them of His existence through creation. Surely our culture had been given over to their sinful desires, they are blind to the truth, and fully aligned with the Devil, even though they are quite unaware of their allegiance and service to him.

Thank God if He has given you salvation and a knowledge of the truth through Jesus, and pray that we be faithful witnesses in a culture that unless God intervenes, is going to experience His just and terrible wrath!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Great link for early evidence of Jesus' life, from outside the scriptures!

This link has a good collection of early historical information about Jesus, and it is from those who were hostile to the faith, so they had no reason to make anything up - Cold Case Christianity

Fishing with nets or bait?

I was listening to an episode of Fighting for the Faith and was struck by a comment made by the host Chris Rosbrough. This is something I may have heard before and forgotten, and it seems so simple that I am a little embarrassed that it seemed fresh to me now.

Here is a summary -

Basically, in response to an interview of  Rick Warren, where Warren was talking about using bait to attract people in evangelism, Rosebrough reminded his listeners that the apostles fished with nets not bait!

Why is this important?

If we are to use bait to get people to beleive upon Jesus, we might use whatever we think might do the job. If one thing does not work, we can keep trying different things, and of course if some are lingering around, we will likely keep the bait fresh until the day they take it. After that, I suppose we would get those people involved in baiting for more believers, so the atmosphere of the church and evangelism remains a place of bait, in hopes of catching some fish.

Or

We could proclaim the gospel and expect it to net people as God's Spirit works!

This seems to fit with what Jesus taught -

John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. ³⁷ All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

John 6:65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

John 10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. ²⁶ But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and My Father are one.”

Jesus teaches that the reason we come to believe is because it has been granted by the Father, and it is impossible that we could come any other way, even if the bait is really good, we will by no means believe! When we do believe, it is evidenced by our listening to and following Jesus' words!

So it makes sense that Jesus does not say use bait anywhere, rather He tells us how to cast a net -

Matt. 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

 "Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Does Biblical Christianity Support Socialism?

This is a good discussion of the issue: Generations Radio

Powerful illustration, viewer discretion advised!

 

This is a somewhat graphic illustration of taking a God-rejecting view of man's nature to its logical conclusions. I found it on Wretchedradio, it may be a little scary for younger viewers, but the truth about things is often scary.

 

 

 

Great discussion of a timely issue!

Can you fix it?

Can you fix it or do you need some help?

Have you ever been really sick and thought: "Well I bet I have the knowledge within me to diagnose and fix my health problem?"

Has your car ever started acting very broken and you thought: "I think I was born with a pretty good idea of how cars work and how to fix them?"

Ever been lost and thought: "Well I can use the same brain and skills that got me lost, to find my way back?"

What if you were in the control room a of a nuclear power plant and all the emergency lights were flashing, would you think: "Well it's only nuclear physics, how complicated could it be?"

You may be a doctor, a mechanic, a nuclear physicist or have great natural directional skills, but you can't be an expert at everything and we are all born knowing exactly nothing! So, why do people think they are able to know about, understand or obey God, when they have spent little or no time learning about who He is or what He expects from us?

I would not think most people would feel comfortable trusting in their own best (yet untrained) thinking when it comes to their health or cars, so I certainly would not recommend trying it with your souls!

Jer. 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?

Prov. 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.

Acts 17:29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

Rom. 10:14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?  

1 Cor. 2:11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Eph. 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Would you remove your own spleen? Replace your transmission? Entrust the world to your nuclear physics expertise?

It seems that when it comes to God, we need much guidance from His word, the Holy Spirit and those who have been called and equipped to teach us?



"Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Agnostic language lessons?

I had a discussion about spiritual things with a lady who was cutting my hair recently. She claimed to be an agnostic and was quite willing to discuss our different beliefs. Here are a few things I learned as I spoke to her.

One thing I realize is that she had not thought very critically about her beliefs. She discussed what she thought God might be like, the kind of God she could believe in, if there was one (loving), and what kind of God she definitely would not believe in (harsh/evil). I asked her if there was a real God, does what I, her, or any of the other 7 billion people on earth think of Him change who He is? Her reply was no, and she had never really thought of that before.

Another question that caught her a little off guard was this, if there is a real God and we are to know anything about Him, rather than us just speculating about what He might be like, would He need to tell us about Himself in some objective way?

I further suggested that if God had not revealed Himself, so that we might know what He really is like, then we might as well be atheists, because faith in an unknowable God was pretty pointless. Even her belief that any God that does exist must be loving, does not mean the real God could not be an evil tyrant. Only by God revealing Himself can we know anything about Him with certainty and of course I suggested He had done just that in the Bible.

She agreed that some of my logic made sense, but at this point brought some more murkiness into the conversation. She suggested that faith was not a mater of facts at all, but feelings and everyone must decide what they believe.

Wow! This really shows a difference in definitions. She is discussing God and faith in terms of what works or feels good for the individual, while I was discussing, if there is a God, how can we know and how must we respond!

So what do I suggest?

Make sure we are talking about the same things when it comes to God and faith. Are we both asking does a real God exist? If so, what is He like and how can we know what He wants from us? Or, are they simply talking about different concepts of God that are simply personal preferences?

If so, then I need to get us on the same questions about God, before the conversation can be fruitful.

Further, as to faith, are we talking about how and why we believe in the God who does exist or religious/spiritual feelings that make us feel better while we have no definite knowledge of God?

I ended by telling her that God's word/Bible, says the world is not about us finding a God we are comfortable with, but about the real God showing His justice in the punishment of all who rebel against Him and Him displaying the greatness of His mercy, grace and love, by saving those who believe upon the person and work of Jesus Christ!

I pray God uses something we discussed and my hair will grow back, so I will definitely look for her next time!

A real jem from Spurgeon regarding heaven and the need for regeneration!

I saw this quote by Charles Spurgeon on the Pyromaniacs blog , you can find the rest of it there, but this portion was particularly striking.

"Men by nature need something to be done for them before they can enter Heaven, and something to be done in them, something to be done with them, for by nature they are enemies to God."

That a great change must be wrought in us, even ungodly men will confess, since the idea of the heaven of the Scriptures has always been repulsive, never agreeable, to unconverted men and women.

When Mahomet would charm the world into the belief that he was the prophet of God, the heaven he pictured was not at all the heaven of holiness and spirituality. His was a heaven of unbridled sensualism, where all the passions were to be enjoyed without let or hindrance for endless years. Such the heaven that sinful men would like; therefore, such the heaven that Mahomet painted for them, and promised to them.

Men in general, be they courtly, or be they coarse in their habits, when they read of heaven in the Scriptures with any understanding of what they read, curl their lips and ask contemptuously, Who wants to be everlastingly psalm singing? Who could wish to be always sitting down with these saints talking about the mighty acts of the Lord and the glorious majesty of his kingdom? Such people cannot go to heaven, it is clear; they have not character or capacity to enter into its enjoyment.
From The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, volume 62, sermon number 3,538, "Preparation for Heaven."

Also consider the video posted here from John Piper on the same subject, but from a different, yet parallel perspective.

Dr. James White on the Connecticut school shootings and evil in general.

Dr. James White offers a biblical lens through which to understand the evil events which fill our news and impact our lives.

Follow link to media -

Responding to evil and suffering, by Dr. James White

Christianity Today - Modern Liberalism and Theological Ignorance!

I read an article in the November issue of Christianity Today written by singer, songwriter and author, Carolyn Arends. The article, God Did It, was a retelling of a discussion between the author and her son as he was considering what college to attend. The young man was interested in attending a Christian college to avoid the teaching of evolution, while his mother suggested that may not be best. Her reasons for encouraging him to consider a secular college were rooted in her belief that evolution may be true and the Bible/Christianity can still be true if it is. The issue of whether evolution is true is not something I am prepared to discuss at length here, although I believe the six-day creation story of Genesis is literal and has not been refuted by scientific data. What I take great exception to is the author’s suggestion that evolution and the Bible/Christianity could be reconciled and her lack of theological understanding regarding the implications.

Her reasons for accepting the possibility of evolution being true in the article are not a discussion of whether science has proven it, but centered on other issues. The first reason given for why evolution and the Bible/Christianity may be compatible is that Billy Graham once said he would see no problem for the Bible/Christianity if evolution were true. The quote she shared with her son, from 1964, from such a well known Christian, led her son to respond, "Maybe you’re not a total heretic". Is Billy Graham a famous evangelist? Yes! Is he a theologian who is known for his deep and thorough understanding of theology? No! Just because someone is well known does not make them an expert. The place to go to see if someone is a heretic is the Bible!

The second reason given for saying evolution and the Bible/Christianity may be compatible is the teaching of some un-named Hebrew scholars, who are said to believe in the authority of Scripture, but have no problem with seeing the Genesis creation account as less than literal. I have several problems with this, not the least of which is, who are these scholars and what do they mean by authoritative? The reasons specifically given from these scholars for the non-literal/non-scientific reading of the creation account is that the Bible was not written to us as the original audience, so we can't know what it is teaching us, unless we are sure what it meant to them. This is a reasonable hermeneutic principle, but should we not err on the side of believing it was teaching exactly what it says, unless given strong evidence from the Bible to think it is teaching something different?

The next reason attributed to the Hebrew scholars is that "the Bible is not a book", but rather a collection of books written at different times and in different genres. Somehow this means that what is in Genesis can be misleading and totally contradictory to reality, and that is somehow okay because it is a genre that was used in that time by that author. When considering genres in the Bible, it is sometimes easy to see or suspect it is using non-literal language based on the context. However, when you see things presented with very specific time frames and given as God's direct words/actions, as we see in the creation account, it is hard to believe any God- fearing person/people would have felt comfortable proclaiming such things so specifically, unless they believed it was literally true.

However, even though the author presents these reasons for the possibility of reconciling the Bible and evolution, I think her real motive comes out in her last argument, which is not scientific or biblical, but pragmatic. Following a brief discussion of why young people are leaving the church, it is said, "the cognitive dissonance between the empirical data and what we are asking them to believe is too great". So, is this a search for truth from the Bible and true science? No, it is a capitulation to the culture out of fear of losing people from the church.

Much like the liberals of old, we are being told to bring our beliefs in line with those of the age we live in. As John Shelby Spong suggested we must ditch the violent God of Jesus and the crucifixion if Christianity is to survive, Carolyn Arends’ bottom line is that we must be willing to reconsider the creation account's truthfulness, if we are to keep people, especially young people, in the church.

This is a grave error!

You can't have it both ways. You can't remove the offense of the scriptures to get or keep people in the church and still have the subject of the scriptures and the basis of the church, Jesus Christ, end up in His true and proper place. Spong’s liberalism makes the cross a fairytale, while Carolyn Arends’ liberalism leaves us with a Jesus who comes to redeem a people with no literal Adam, Eve, original sin or fall from which to redeem us. The reality is that the Bible is one book. Yes, it was written over thousands of years, by many authors and contains different literary genres, but it is one story, with one subject and everything in it points to Him, including the events surrounding creation!

I am very concerned that Carolyn Arends and her publishers at Christianity Today would feel comfortable publishing this article. She says she still believes the creation account, but wants to be sure we aren't being too dogmatic in case it isn't true, and so we won't loose young people from the church. OK, but if the creation account has not been proven wrong, do you really want to be telling the world, especially our young people, that there are good reasons for rejecting it? Dare anyone named a Christian handle God's Word so lightly?

Great quote!

I actually saw this quote in a book I am reading now, Everyday Church, by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. I highly recommend their book as it not only addresses many of the reasons we aren't reaching the lost, but also a clear path forward based on an exegesis of 1 Peter.

I do think this quote by Os Guinness hits the mark -

"By our uncritical pursuit of relevance we have actually courted irrelevance; by our breathless chase after relevance without a matching commitment to faithfulness, we have become not only unfaithful, but irrelevant; by our determined efforts to redefine ourselves in ways that are more compelling to the modern world than are faithful to Christ, we have lost not only our identity but our authority and our relevance. Our crying need is to be faithful as well as relevant" (Prophetic Untimeliness, p. 15).

Jesus' wife - really?

If you have heard of the ancient text fragment that some say shows Jesus had a wife, you would do well to read this story by Al Mohler: albertmohler.com

Questions on Mormonism?

 

Christian apologist, James White, gives a very thorough overview of Mormon beliefs, well worth your time!

 

 

 

 

More on Biblical Evangelism, from Frank Turk

This is a three part teaching on evangelism from Frank Turk. It is well worth a read!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Awesome Biblical Marriage Video

Voddie Baucham - "Why I Believe the Bible"

I saw this on Truth Matters and thought I must share! The audio is a little weak in a few points, but it gets resolved about fifteen minutes in.

What do we get and how do we get it?

Religions hold many similarities when it come to eternal rewards and how to achieve them:

For Buddhists - good works or good karma, gets you a better reincarnation in the next life and can eventually break the cycle of rebirth and death and take you to a state of Nirvana. Those who achieve Nirvana have escaped the cares of the physical life and experience a pleasurable and pure existence.

For Jehovah's Witnesses - good works lead to possibility being one of the 144,000 who get to heaven and rule over the earth.

For Mormons - good works lead to the possibility of becoming a god and ruling your own planet one day.

For Catholics - good works might get you to heaven (you can't really be sure) and they can also reduce your time in purgatory before you go to heaven. Sad that a Catholic can't have assurance of salvation or hope to escape time in purgatory, but at least within their system of beliefs, for those who eventually make it to heaven, it is God's presence that is seen as the goal and source of all blessing.

For Bible believing Christians - Eternal life is earned by the work of Christ alone and is offered freely to those who are born again and trust in His work to save. The reward for those who's faith is in Christ's work is being promised the opportunity, when we leave this life, to worship the one who earned our salvation for us face to face forever.

The catholic doctrines of salvation lacks assurance that the very worthy goal of living in God's presence can be achieved.

Of course the "you must earn it" religions have human pleasure/power as their end goal.

It is no small difference when you compare any false religion to biblical Christianity which has worshipping the one who earned the reward for us as it's end goal!

Eph. 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Rev. 21:22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Atheist steals moral evaluations from Christian worldview!

Another great video from Wretched Radio!