Atheist

What Is Righteousness in the Bible?

Righteousness is the moral state of perfection required by God to enter heaven. Learn how Jesus Christ opened the way to heaven for you.

Source: What Is Righteousness in the Bible?

Are you a stuck-up Christian?

Fellow Christians and non-Christians, John 8: 7 (“He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her”), is undoubtedly one of the most powerful yet humbling Scripture in the New Testament. Unfortunately, many Christians either do not think the context of the passage apply to them, or they flatly do not understand it.

I have arrived at this harsh conclusion after observing fellow Christians for many years. I have realized that many of us, especially some who preach from the pulpit, are pompous and stuck-up. Like the Scribes and Pharisees mentioned in John 8, we enjoy pointing out the sins of others but we cover up ours. We even look down on the people we labelled as sinners with disdain.

Naturally, one do not expect a follower of Jesus Christ who truly understand Jesus’ mission and what He meant when He said: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32), to exhibit  a repulsive attitude toward the people Jesus came to save. Unfortunately, none of us is blameless in this regard.

But if we are going to talk gospel according to Jesus and the disciples, then we must first come down off our high horses and face the harsh reality. The church cannot grow if we continue to pour water into the faces of those who need Jesus in their lives. Many of these people do not know that they need Jesus. Therefore, it is our solemn duty to tell them why they need Him.

As Christians, we must never forget where we were when we found Jesus. Some of us had been in similar situations as the people we now condemn. But just like Paul, we had an awakening and we turned our life around. Notice, Paul never forgot the life he had lived before he met Christ, but he never returned to it. And most noticeable, he was never Stuck-up, pompous, judgmental, or condemning.

Do not be misled—you cannot mock God.

A couple days ago I stumbled upon a very disturbing post on the Patheos website, titled, “Why I broke up with Jesus.” The author, Neil Carter is a former church elder; and now an apparent atheist, tried his darnedest to make fun of Jesus. He stated that there were many reasons for the brake up, but one of the  main ones was Jesus wouldn’t return his calls. And since he could not get in touch with Jesus, he asked some of Jesus’ friends to explain. In essence, the purpose of Mr. Carter’s ridiculous post is to deny Jesus’ existence. But God is not mocked. Jesus says,

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).

However, aside from the author’s ridiculousness, I was flabbergasted by most of the answers the so-called friends of Jesus gave him. Obviously, none of these people have any knowledge of how God works. Job 33:14 says, “For God speaks once, yes twice, yet man perceives it not.”

Here are some excerpts from the post:

“About five years ago, I broke up with Jesus. Recently someone asked me why. There were plenty of reasons but one of the main ones was that he wouldn’t return my calls.

Since I couldn’t get in touch with him, I asked some of his friends to explain to me why he wouldn’t get back to me, but their answers were never helpful.  Each one had a different explanation and none of them really made me feel any better:

  • Some said he heard my messages but didn’t answer because what I wanted wasn’t the same as what he wanted, and he only answers calls he already agrees with.  Huh.  Okay.
  • Some told me he might not have liked my tone of voice.  Maybe I wasn’t asking for him to call me in the right way?  I dunno.
  • One guy said that Jesus would only answer me as long as I had no doubts that he would answer; but if I doubted, then he wouldn’t.  That sounded kind of sketchy.
  • Some said it was because he wasn’t ready to answer me—the timing wasn’t right somehow.  I wonder how many years you’re supposed to wait before you can conclude the other person has moved on?
  • Others said sometimes he doesn’t answer just because he wants to see how long people will go without an answer before they give up.  That sounds kind of…schmucky…if you ask me.
  • Finally, one guy informed me I shouldn’t expect an answer at all.  Like, maybe it was wrong for me to want for him to actually communicate with me.  Or if he did communicate with me, it would be telepathically through other people who wouldn’t necessarily even know they were communicating on his behalf.  I just don’t even know what to say to that.

Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2014/11/10/why-i-broke-up-with-jesus/#ixzz3JBnqvuiQ