ANd Nothing Else Matters

I've been studying a bit of church History, and I love it how, over all these years when it comes to the argument against Christianity, nothing has changed!
One big argument against Christianity or God, is that there is not enough proof, and because we have science, we are more intelligent, and no longer need to believe in the fairy tales of the Bible in this modern age! What church history has shown me, is that right from the start, those arguments have always been the same minus the "us being too modern"part. Since right from the start people have not believed, saying we do not believe because it is 2013 is a bad argument!

I'm thinking of the french philosophers, who wanted people to be educated (a bit like the protestant church who wanted Christian to read the truth for themselves), these philosophers were very much anti-church, reacting to the oppression and control of the catholic church from the middle ages.

I think a lot of the hatred towards the church is well justified. But imagine if the truth truly did existed, and someone would want to keep you from it, what better way than using something close to the truth, and using it for evil, to make sure no one wants anything to do with anything looking close to it! Would the truth be lost forever?
We love to say at church, that the first reason why people do not want to be Christians, is because of the Christians in the first place! And yes Christianity has been guilty of:

• killing innocent people
• torture
• hypocrisy
• sexism
• racism
• lying
• idolatry
• homophobia 

And that's all I can think of for the moment! But then again, both atheists and people belonging to other religions have also been guilty of all these things! So the point being if you thought being a Christian referred to people who think they are good people, you would do well in not wanting to join them, because History has shown that they have not been any better than the rest! But then again on the other hand, you would be wrong to not want to join Christianity, because of their evil deeds if they never claimed to be better than anyone else!
Wanting to do the right thing, is just something that everyone tries to do. And somehow, morality seems to be the first word we want to associate with a religion!

I heard this: Saints, are just sinners who fall down and get back up!
Saint does not mean better than, or without sin! The word means separate, or apart. And physically on Sunday mornings Christians or saints (those who set themselves apart!), set themselves apart in their churches.

The view outside the church: is that a good person, is someone who does bad things sometimes (hey! we're all humans!) but also does a lot of good, which should compensate the bad, making them good! If you can think of one person who has done something worse than yourself, you are probably a good person!

Inside the church: we see it as everyone does bad things, but we see sin, more like putting poison in a glass of water. You can add all the (good) fruit juice you want, but, the drink will still be deadly! We don't really believe in good people, but rather the Good Person (Luke 18:19), who has made us righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21), and pleads our case to God (1 John 2:1), aka JESUS. Christians live in the assurance that no sin is big enough for the Blood of Jesus which cleanses everything!

So, the difference between those on the inside and those on the outside of Christianity is the belief of what it takes to be accepted as good. The authority for truth on the outside is one's own mind. On the inside, Christians belief that the truth is defined by God. So it's not really about moral at all?!?

• I Have to ask: What is better?
•  to rely on our own understanding of Good and Bad, knowing that everyone has a different opinion, so the chances we are right aren't too high
• to believe that we cannot be right, being our own judge. But if a hypothetical all knowing God did exist, he would hold the truth

Those who want to be good in their own eyes, live trying to do good. Christian's accept that God through Jesus Christ sees them as righteous (2 Cor 5:21 again), and the theory is that out from knowing this "good news", a Christian, is born again, starts a new life (Rom 6:4) overflows with Joy, wants everyone else to share this joy (which explains why Christians annoy you by trying to share their faith with you!), but this joy should translate in Good works! A believer should see other people's needs as more important than his own, seeking to love everybody (Luke 10:25-37), and seeking love, joy, peace, ...

This life as a Christian has only been made possible by Jesus. If you think you are a good person, stop comparing you to other people than Jesus Christ, who lived the perfect life ( 1 Peter 2:22), this is the only way you'll see what God sees, and you will see how far from perfection you have fell. And it does not take much, it just takes one small lie, and you have missed the mark! It is only because of his perfect life, than he could purchase our sins, nothing else would have quite cut it. The story of Jesus is the story, of the perfect man, who took the punishment of those who deserved to be punished so that they would not be punished (1 Peter 2:24). The evil done by the church has nothing to do with Jesus. It's just man doing his own thing! Don't blame Jesus!

So, now to the topic of the moment!? What actually Matters?!
I heard this once: The difference between an atheist and a Christian is that the atheist is living his best life now, and a believer, believes this is as bad as it gets, and the best it still to come!

So what matters to a non-believers? Trying to forget that there is nothing more to life, than trying to enjoy the moment, because life is short, and we'll just die one day, and one day the earth will just get engulfed by the Sun and all will be lost anyway, no matter what you do with your life! You can be a billionaire, have the prettiest wife on the planet, have all the power in the world but So What!? - I dunno, it kinda sounds depressing!

If God created all things, including us, revealed himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ (Col 1:15), well if that really is true, how can life be the same! It changes everything, we go from being pointless products of evolution to being created carefully and specifically by God. The Bible says God prepares good works for us to do (Eph 2:10). Because God loved us, we love, because God forgave us, we can also forgive. That urge to want to do good, finally makes sense in Christ, because He died, and was then risen from the Dead, showing us that his sacrifice was truly accepted for us all. Nothing else than Christ puts all the dots together! (Col 1:17). If God does not exist how can you justify that rape, pedophilia, murder, gossiping are evil?

Belief in Jesus is all that matters, he has promised new life (Rom 6:4), our evil deeds have all been washed, the past, present, and future, accept the gift and rejoice, go make this news known, hug a friends, help those in need, to the Glory of God the Father, the God who is love, and rejoices with what is good! Jesus Christ is all! And nothing else matters.


some of the scriptures:

Luke 18:18

And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

2 Cor 5:21

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

2 John 2:1

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.

Luke 10:25-37 - The Good Samaritan

25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^c ; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^d ”

28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii^e and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

1 Peter 2:22

 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

1 Peter 2:24

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 

 Ephesians 2:10

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.