Getting Real With God And Man
This discussion, rooted in biblical scripture and emphasizing a Christian worldview, urges believers to cultivate a grounded faith that is both mature and practical. By exploring profound concepts like Bible prophecy, the personal nature of God, and the necessity of salvation, this message calls for believers to live an authentic life focused on Jesus Christ.
1. The Foundation of Faith: Prophecy and Salvation
Bible prophecy proves that the Bible is given by God. God demonstrates His divine nature by telling the future in advance. One of the most significant aspects of prophecy is the doctrine of soteriology—God, the God of the Bible, prophesied salvation.
The Core of the Gospel
God’s motivation for offering salvation is simple: He loves us, which ought to “blow your mind”. Even if human love is unreliable, God’s love remains constant.
The prophecy of salvation is introduced in Genesis 3:15, where God declares warfare between Satan and Eve, specifically between Satan’s seed and Eve’s capital S seed (divinity). This divine descendant will crush Satan’s head. In return, Satan will bruise Christ’s heel, inflicting pain upon Him, fulfilled by Christ’s suffering and rejection on the cross (Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22).
The gospel (Romans 1:16–17) is the power of God unto salvation to every believer, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. The Old Testament sums up the gospel: “the just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).
The Necessity of Confession and Repentance
Salvation is a free gift provided, paid for, and invented by God. However, the requirement for those receiving salvation is that they must confess their sins and repent of them. This means agreeing with God that one has sinned against the Almighty. There is an eternal difference between relying solely on God’s free gift and attempting to “help God out” through self-effort.
2. God’s Personal Nature: Seeking and Knowing Him
The greatest challenge and joy God has given us is that He wants to be known. The Bible demonstrates God’s intimate, personal relationship with humanity across history.
Historical Examples of God’s Intimacy
- Noah: Found grace in the sight of God.
- Abraham: God called Abram out of paganism (Ur of the Chaldees). God’s personal call, “Come,” mirrored Jesus telling Peter, “Come follow me”. Abraham followed God without knowing where he was going.
- Moses: Moses longed to see and experience the nearness of God. God told Moses that humans could not look upon Him and live, as His presence would cause a mere mortal to “fry”. To accommodate Moses’ desire, God stuffed him in a crack in the rock and passed by, allowing Moses to see the residual effects or “afterglow” of His presence. This experience was so powerful that it physically changed the look of Moses’s face, causing him to cover it when returning to the people.
- David: God called David “a man after my own heart,” demonstrating extreme personal affection. David desired to live in the presence of the Lord all the days of his life.
- Daniel: Daniel was taken captive as a young teenager into Babylon and never saw his home or family again. Daniel remained true to God for decades because God revealed himself personally to Daniel.
- Malachi: God told the prophet Malachi, “I’m listening to you… I am even writing it down in my book of remembrance” (Malachi 3:16).
The more believers pursue and seek the Lord, the more He will reward them with more of His presence in their lives, making that reality take more hold than anything in this temporal world.
3. The Unwavering Truth of Israel and End Times
The belief in the legitimate government and existence of the nation of Israel is crucial, as denying it is tantamount to denying the Bible.
Israel’s Central Role in Prophecy
- Jesus had to die in Jerusalem and the nation of Israel to fulfill Old Testament prophecies.
- Without Israel and without Jerusalem, Christ cannot return.
- When Jesus returns to establish His kingdom, His foot will touch the Mount of Olives (Zechariah).
- He will establish His rule and reign at the end of the seven-year Tribulation period.
- At that time, He will judge all the nations as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
It is ridiculous to claim that America has taken Israel’s place, especially given that America “pumps out sin to the world” and is the “pornographic tablet of the world”. Israel is Israel, Jerusalem is Jerusalem, and the Messiah is the Messiah.