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Showing posts with label Heresy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heresy. Show all posts

Monday, April 24, 2023

We are “little gods”. – Lies of the Enemy #13– Purity 1025


We are “little gods”.  – Lies of the Enemy #13– Purity 1025

Purity 1025 04/24/2023 Purity 1025 Podcast

Purity 1025 on YouTube: 


Good morning,

Today’s photo of an overcast view of Lake Champlain and the stone ruins of the British Officer’s Barracks at the Crown Point Historic Site State Park comes to us from yours truly as I decided to capture this scene while perched on one of the huge earthen mounds of land that once where part of a mighty fortress.  The large mound of earth that I was walking across really piqued my interest and caused me to wonder if whether these large mounds were natural or were dug out or piled up to form the star shaped perimeter of the former fort. Even though the wooden walls were gone and the stone ruins of two of the barrack houses were still standing, I had a sense that these mounds would endure until the time Christ comes back.  Crown Point is  simultaneously a monument of man’s ingenuity and futility as the work of men who are long dead still stand but whose purpose now only serves to remind us of our impermanence.   Crown Point shows us just what men can accomplish but reminds us that we are not God.       

Well, It’s Monday and while my wife and I made the most of the overcast day before us on Saturday, I have to admit that my spirits were brought low on Sunday in spite of some positive developments concerning the new ministry I will be leading in a few weeks and some lively worship at church. It was raining yesterday after I left worship and I was tired and out of sorts and found myself feeling depressed about the state of the world and triggered over the transitory state of my weekends that involve a return trip to my place down by the River each Sunday.  In my estimation, the day was a wash and at the slightest bump in the road, I abruptly decided that the weekend was over and headed back to my place early where I dove into some much needed sleep.  Apparently, I needed it. It turns out work, school, and ministry can take a toll on our souls and I too am not God.  

Which brings us to our current series which is an examination of some of the common lies that the enemy tells us to cause us to doubt our faith, steal our peace, or to influence us to choose not to follow the Lord with the way we live our lives.  And today’s lie is sort of the polar opposite of doing those things as it demands GREAT FAITH but may cause us to boldly go into heretical error.  

Today’s big lie is:

Lie # 13:  Christians are “little gods”  or I am a god, or I will be a god.   

This lie of the enemy that would cause us to use our faith or “words of faith” to twist God’s arm to do our will on earth and to cash in on all the precious promises we have coming to us has been told from the pulpit of some churches. So to expose this heresy intelligently, I am going to use the help of our Christian friends at GotQuestions.org to provide a Biblical answer to the question of “Are Christians little gods?”  (https://www.gotquestions.org/little-gods.html) with a link on the blog today.  From that answer, I share the following:  

“The basis for the “little gods” claim is found in two Scripture passages. Psalm 82:6 reads, “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’” Jesus quotes this psalm in John 10:34, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I have said you are gods’?” However, both of these passages include explanations in the immediate context that clearly do not indicate human divinity.”

Context is king and if we intelligently examine the word of God we will discover that the whole counsel of God can clarify the meaning behind puzzling verses like Psalm 82:6.  

GotQuestions.org’s biblical answer to the “little god’s” question concludes by saying: 

Claiming divinity for Christians is insupportable, especially taking the rest of the Bible into account.

God is God alone (Isaiah 37:16). We have never been God, we are not God now, and we never will be God.

Jesus was fully God and fully man (a combination called the hypostatic union). If the “little gods” hypothesis is accepted, it imputes to Jesus a lesser divinity of some kind; He became a “little god” like us. John said that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14), but this does not indicate “a lesser divinity.”

Jesus took on human flesh and blood in order to die for our sins (Hebrews 2:14), yet He retained His full position in the Godhead. God created us with a spirit, but that spirit does not hold divine qualities.”

I recommend checking out their full answer and to utilize their website to get biblical answers to all your questions regarding our faith.  

The verse that stood out in my mind when I pondered the idea of being a “little god” guided me to humility.  

Romans 12:3 (NKJV) tells us
3  For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

Thinking that we are  “little gods” may be thinking of myself more highly than we ought! While we can act in the authority of Christ, we should also remember Jesus’ example was that of a servant leader and that we are completely dependent on God and His grace.  

The Apostle Paul was used by God to spread the gospel, received special revelations and was given the power to do miracles but He was also humbled and knew where His power came from.   Reflecting on the “thorn in the flesh” that he suffered he wrote in:

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NLT2)
8  Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.
9  Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
10  That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.     

God’s grace is all we need and His power works in us according to His will and purposes. He doesn’t want us to exalt ourselves as little gods. He wants us to obey His commands to share His love.   

So don’t believe the lie that “Christians are little gods” instead listen to the Lord and follow His call on your life to humbly serve and represent His kingdom on the earth with humility and love.  

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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple apologetic will provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .

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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verse :

John 14:6 (NLT2)
6  Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Today’s verse comes to us from the “Truth” section of our resource and it is the fundamental truth of our faith.  We have shared John 14:6 more than once because in this one statement by Christ, Jesus is telling us that we need not look elsewhere for salvation, truth, or eternal life.   

He is clear that not only can those things be found in Him. He is clear that they can only be found in Him. He is the way, the truth, and the life! No one can come to God except through Him.  

So we need not consider other cultures, philosophies, theories, or religions. Eternal life, salvation, truth and the way to live our lives here on earth can all be found in Christ alone.  We must reject anything that doesn’t proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior as “Anti-Christ” and be uncompromising in our commitment to sharing this truth.   

All the questions and considerations we have about life can only be adequately addressed after we have answered the question of “Who is Jesus Christ to me?”   Because if we fail to make Jesus our Lord and Savior, all that we do and say will be meaningless when we are called into eternity and face the wrath of God that will erase our ignorance and any illusions that we were “good” people. 

The rejection of Christ is the rejection of God. It is cosmic rebellion against the creator of all things by one of His creation.  In rejecting Christ, we commit the sin of Satan of pride and rebellion.

So speak the truth in love without compromise. Because what ever offense the exclusivity of Jesus to Save may cause to the non-believing will pale in comparison to suffering they will face on judgement day.

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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.

Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink’s “The Sovereignty of God.”

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own private study and to support his work.  This resource is available on many websites for less than $20.00.

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

By  ARTHUR W. PINK

APPENDIX II

THE CASE OF ADAM concludes

 

Perhaps a further word should be added concerning the decretive will of God, particularly in its relation to evil. First of all we take the high ground that, whatever things God does or permits, are right, just, and good, simply because God does or permits them. When Luther gave answer to the question, “Whence it was that Adam was permitted to fall, and corrupt his whole posterity; when God could have prevented him from falling, etc.,’ he said, “God is a Being whose will acknowledges no cause: neither is it for us to prescribe rules to His sovereign pleasure, or call Him to account for what He does. He has neither superior nor equal; and His will is the rule of all things. He did not thus will such and such things because they were right, and He was bound to will them; but they are therefore equitable and right because He wills them. The will of man, indeed, may be influenced and moved; but God’s will never can. To assert the contrary is to undeify Him” (De Servo, Arb. c/153).

To affirm that God decreed the entrance of sin into His universe, and that He foreordained all its fruits and activities, is to say that which, at first may shock the reader; but reflection should show that it is far more shocking to insist that sin has invaded His dominions against His will, and that its exercise is outside His jurisdiction: for in such a case where would be His omnipotency? No; to recognize that God has foreordained all the activities of evil is to see that He is the Governor of sin: His will determines its exercise, His power regulates its bounds (Psa. 76:10). He is neither the Inspirer nor the Infuser of sin in any of His creatures, but He is its Master, by which we mean God’s management of the wicked is so entire that they can do nothing save that which His hand and counsel, from everlasting, determined should be done.

Though nothing contrary to holiness and righteousness can ever emanate from God, yet He has, for His own wise ends, ordained His creatures to fall into sin. Had sin never been permitted how could the justice of God have been displayed in punishing it? How could the wisdom of God have been manifested in so wondrously overruling it? How could the grace of God have been exhibited in pardoning it? How could the power of God have been exercised in subduing it? A very solemn and striking proof of Christ’s acknowledgment of God’s decretal of sin is seen in His treatment of Judas. The Saviour knew full well that Judas would betray Him yet we never read that He expostulated with him! Instead He said to him, “That thou doest, do quickly” (John 13:27)! Yet, mark this was said after he had received the sop and Satan had taken possession of his heart. Judas was already prepared for and determined on his traitorous work, therefore did Christ permissively (bowing to His Father’s ordination) bid him go forth to his awful work.

Thus, though God is not the Author of sin, and though sin is contrary to His holy nature, yet the existence and operations of it are not contrary to His will, but subservient to it. God never tempts man to sin, but He has, by His eternal counsels (which He is now executing), determined its course. Moreover, as we have shown in chapter 8, though God has decreed man’s sins yet is man responsible not to commit them, and blameable because he does. Strikingly were these two sides of this awful subject brought together by Christ in that statement of His: “Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come (because God has ordained them); but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh” (Matt. 18:7). So, too, though all that took place at Calvary was by the “determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23), nevertheless, “wicked hands” crucified the Lord of glory, and, in consequence, His blood has righteously rested upon them and on their children. High mysteries are these, yet it is both our happy privilege and bounden duty to humbly receive whatsoever God has been pleased to reveal concerning them in His Word of Truth.[1]

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[1] Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1949), 263–264.