I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell;
the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come to
judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
the Holy Catholic* Church;
the communion of the saints;
the forgiveness of sin;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Are people supposed to be perfect? I’ve been asking myself this question while getting ready for visitors. As soon as we knew they were coming we went into high gear preparing, cleaning and fixing up.
A reader disagreed with my last blog post. It cited scientific research which claims, people reading or listening to the Bible four times a week, are less likely to practice behaviors such as gambling, pornography, drunkenness, and sex outside of marriage.¹ The reader’s argument goes as follows:
On Sundays when I was kid, I would dress up in my Sunday best, go to church, sing praises to God, hear a great sermon and go home to a big Sunday dinner. When I grew up I continued the same practice. Plus I read the Bible, attended Bible study and sang in the choir.
When the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Galatians 4:5 NASB
How do people become Christians? Is it a decision for Christ? A belief in Jesus? Repentance of sin? Heaven forbid! It is not. It is 100% the work of God through Christ.
If asked people would give different answers to the question, “What makes a person a Christian?” Let’s skip people’s opinions and go straight to the Bible. How does the Bible answer this question?
Christian evangelicals helped vote Ronald Reagan, both Bushes and Donald Trump into office. Conservatives began voicing their concerns, about America’s morality, following the establishment of the Moral Majority in 1979. Their goal was to call America back to its moral roots. By 1989 the movement disbanded having accomplished its goals.¹
Christian over-involvement in politics has troubled me for forty years. I am concerned for the following reasons.
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