1914 False Prophecy from The Watchtower

By Justin Edwards

Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries has posted an excellent illustration, based on a 1984 Watchtower publication, that clearly shows the Watchtower Society to be a false prophet organization.  Make sure you read Dr. White's explanation, then consider printing this image to keep in your Bible for the Jehovah's Witness that knocks on your door.  A brother and I are meeting with a JW in a few weeks, Lord willing, and I will be sure to have this handy.  Make sure you click the image for full size.

As another false prophecy is about to NOT be fulfilled, please see the following article: May 21, 2011 and the Harold Camping Cult "Prophecy"

For additional resources on Jehovah’s Witnesses, see:  Cults and World Religions

A Fascinating Reminder of the 1914 False Prophecy

I used to spend a lot of time on the subject of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. It was the second major group I tackled and studied. I still have a huge number of their old, old books, shelves of them, actually. I also have a whole set of what are called "bound volumes," yearly compilations of all of the Watchtower and Awake! magazines. Of course, much of this is now available digitally on the Watchtower Library CD Rom (which isn't easy to get hold of, but not impossible). Anyway, I just checked the dark corner of one of my shelves and pulled out the bound volume for the Watchtowers of 1984. On the cover of the May 15, 1984 publication (repeated on page 4) is a picture of a group of elderly people, all looking upward. The title give is "1914: The Generation That Will Not Pass Away." You will look in vain for such confident promises in today's Watchtower publications, as they have effectively buried the 1914 prophecy, but it was front and center for many decades. In fact, on page 5 of this same publication we read, "If Jesus used 'generation' in that sense and we apply it to 1914, then the babies of that generation are now 70 years old or older. And others alive in 1914 are in their 80's or 90's, a few even having reached a hundred. There are still many millions of that generation alive. Some of them 'will by no means pass away until all things occur.'---Luke 21:32."

Well, I was sent this graphic a few days ago. It contains that same cover picture (I double checked it in my own printed edition), but identifies each and every person in the picture by name, and gives the date when they all passed away. A tremendous testimony to the status of the Watchtower Society as a false prophet---just like Harold Camping already is (1994), and will be proven yet again in about three weeks. False prophets come, false prophets go, but Christ continues to build His church, not by the popularity of His teachings, but by the changing of the heart.

(HT:  John Samson)

Great Outdoors, Fellowship, and Evangelism

This article was originally posted at The Speak:Truth Project

One of my most favorite things to do in life is to enjoy the great outdoors.  Last Saturday, a group of us headed to Grandfather Mountain in Western North Carolina to meet up with a couple of dear friends, Josh and Steve, who recently moved from Charlotte to pastor Higher Ground Church of God in Pineola, NC.   We also brought our families with us, so while we hiked the mountain, our wives and children spent the day hanging out.

The weather could not have been more perfect.  We got started around 10am and I was excited about all the people we would be seeing on the mountain.  The ice got broken for tract distribution as a gentleman took our picture near the Mile High Bridge, and I responded in kind with a Million Dollar tip!

Aaron and I both brought tracts with us for the hike, and between us both, I imagine we were blessed to hand out approximately 50 tracts.  We may have only spoken to one individual for a few minutes on one occasion, but dozens of people received the Gospel in their hands.  This gentleman in particular had mentioned he has been meaning to read his Bible and “get things right” for a while, so I can only imagine what it meant for him that we spoke the truth of God’s Word to him on the side of a mountain (literally on a ladder on the side of a mountain!).  Most people were elated and appreciative of what we handed them, and on a couple of occasions we met believers, which is always an encouraging experience.

The best part of our day was our time of fellowship together, especially during lunch.  Aaron had prepared a devotional about peaks and valleys and where our focus must remain through times of prosperity and trying times – on Christ.  We also sang a couple of songs and worshiped the Creator together.  It was really a sweet moment and epitomized what true fellowship is for the Body of Christ.  It seems most of our conversations throughout the hike were centered on God, and it was such a blessing to be in the company of like-minded believers who desired the same fellowship.
So dear friends, I encourage you to consider an outing where you might fellowship and worship our God in the great outdoors.  It is so refreshing to “get away” for a day and spend time in God’s creation with other believers.  It also affords you the opportunity to witness to the lost literally on “the ends of the earth”.

Even if you are not in a group, always keep Gospel tracts handy and have courage to hand them out wherever you go.  Had we left our tracts at home, it would have been a wasted opportunity to get the Gospel in the hands of folks we may have otherwise had no other contact.

Do you have any plans for this spring and summer?  Camping, hiking, fishing, mountains, beach, four-wheeling, horseback riding, lakes, rivers, etc.?  If not, try making some – and don’t forget your tracts!

You can check out the rest of our photos on facebook.

Jesus Died for Me

By Justin Edwards

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 1:18

Jesus died for me.  A wretched sinner.  I lived as an enemy of the cross.  I loved the world.  I loved my sin.  Though I loved God with my lips, I hated Him with my lifestyle.  My mind was set on earthly things.  I pursued the riches of this world.  I was proud.  I wanted to control my life.  I wanted to do things my way.  I was a hypocrite.  Compared to others, I was a good person.  Compared to God, I was hopeless.  "Moral values" were my god.  As long as I didn't hurt others, it was ok for me to hurt myself through a reckless lifestyle.  I was a professing Christian.  I trampled on the blood of Christ.  I took pleasure in the sin that nailed Him to the cross.  I was religious.  I was lost.  But Jesus died for me.  For me!

What did I do to receive this greatest act of love where Jesus laid His life down for me?  Nothing, absolutely nothing.  What could I do?  There was nothing good in me.  There was nothing in me that God looked upon me favorably to say, "Ah yes, this one deserves My grace."  No, I did not deserve God's grace.  No one does.  The only thing any of us deserve is His justice and wrath - the due punishment for our crimes against an infinitely holy and righteous God.

There was no amount of effort that could make me deserving of heaven.  There was no amount of good works to outweigh by bad works.  There was no amount of cleaning myself up that would warrant me worthy of salvation.  After all, it was actually impossible for me to clean myself up, and trust me, I tried many times.  The reality was that I was a slave to my sin.  I was in bondage to the works of the flesh, and the reckless and proud lifestyle I lived was merely an outward manifestation of the condition of my heart. And because I was "saved and baptized" when I was 8 years old and was taught "once saved always saved", it really didn't matter what kind of lifestyle I lived because I was forgiven and eternally secure.  Little did I know grace was not a license to sin, nor does a prayer or "decision for Christ" equal salvation.  Even so, my pride caused me to believe God would overlook my sin, even though my lifestyle was an abomination to Him.

So why did God save me 2 years ago?  I can tell you it had nothing to do with me, but everything to do with Him.  A secret only known to God, He chose me before the foundation of the world to lay His life down for me.  While I was dead in my sins and was an enemy of God, He chose to extend His mercy to me.  To bring glory to Himself, and for this reason alone, He chose to give me a new heart so that I could see exactly who I was, and more importantly, I could see Who He is.  I am nowhere in the equation, but solely for His glorious purposes, of which I know not, He chose to make me His son and a co-heir in the Kingdom of Christ.

That is grace, my friend.  There is no other way.

I deserved the punishment, but Christ took my punishment instead.  I deserved the wrath of God, but Christ bore this wrath for me.  Every single sin - whether thought, word, or deed - I deserved to recompense, but Christ paid my debt for me because I could not.  The perfect, spotless, Lamb of Almighty God took my hell, so that I could receive eternal life with Jesus in heaven.

That is love, my friend.  There is none greater.

It is for this reason I am able to love God.  If He had not loved me first, it would be impossible for me to love Him.  If He had not made me a new creation, it would be impossible for me to desire God.  If He had not given me a new heart, it would be impossible for me to serve and obey Him.  And if He had not shone His light through me, it would have been impossible for me to understand the Gospel.

But none of these things make any sense to those with hardened hearts.  As the Scripture at the top of this post indicates, the cross is utter foolishness to those who are perishing.  They think it folly that anyone can pay for their sin except for themselves.  They mock the blood of Christ and consider it disgusting to be covered by such a thing.  The god of this world, Satan, has blinded them so they cannot see the truth that is in the Gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4), and in their natural state as children of wrath,

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. - 1 Corinthians 2:14

But when God saves sinners by His grace alone, He gives us eyes to see and a mind to discern the things of God.  Because of this, we are able to respond to Christ with a hunger and thirst for righteousness, and God enables us to pursue Him with a passion to love Him with all of our mind, heart, soul, and strength.  This causes us to depart from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19), deny worldliness and ungodliness (Titus 2:12), to flee from idolatry and sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 10:14; 6:18), and to come out from under the influence of the world (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

Believers understand just how costly it was for Christ to lay His life down for His sheep.  Jesus paid our fine so we would not receive our just and eternal punishment in hell, and for that we are eternally grateful.  It is now our reasonable service to offer our bodies to Him as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to Him (Romans 12:1).  Out of love for Him and love for His beautiful yet gut-wrenching sacrifice, we have no greater desire than to obey Him and flee from the things that crucified Him.  We are compelled to lay our lives down for Christ because we have been the benefactors of the riches of His grace and mercy. 

Christ is our Savior.  Christ is our Lord.  Christ is our King.  And me, a wretched sinner, He laid His life down.

Christ died for me.  Did He die for you?

By Grace Alone at God's Expense

By Justin Edwards

I am nearly finished with the short work of Sinclair Ferguson titled, By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me.  The inspiration for the book came from the beautiful hymn written in 1946 by an African pastor, Emmanuel T. Sibomana, titled "O How the Grace of God Amazes Me."  Christians can take the grace of God for granted, often forgetting exactly how costly the price of grace was for sinners.  When we realize just how costly it was for Christ to purchase His sheep for which He died, understanding that God created the heavens and the earth to display His glory and humans to bestow the immeasurable riches of His mercy and grace, we can rest and stand in awe of the wonder and beauty that is in Christ.

The following excerpts are from chapter 3, At God's Expense, and I thought they were fitting and timely for a Good Friday article.  The most amazing part of what today represents is that Christ could have saved Himself from the bloody cross. He could have called forth the armies of heaven to crush His enemies.  He could have escaped the torment of that cross, but He didn't, and He sustained the furious wrath and devastating punishment from God, His own Father.  He refrained from doing any of these things for one reason alone:  in order for Christ to save sinners, He could not save Himself. There is no greater love than this!

I highly recommend Sinclair Ferguson's book, which can be found at a reasonable price at the Ligonier Store.

At God's Expense

"O How the Grace of God Amazes Me" takes us, step by step, through various dimensions of God's saving grace. The third verse brings us to the theme of this chapter - salvation was costly to God. E.T Sibomama writes:

Jesus, God's Son,
Suffered on Calvary's tree -
Crucified with thieves was he -
Great was his grace to me,
His wayward one. 

Into Loneliness

...The whole story of Jesus' passion, His arrest, His trial, His suffering, and His public execution is one of appalling loneliness and isolation voluntarily experienced in order to restore us to fellowship with God.

After the meal in the upper room, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsamane. There He sought consolation from His Father and encouragement from His disciples.  He took Peter, James, and John (His "inner circle") and separated them from the others in the group.  Then He isloated Himself even from them, and was entirely on His own.

In the hours that followed, this movement into isolation continued and intensified.  He was further separated from His disciples, friends, and family members - although they came, bravely, to be with Him at His execution.  This was surely the hour the aged Simeon foresaw when he said to the young Mary, "a sword will pierce through your own soul" (Luke 2:35).

From His arrest until He was helped to carry His cross by Simon of Cyrene, Jesus had no close contact with human help - indeed, His one sighting of Simon Peter was when curses rang out from the disciple's lips (Matt. 26:74; Luke 22:61).  Did Jesus also feel a sword piercing His soul as He heard the words, "I do not know the Man!" Only at Golgotha did He have further contact with those who had known Him best and loved Him most.

But there was much more - and much worse.  Jesus felt Himself to be abandoned by God and cried out on the cross:  "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matt. 27:46)...

The Christ

...Jesus is the Christ:  He fulfills all three of these roles [prophet, priest, and king].  The ultimate role of the prophets, priests, and kings was not merely to minister to their contemporaries but to point them forward to Christ - who Himself would be the very Word of God, who would offer the ultimate sacrifice that would take away sin, namely Himself, and who would be the Monarch whose kingdom would never end.

Such a person had been promised in the Old Testament - a prophet greater than Moses (Deut. 18:15-19), a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110:4), a king who would reign forever as the Son of David (Ps. 2:6).  Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Christ...

...Contrary to what those who wanted to destroy Jesus thought they were doing, they were themselves caught up in the purposes of God to bring salvation to sinners through His Son (Acts 2:23).

Before their blinded eyes, Jesus was fulfilling His messianic ministry.

Prophet, Priest, and King

Notice how all of this emerges.  The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating Him.  They blindfolded Him and demanded:  "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck you?" (Luke 22:64).  They played with Jesus:  "Prophet! Prophet!  If you are a prophet, prophesy!"

Then, as Jesus' passion progressed, Herod and his soldiers also ridiculed and mocked Him.  They dressed Him in elegant, regal robe, then sent Him back to Pilate (Luke 23:6-12).  It was as if they were saying, "If you are a king, you should be dressed like a king."

Then, as people sneered at Him and mocked Him during His crucifixion, one of the criminals crucified beside Jesus said, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us" (Luke 23:29).

That was the specific task of the high priest.  That was his unique and supreme ministry on Yom Kippur, the annual Day of Atonement.  He made sacrifices for the forgiveness of his own sins and then took sacrificial blood into the Holy of Holies - the holiest place of all, so sacred that it was entered only once a year, and then by only one man.  On that sacred day, he would sprinkle the blood of a sacrificed animal on the symbolic throne of God on earth and pray for the forgiveness of the people.  He entered the presence of God that day to "save others," endangering his own life as he did so (Ex. 28:35).

So when the dying thief turned to Jesus and said, "If you are the Christ, then be the Great High Priest - save Yourself and others," he did not realize that saving others was precisely what Jesus was doing.  To do that, He had to lose His own life.

They mocked Him as though He were not a true prophet.  But soon Jesus would turn to the dying thief who said, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (Luke 23:42).  He would speak to him with the majesty and authority of the final and true Prophet:  "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

That dying thief saw something that nobody else had eyes to see.  He saw that Jesus was the King, and that His kingdom would extend beyond the death of both of them.

He was indeed the Christ.

In the last hours of Jesus' life, the whole land became dark.  The Gospel writers simply note the fact without comment or explanation.  The event may have reminded them of more than one significant event in the past.  One of them surely would have been the Day of Atonement, when the high priest moved from the outer courts of the temple into the darkness of the hidden, inner room of the Holy of Holies in order to sacrifice and pray for the people.  In that hidden room, the sun never shone.  The great sacrifice was offered to God far from prying eyes.

On the day of Jesus' crucifixion, the whole land was turned into the Holy of Holies where Jesus the High Priest made not the annual but the final sacrifice for sins.  The symbolism was fulfilled in the reality.  Thus, the symbol itself was no longer needed.  The great curtain in the temple was suddenly torn in two - from the top to the bottom (Luke 22:45).  The way to God was now open.  God Himself deconsecrated the temple in this dramatic way.

Jesus really was the High Priest.  All earlier high priests were mere pictures, actors in a lengthy drama communicating a message to those who watched, pointing forward to the One who was to come and revealing Him to those who had eyes to see.  Jesus Himself was the reality.  Unlike the earlier sacrificial dramas, this time the High Priest went into the immediate presence of God.  On the altar of Calvary, He shed His own blood.  Because His was the real sacrifice, God confirmed that it was acceptable to Him by desecrating the temple from heaven.  It was as if He were saying "This is not needed any longer."  He destroyed the old order. It had served its purpose.

At the Cross

...Crucifixion was a horrible death.  It was a slow death.  Men eventually died by asphyxiation.  As they weakened, they could no longer raise their bodies sufficiently to make breathing possible.  Yet we read of Jesus crying out with a loud voice (Luke 23:46).  Was this only a great final effort on His part?

In addition, Jesus appears to have died long before He was expected to (John 19:31:33).  Is Luke drawing our attention to the fact that Jesus chose the moment of His death - that, in a special sense, He died deliberately, sovereignly, and actively?  It seems He chose the moment with regal authority, calling out with a loud voice, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit" (Luke 23:35).  Then He bowed His kingly head and breathed His last.

In Luke's account of the crucifixion, it is fascinating to notice the frequency with which the word save is used. "He saved others; let Him save Himself" (Luke 23:35).  "Save Yourself (Luke 23:36).  "Save Yourself and us" (Luke 23:39).

...At the cross, the word that was most frequently on peoples' lips, even in abusive statements, was the key to everything that was happening.  The One who was being despised as Prophet, as Priest, and as King actually was God's Prophet, Priest, and King - the Christ, the Savior.  He was actually doing what they were cynically calling out for Him to do.  They, however, spoke in ignorance; they did not understand that if He was to save others, He could not save Himself.

Here, then, is the mystery of the cross, its whole secret...

Blasphemy and Treason

...The two charges leveled against Jesus were blasphemy (that He had made Himself equal with God) and treason (that He had rejected lawfully constituted authority).

Why were those two charges so significant?  It was because these are the charges each of us faces before the judgment seat of God.

In that court, I am guilty of blasphemy, because I have made myself rather than God the center of the universe.

I am also guilty of treason, since I have sought to overturn His lawfully and graciously constituted authority over my life.

Blasphemy and treason were also the crimes of Adam.  These are the age-old crimes of which every one of us - old and young, rich and poor, wise and simple, famous and infamous - stands accused.  We are on the same charge sheet.  We are all guilty.

But Jesus has come!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned he stood,
Sealed my pardon with his blood:
Hallelujah!  What a Savior!

How well this is expressed in Christopher Idle's words:

He stood before the court,
On trial instead of us;
He met its power to hurt,
Condemned to face the cross.
Our King, accused of treachery;
Our God, abused for blasphemy!

Jesus came and suffered all this to take our place, to bear our judgment, to deal with our sin, and to save us.

All this we see in the intricate weaving of Luke's tapestry portraying Jesus' passion.  The central motif is now clear:  Jesus Christ died for sinners, the Just for the unjust, to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).

The meaning of the cross is this:  "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

He took my place.  I take His grace.  He becomes my Savior.

Is that true for you?

Not for my righteousness,
For I have none,
But for his mercy's sake,
Jesus, God's Son,
Suffered on Calvary's tree -
Crucified with thieves was he - 

Are you able to sing?

Great was his grace to me,
His wayward one.

Why the Resurrection of Christ Matters

By Justin Edwards

And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” - Mark 16:4-7

The very cornerstone of our Christian faith rests upon the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we approach the memorial day of our risen Lord, let us meditate on His resurrection and the price that He paid to redeem a people for Himself, which He set out to do before the foundations of the world (1 Peter 1:20).

The resurrection matters because:

Our Lord is the Resurrection (John 11:25).

Without Christ, no man shall see God (John 14:6).

If there be no resurrection, then we are the most pitiful of humans (1 Corinthians 15:19).

My brothers and sisters in Christ, our Lord has indeed risen from the dead!  His Spirit did not remain in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption or decay (Acts 2:31).  But He was given power over death and has destroyed the work of the devil! (Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8).  In Him we have life, yet those apart from Him shall only see death. But,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. - 1 Peter 1:3-5

If you are walking in the Spirit of the Lord this Resurrection Season, you have much for which to be grateful.  Although you cannot repay what Christ did for you, the least you can do is offer your body as a living sacrifice to Him (Romans 12:1).  Pray that God draws you into His grace more each day, that you will find out what is pleasing to Him so that you may cast off the works of the flesh and practically walk in newness of life.  Pray that He gives you a fire, hunger, and thirst for His righteousness through the Word of God, helping you prioritize your day to spend time with Him in prayer and study.  And pray that God gives you a passion for the lost, that they might know of the Resurrection through your obedience to

Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. - Mark 16:15

Let us make much of the resurrection of Christ, for through the blood our sins are washed away, and through His life we are given Life Everlasting!

Between now and this Sunday, I encourage you to take your time reading through 1 Corinthians 15:1-58.  It is one of the most beautiful portions of Scripture where we find that if we only have hope in Christ for this life, then we believe in vain; but since Christ has been raised from the dead, like the Apostle Paul, we may

be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. - Philippians 3:9-11

For your convenience, you can spend time with Him now in the chapter posted below.  May you be found in the riches of God's grace and mercy, dwelling in the glorious Hope of the Resurrection and the Life, holding fast to your First Love, that you would share in His inheritance as a co-heir of Christ on the throne of the Eternal Kingdom of God. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come!

(If you are unsure whether you will be resurrected with Christ, please see: Eternal Life)

The Resurrection of Christ

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? Why are we in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Mystery and Victory

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.


Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

"God Has Forgiven You" Church Sign

By Justin Edwards

"God Has Forgiven You" were the words of a church sign I passed by in March on the way to our weekly evangelism outreach at UNC-Charlotte.  As I drove passed the sign, I could hardly believe what I read, so I made a U-turn to make sure I read it correctly.  As you can see in the picture, my eyes did not deceive me.

I had never heard of Metropolitan Community Church of Charlotte or its parent organization, The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. With a church sign that read, "God has forgiven you", and seeing the term "universal", my initial thoughts were that it was some kind of Christian Universalist organization. I did not, however, expect to learn what I did through research, but more on that later.

Obviously, what struck me the most was that a church had the audacity to suggest that God has forgiven every person who would read this church sign, which would logically extend to all of humanity.  How do they know this is true?  Certainly, they do not, as Scripture is clear that God has only forgiven those who are by grace covered by the blood of Jesus Christ through faith (Ephesians 2:1-10).  While the leaders of this church are no doubt sincere in their desire to comfort people, they are deceived and they are deceiving (2 Timothy 3:13), and sadly for them, they are mere slaves to their father the devil (John 8:44).

It is true that God has a common love for mankind (John 3:16), just as He shows common mercy (Psalm 145:9) and common grace to the world (Titus 2:11).  In fact, it is common love, mercy, and grace that people live by every day, lest they be judged immediately and receive the just penalty for their sin (Romans 2:5).  Moreover, this common grace and mercy restrains men and women from being as evil as they could possibly be. Otherwise, we would all be much worse than Hitler.  It is also by this common grace that people are able to act in righteous ways, thus performing good deeds and being kind and charitable to their neighbor (Romans 2:14).  We as humans are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), so we are like Him mentally, socially, and morally, although sin has corrupted our created likeness of Him (Romans 5:12).

But this common love, grace, and mercy does not equal forgiveness for all people. It is only a specific love (1 John 4:9-10; Romans 5:8; John 10:11; 1 John 3:16), a specific grace (John 6:37, 39, 44, 65; 17:2), and a specific mercy (John 1:12-13; Romans 9:15-18; Ephesians 2:4-5) that leads individuals to repent from their sin and turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:36).  So while God's love is unconditional toward mankind, forgiveness from God is conditional upon faith and repentance (Acts 3:19; 17:30; 20:21; Mark 1:15).

Upon my research into Metropolitan Community Church, I immediately discovered this church is more than seemingly a Christian Universalist organization, but it is primarily a church for homosexuals and their allies. From the Charlotte church's page What Is MCC?, they state:

Refusing to accept that God did not love lesbian and gay people, Reverend Troy
Perry founded Metropolitan Community Church on October 6, 1968 when 12
brave lesbian and gay Christians met for worship in Rev. Perry's living room in Los Angeles, California. Today, there are thousands of worshippers in hundreds of Metropolitan Community Churches found all over the world.

MCC Charlotte, founded in 1980, continues to share the Good News of God's
transformational love and acceptance with everyone, including those of every
ability, race, creed, gender, age, national origin, lifestyle, sexual orientation or
tradition.

As one might expect, the rest of the Charlotte church's website is absent of anything resembling the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  There is no mention of the holiness of God, nor mention of His righteousness, His justice, or His wrath.  In respect to these aforementioned attributes of God, there is no mention of His grace, mercy, love, or kindness toward sinners.  And as there is no mention of sin anywhere on the website, there is no mention of the wages of sin - eternal hell.  Instead of proclaiming Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2) and the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16), Metropolitan Community Church of Charlotte preaches a social justice jesus who embraces all people into the family of God, especially unrepentant homosexuals.  This false gospel preached by MCC is, unfortunately, only "loving" people to eternal hell, and these false teachers will experience severe judgment should they not repent from their destructive heresies (Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Peter 2; Jude 1).

The truth is, God has commanded all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30) from their lifestyle of sin.  Just as He has commanded the repentance of drunkards, fornicators and adulterers, so to He commands the repentance of homosexuals:

Or do you not know that the unrighteous  will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality [or women], 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. - 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

If you are reading this article as a practicing homosexual and perhaps one who is a member of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, this message has not been written to espouse hate or bigotry or intolerance.  I want you to know the Truth that is found in Christ Jesus, the biblical Jesus who is not preached in churches such as this Metropolitan organization.  Because God is holy, He hates sin, and He demands perfection from any who would enter the kingdom of heaven.  This righteousness that He demands of all men cannot be found within us, but only through the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. By grace through faith, God can pronounce the sinner not guilty and forgive their sins through the righteousness of Christ.

If you believe that God forgives people by just overlooking their sin, then you are deceiving yourself.  I do not have to tell you that homosexuality is a destructive lifestyle. It is as destructive as any sinful lifestyle, and this sin has you enslaved to the god of this world (John 8:34; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:1-3).  But in Jesus Christ, the biblical Jesus, there is Life!  In Him there is true freedom (John 8:36; 2 Corinthians 3:17), and if you cry out to God to deliver you from this lifestyle, confessing your sin before Him out of a contrite heart (2 Corinthians 7:10; Psalm 51:17), seeking to be covered by His precious blood, He will save you from your sin, from spiritual death, and the torment of His just and holy wrath (Romans 10:9-10, 13; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Colossians 2:13).

It is no coincidence that you discovered this article.  If God is drawing you into His grace and out from the clutches of sin, then don't wait another minute. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).

The following video excerpt shows that salvation is just as possible for homosexuals as any other sinner who recognizes himself as such (Mark 2:17).  David has been set free from his sin and has become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and God can do the same for you if you just cry out to Him. You can see the video in its entirety here:  Jesus Christ Saved Me from 27 Years of Homosexuality.

So has God forgiven you?  I pray that He has or will, but it will only be by the grace of God alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.  It will only be because you have been born again (John 3:3-5).  You can learn more about this here:  Eternal Life

For additional resources for homosexuality rooted in the love and grace of Christ, please see:

Rodgers Christian Counseling

Exodus Global Alliance

Stephen Bennett Ministries

Donald Trump: "I am Christian"

By Justin Edwards

Donald Trump appeared on CBN News this morning apparently courting the evangelical right in a bid for a 2012 presidential nomination. I first discovered this interview yesterday as CBN published a portion of that interview where Trump professed to be a Christian. As there was no mention of Jesus during the clip, which of course was disappointing especially since the interview took place on a Christian network, I was inclined to give somewhat a benefit of doubt in hopes the full interview would be posted and reveal any mention of Jesus Christ. To my disappointment, my expectations fell flat. 

Below is the full interview with CBN correspondent David Brody.  As you will see, Donald Trump will appeal to the conservatives of America, but if this testimony is representative of what is in Mr. Trump's heart - a form of religiosity - then let us be in prayer for this presidential candidate that he might come to know the risen Lord Jesus Christ through faith and repentance.





To understand more why this interview was disappointing yet typical of a professing American Christian testimony, please see the post yesterday at The Speak:Truth Project titled, A Rich Man's Testimony.  When you come across a testimony from a professing Christian on the streets in witnessing encounters, it's essential to know how to share the Gospel with someone who professes to be a Christian yet doesn't seem to know what faith in Christ is.  This article will help you learn what to do.