WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD OF JESUS?

By NiteOwl Dave
niteowldave@gmail.com

Would a caring God dispatch anyone to eternal Hell if he had never heard about and accepted the one true God? That question is often raised.

And what about the “heathen” – kind of a slam word - who truly seek the true God who sent the Lord Jesus Christ to pay our sin debt? Try this on for size.

According to Romans 1:18-20, everyone has been given the witness of a God through creation (external) and the witness of conscience (internal).

Creation and the amazing planned cycles of life that roll by smoothly century after century point to the existence of an all-powerful God.

Our conscience convicts us of sin. If we continue sinning, we suppress truth, says 11 Thessalonians 2:10-12. But if we suppress sin and seek more truth, we will get it.

"Ye shall seek me and find me when ye search for me with all your heart."

The Bible says that salvation comes just one way: through believing the gospel of Jesus Christ. It also says all other ways to God lead to eternal damnation.

The details of how each seeker hears and believes the gospel varies. In Scripture, Paul was sent to enlighten the seeker, Cornelius. Philip was sent to the seeking Ethiopian eunuch.

The Holy Spirit always rushes into the vacuum created by a seeker of truth. 

It is a given that God really doesn’t need us to deliver the truth of eternal salvation through what the Lord Jesus Christ did when He paid our total  sin debt when He died and rose again from the dead.

Of course, God does use those who have the guts to roll up their sleeves and share the gospel.

When there is no physical messenger handy to share the saving truth, God uses other ways like dreams, etc. to reach the lost.

Is 'Living the Life' Really Enough?

No. The walk, alone, won't cut it. Period. It must be coupled with the talk.

By Paul Tatham
tatham47@hotmail.com

Those of us who have accepted Christ as Savior hear a lot about evangelism.

We're told that one of the primary reasons we have been left on earth, following our conversion, is to win others to Christ.

We go about that divine task in a two-fold manner. First, by living a life that is exemplary and, second, by actually verbalizing our faith.

The object of the first is to live our life in such a way that onlookers will be intrigued enough to ask what makes us different. 

That, in turn, should segue into an opportunity to present the gospel—how Christ has paid for our sins on the cross, thus paving the way for His free offer of eternal life for all those who merely ask.

But I've been concerned, over the years, with the growing number of born-again believers who faithfully fulfill part A but woefully neglect part B.

When asked what their game plan is for reaching their Hell-bound neighbors and colleagues for Christ, their response is often, “Well, I'm living the life."

A few of us may even be bold enough to drop a passing word for the Lord now and then ("my son survived the accident by the grace of God"). 

But basically the crux of our plan consists of being such a nice person that one day, hopefully, that unsaved friend will pop the $64,000 question: "You're such a nice person. How can I be like you?"

But there's a problem with such a plan: You could be waiting a long time. And, in the meantime, the clock is ticking on all those other associates who, too, think you are someone special but aren't quite stirred enough to ask why.

The greater need today is for Christians who will speak their faith, not just live it. Notice, by the way, that I said greater need, not greater in importance.

Of course living the life is of vital importance, for if one is all talk, and no walk, then his message will carry little clout.

Actually, for many of us, living the life is easier than talking about it. That's because when we met Jesus, the Holy Spirit took up residence in our lives and completely changed our worldly appetites.

We no longer serve Satan, nor are we as drawn by what he has to offer. Through little effort on our part, we've become a better person.

But telling others about that transformation doesn't come as readily. For some reason, spiritual lockjaw sets in. So we sheepishly hide behind the lure of our lifestyle, praying for the occasional nibble.

But is "living the life" really enough? Will my lifestyle, alone, actually be potent enough to evoke the all-important query, "What makes you different?"

Well, to be honest, I've never experienced it. And I've known Christ for over 60 years. I don't smoke or drink or cuss or chew, and people tell me I'm generally a nice guy, but the point is I'm still waiting.

But never mind me. Probably others, godlier, will have stories to tell.

Over the years, I've taken an informal poll of believers I consider far more Christ-like than I. Surely they've been asked many times. But, sadly, I've found that their record isn't much better than mine.

The conclusion: If these super saints can't elicit an inquiry, what chance do I have? The walk, alone, won't cut it. Period. It must be coupled with the talk.

Most unsaved folk will size you up as simply "a nice guy," and leave it at that, never realizing Who made you that way.

Let me go further out on a limb and make a bold claim: We need to talk our faith because if we don't explain the gospel—literally the "good news"—few will figure it out on their own.

After all, most lost people have had little exposure to God's simple plan of salvation and, therefore, picture the final judgment as a great celestial weigh-in. If our good works outweigh our bad works, we're in.

If I didn't know better, that would sound reasonable to me too. Or, perhaps, simply looking around at nature and concluding that there must be a Creator (capital C) behind it all. Many settle for mere recognition of a Supreme Being.

All plausible, but all wrong. The good news takes a little explaining before most folk can get a handle on it.

That's why Romans 10:14 asks the provocative question, "How shall they believe in Him in whom they have not heard?" It takes a messenger—a Christian bold enough to put his mouth where his lifestyle is.
 
During World War II, a common poster seen around army and naval bases cautioned servicemen that "loose lips lose lives." The intent, of course, was to warn soldiers and sailors that discussing war-related plans with strangers could be used against them.

Perhaps Christians today need a newer version of the same poster: "loose lips save lives." Those bold enough to speak up are more likely to be the ones who will rescue lives from eternal death.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?

By NiteOwlDave
niteowldave@gmail.com 

Many people wonder if there is a solid reason to want to continue to live. Some want to kill themselves because they find life a frustrating struggle. Many can’t find the meaning of life.

Life is meaningful if we grasp the big picture. Let’s break it down. First, what is NOT the meaning of life? Life and happiness are not about -

• Accumulating wealth
• Being a “religious” person
• Chasing girls or guys, etc.

These give no long-term satisfaction, period. Resolving the God puzzle gives us a purposeful life. God sees us of so much value that He sent His son, Jesus, to pay for our sins like a sacrificial lamb. 

His instruction manual, the Bible, is far more than a collection of pious platitudes and musty history. The best-selling book of all time, it spells out God’s plan for each of us.

Major distractions to God belief are:

• Wars have and are waged in the name of God.   
• Many ranking church leaders get nabbed doing stuff which hardly uplifts.
• There are too many personal points of view out there.

But where there is garbage, there is truth. And the problems and confusion we see all around us are the direct result of sin.

Like us, God gave Adam and Eve choice. They chose to sin. Under freewill, we can choose to do what we know is right or we can choose to sin. We can choose to seek God or tell Him to hit the road.   
 
Christ died for everyone, yes, but you and I determine if we will go to Heaven upon death. And we determine that in this life. 
 
Some challenge the suggestion that we are born wired to sin. The question then is why do well-scrubbed kids have to be taught and disciplined to be good?
   
It’s not necessary for parents to teach their children to defy, toss temper tantrums, lie or disobey. None of these things are major issues, but they are significant pointers that we are all born flawed and out of sync with God.

Even well-raised “good” kids often wind up doing major bad stuff when they erupt into their teen years, and beyond. Of course, few kids turn into serial killers, but nevertheless we humans are generally not very good to each other
       
So back to the big question: What is life all about? Life is for each of us to enjoy, under the rules established by God. Which God?  (I’ll tackle that in a second.)

Originally, things on earth were flawless until Adam and Eve chose to sin. Their sins stained the entire human race.

To be forgiven, as in saved, we must call out to Christ.

The Bible states that the onus is on each of us to personally respond to Christ’s offer to save us. Christ died and arose for everyone, but an individual response to His offer is demanded.

We are not “saved” by being loyal church-goers or community do-gooders, despite these being admirable qualities.

The Bible says “All have sinned.” But Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself by going to the cross and shedding His blood to remove all our sins, past, present and future.                    
                
That familiar verse, John 3:16, states, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believeth (calls out to and puts their trust in) shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
                                         
Sealing the deal with God is just a simple prayer away. We don’t have to be in a church, and we don’t have to be bowed down. But we must ask God to save us.
   
We simple choose to believe, and in an honest prayer ask God to save us. A free gift must be accepted.

1. We must confess we are a sinner. Romans 3:23 states, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Luke 13:3 states, "But, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish"

Proverbs 16:25 states, "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end whereof are the ways of death." 
  
2. We must ask Christ to save us. Asking is the same as believing. We must actively put our faith in what Christ did for us to become a member of God’s family.

 3. We must believe that Jesus is the one and only way to Heaven. Narrow minded, narrow road.  John 14:6 states, "Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."    

4. Is this really a believable proposition?  Yes. John 1:12 states, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name."    
   
So, what do we pray? Something like this:
   
Dear God,
I am a sinner.
Others have sinned greater than I have. 
Nevertheless, I stand before you now as a lost sinner, deserving of Hell.
I choose to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who became a man.
I choose to believe He allowed Himself to be put to death, arose again on the third day, and is alive today.
The Bible says our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ, and believe that.
Father, I want to be cleansed of all my sin right now. I know I am not right with God, and I want to be forgiven. I want to go to Heaven when I die. Right now at (Time and Date)______________, I bow at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ, and I am dumping all of my sin there. ALL of them! 
I ask that the blood of Jesus Christ wash away all my sins - past, present, and future. I am sorry for my sins, and I accept your forgiveness. 
I now declare that I am a Christian. I ask, Father, that you will make me aware of when I want to sin, and give me the courage to say No. 
I ask, too, that you will help me understand the Bible, and to make the rest of my days on earth count for eternity. 
I pray all of this in the name of Jesus Christ - my new Lord and Savior - amen.

Anything else? Yes.
 
(1.) Tell someone that Jesus is now your Lord.
(2.) Start attending a church where the Bible is clearly taught.
(3.) Get baptized by immersion as a public confession of your new life in Christ.
(4.) Read your Bible and pray regularly.
(5.) Continue - or start - doing good stuff as a witness that you care like Christ cares.

Conclusion:

If you are sincere, the Bible says you are now a Christian and you will spend eternity in Heaven.

Sounds too simple, right?  It is so simple a kid can understand it and respond without church classes or sacraments.

Why is Christ the only way to the Father when other major religions claim that they have the way? Good question.

First, Christianity is the only “religion” (hate that word) where God came to earth and completed our salvation.

Second, all other religions require loyal followers to struggle all their life doing religious stuff in the hope their God will be appeased with their efforts. Biblical Christianity promises eternal life now to those who will reach out and accept Christ. 

Third, Christ does not force anyone to accept what He freely offers. Yes, there is eternal Hell to pay if we reject Jesus. 

The opposite of Christianity are strangling religions like Islam with its mammoth (and scary) following of 1/5th of the world’s population.

If a Muslim decides to reject the teachings of Islam, he or she faces being killed by its strict devotees. Islam allows for war against non-Muslims.

Christ is about love. Other major religions are often about terror with slim promise of a blissful afterlife.

Can I prove there is an afterlife?  Hmm, toughie. It is declared by Jesus Christ and the Bible.

But we do see examples of an afterlife in a couple of ways we can all relate to.

Consider an unborn baby. An unborn eight-month kid might defend that life is ONLY what could be physically seen - a hot tub and a feeding tube.

Tell the kid he was going to exit out of there in a month and grow up to drive a train or operate a computer would bring laughter.  Yet, that’s the fact.

Tell a caterpillar it was going to spin a cocoon around itself, drift off to sleep and grow wings, emerge, and fly a mile high over the city as a beautiful Monarch Butterfly and winter in Mexico. If a caterpillar could laugh, it would roar. Yet, that’s the truth of the matter; an ugly worm takes flight.

Here’s the big picture:
 
Our life is a stubby hallway which is a door slam away from a wide-awake eternity; life is a brief flash of a match, a candle in the wind. (A bow to Elton John.)

For some, life here is a horrible ride. For others, it’s a charmed walk in the park.We will each be judged by God as to how we respond to the cards we have been dealt.
 
As woeful or as delightful our life is, we will each be judged by God on how we respond to what Jesus Christ has done for us.

He died for us. He arose from the dead. He will return soon for those who have put their faith in Him. We must be ready to face God. Settle the matter now before it is too late.
 
Thanks,
dave                                                              

WHERE WAS GOD ON 9/11?

HE WATCHED WHAT SINFUL MAN WAS DOING AND WAS GRIEVED

By NiteOwlDave
niteowldave@gmail.com

When we are struck by a tragedy, we often hear non-Christians and Christians raise the age-old question, "Why would a caring God allow that to happen?"

We hear protests that God could have forced the terrorists to steer away from the Pentagon in Washington and The World Trade Center in New York, Sept. 11, 2011, but He didn't. The net result was 3,000 innocent deaths. Why didn't He intervene?

Well, try this answer on for size.

God chose not to intervene because God gives His creation freewill. Because we live in a sinful world, it allows us to kill and to be killed.

The Bible says that God allows sinful man to choose to accomplish horrible atrocities, but that He is grieved when they happen. It is not what He wants for us.

Although saddened, God seldom interferes with what fallen man conspires.

There are several times in the Bible when God expressed sadness and anger over the conduct of His creation.

1. He was grieved to have brought on the great flood which drowned all but Noah and his family who were saved by the ark he built.
 
Genesis 6:5-10 is sobering: "When the Lord God saw the extent of human wickedness, and that the trend and direction of men's lives were only toward evil, he was sorry he had made them. It broke his heart.

"And he said, 'I will blot out from the face of the earth all mankind that I created. Yes, and the animals too, and the reptiles and the birds. For I am sorry I made them’.

"But Noah was a pleasure to the Lord. He was the only righteous man living on the earth at that time’."

2. God was grieved about the whining Israelites after He led them out of slavery in Egypt to Canaan (Israel) with Moses at the helm.

Psalms 95:10-11 states, "For forty years I watched them in disgust. They were a nation whose thoughts and heart were far away from me. They refused to accept my laws."

3. God became ticked with the holy-Joe Pharisees as told in Mark 3:5. Jesus is talking: "Looking around at them angrily, for he was deeply disturbed by their indifference to human need..."

4. Jesus was despaired in the Garden of Gethsemane before his betrayal and crucifixion as Matthew 26:37 notes; "He took Peter with Him and Zebedee's two sons James and John, and began to be filled with anguish and despair."

5. Jesus was vexed over Jerusalem. Luke 13:34 reports Jesus as lamenting, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! The city that murders the prophets. The city that stones those sent to help her. How often I have wanted to gather your children together even as a hen protects her brood under her wings, but you would not let me."

6. When Jesus saw the wailing at the news of the death of Lazarus and seeing that Mary nor the Jewish leaders exhibited any hope that Jesus could (and did) bring him back to life, "Jesus wept." That, the shortest verse in the Bible, is found in John 11:35.

7. God became fed up with the sinfulness of Sodom and, in this case, took direct action and destroyed the city by fire. Genesis 18:19 says, "Their sin is very grievous."

Anne Graham, daughter of evangelist Billy Graham and a renowned author/speaker, offered the following thoughtful insight about God and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in a TV interview.

"I believe that God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of government and to get out of our lives," Graham said. “And being the gentleman that He is, I believe that He calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us his blessing and His protection if we demand that He leave us alone?"

Essentially, we have only ourselves to blame for this because we have many times ordered God out of our lives, thus leaving a vacuum for Satan and his followers to sweep in.

We have demeaned God to an "X", as in Xmas. The following are observations that have been circulated widely amongst Christians on the Internet. The writer is not named.

*We (the US) watched in the 1960s as atheist Madeline O'Hare successfully had prayer banned in public-funded schools.

*Next, the Bible was excluded from the classroom.

*Then we went along when Dr. Benjamin Spock who said we shouldn't spank children for misbehaving because we might damage their self-esteem. (Spock's son committed suicide, by the way.)

*Some parents said teachers and principals shouldn't discipline their children when they misbehave. The action wasn't spawned because of abuses. Still, we said okay.

*Then someone suggested that pregnant students be allowed to have abortions and their parents need not be informed. We went along with it.

*Free condoms became available at schools in confidants. Parents shrugged.

*We bought the argument that pornography is simply appreciation of the female body.

*Hollywood began to serve up more and more TV programs and movies where casual sex and use of illegal drugs are exploited to the point where we are no longer alarmed.

*Rap and rock lyrics praise Satan, applaud drugs, rape, murder, and suicide. We put up with it.

And we wonder why many kids—and adults—today kill their classmates and strangers for no apparent good reason.

The Bible is bang on when it states that, "We reap what we sow."
We have indeed sold out.

If a student today were to ask God why He didn't save the child shot in a classroom, God would be justified in replying, "Dear Concerned Student, I am not allowed in schools. Sincerely, God." Bizarre? Is it? Apply the logic of cause and effect, and this scenario becomes clear.

It's odd that we trash God and then wonder why the world's going to Hell. It's strange why we believe what TV and the newspapers say, but deeply question what the Bible says.

Everyone wants to go to Heaven provided they do not have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Bible says.

It's ridiculous how someone can say, "I believe in God", but follows Satan who, by the way, also "believes" in God but is going to Hell.

It’s strange that we forward thousands of jokes to e-mail acquaintances, but hesitate about passing along thoughtful messages regarding God.

We trade Christmas cards which call for "Peace on earth," failing to include the preface to that verse which, in full, reads, "Glory to God in the highest", then "Peace on Earth and good will toward men."

It makes no sense that we will not forward stories like this because we are concerned that friends might think we're freaky. It seems we are more worried about what people will think of us than what God will think of us.

We would rather sit back and continue complaining about the bad shape the world is in and wonder why no one is standing up for the truth.

Let's get some guts and share stuff like this around. Don't forget, God cares for us despite what we cause in this sin-ridden, God-rejecting world.

This Newton Was No Fig!

Many years ago, scientist-inventor Sir Isaac Newton had an exact replica of our solar system made in miniature.

At its center was a large golden ball representing the sun, and revolving around it were smaller planets attached at the ends of rods of varying lengths.

They represented Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and the other planets.

These were all geared together by cogs and belts to make them move around the "sun" in perfect harmony.

One day as Newton was studying this model, a friend who did not believe in the biblical account of creation stopped by for a visit.

Marveling at the device and watching as the scientist made the heavenly bodies move in their orbits, the man exclaimed, "My Newton, what an exquisite thing! Who made it for you?"

Without looking up, Sir Isaac replied, "Nobody."

"Nobody?" his friend asked.

"That's right! I said nobody! All of these balls and cogs and belts and gears just happened to come together, and wonder of wonders, by chance they began revolving in their set orbits with perfect timing." The unbeliever got the message.

It was foolish to suppose that the model merely happened.
 
But it was even more senseless to accept the theory that the earth and the vast universe came into being by chance.

How much more logical to believe what the Bible says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."

The Bible also declares, in Psalms 14:1, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."

Reason by itself should show how absurd it is to deny the God of creation.

Psalm 19:1 declares, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork."

THE BIBLE PROVES ITSELF

Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecies 

Compiled by NiteOwlDave 
 niteowldave@gmail.com

So, you demand hard-copy proof that the Bible is true? Check this out.

Here are New Testament promises which were fulfilled hundreds of years later and documented in the New Testament. The churchy term for this is Bible prophecy.

The Old Testament prophet Micah in Micah 5:2 wrote 800 years before the birth of Christ, "O Bethlehem, you are but a small Judean village, yet you will be the birthplace of my King who is alive from everlasting ages past."

Fulfillment of that prophecy is recorded in The New Testament opening book of Matthew 2:1 where it is written, "Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod."

It is prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 that "The Lord himself will choose the sign—a child shall be born of a virgin."

Eight hundred years later, Dr. Luke writes in Luke 1:31 of a virgin being told she will have a baby boy, "and you shall name him Jesus."

It is prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:18 that the Messiah will be a prophet like Moses.

That promise is completed as told in John 7:40, "...this man surely is the prophet."
 
Prophet Zechariah in Zechariah 9:9 foretells that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem on a young colt.

That was fulfilled 450 years later when apostle Matthew writes in Matthew 21:4, "Tell Jerusalem her King is coming to her, riding humbly on a donkey's colt."

The prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 55 that the Messiah would be rejected by his own people.

That prophecy was fulfilled 450 years later when the apostle John recorded in John 12:37, "Despite all the miracles he had done, most of the people would not believe he was the Messiah."

David wrote in Psalms 41:9 that the Messiah would be betrayed by his own followers.

Fulfillment of that prophecy is noted in Matthew 26:14: "Then Judas Iscariot, one of the 12 apostles, went to the chief priests and asked, 'How much will you pay me to get Jesus into your hands?'."

Isaiah wrote in Isaiah chapters 50 and 53 that the Messiah would be struck and spat on, tried and condemned and would be silent before his accusers.

Those prophecies were all fulfilled and noted in Matthew 26 and 27: "But Jesus remained silent... Then they spat in his face and struck him..."

The Psalmist foretold that the Messiah would be crucified, a form of punishment not carried out in Israel at that time, when King David wrote the Psalms.

That was truth as Matthew 27:31 says, "...and took him out to crucify him."

The Messiah would be crucified between two thieves, and he would pray for his enemies, Isaiah prophecies in Isaiah 53:12.

That's exactly what happened as apostle Luke points out in Luke 23:33-34, "...there all three were crucified—Jesus on the center cross, and the two criminals on either side. 'Father forgive these people,' Jesus said, 'for they don't know what they're doing'."

It states in Psalms 69:21 that the Messiah would be offered vinegar and gall while on the cross.

John 19:29 states, "A jar of sour wine was soaked in a sponge and held up to his lips."

The Psalmist details that the Messiah's robe would be gambled for. Bang on, as was observed and recorded in John 19:23, "...the soldiers threw dice to see who gets it (the robe)."

It is recorded in the second book of the Bible, in Exodus 12:46, that the Messiah's bones were not to be broken.

John 19:32-34 states, "So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus; but when they came to him, they saw he was dead already, so they didn't break his. However, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out."

Isaiah points out that the Messiah was to die as a sacrifice for man's sin.  John states in chapter 11, verse 50-51, "Let this one man die for the people... Jesus' death was not for Israel alone, but for all the children of God scattered around the world."

The Messiah was to be raised from the dead, according to Psalms 16:10. Acts 2:24 states, "Then God released him from the horrors of death and brought him back to life again, for death could not keep this man within its grip."

Matthew 28:16-19 states, "Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountains where Jesus had said they would find him. There they met him and worshiped him - but some of them weren't sure it really was Jesus."

"He told his disciples, 'I have been given all authority in heaven and earth. Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this—that I am with you always, even to the end of the world.' "

According to King David in Psalm 110:1, the Messiah (Jesus) is at God's right hand.

He was there before he came to earth, as Jesus Christ, and has returned there after completing the blood sacrifice for the sins of all men, even those born previous to the cross.

His return to Heaven is confirmed in Mark 16:19 which states, "When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at God's right hand."

There Is No God?

Jim Bishop, popular author of 21 books including "The Day Kennedy Was Shot" and "The Day Christ Died," died in 1987. This column, which appeared in Reader's Digest and is condensed from a Miami Herald article, was a favorite of his wife, Kelly.

By Jim Bishop

There is no God.
All of the wonders around us are accidental. No almighty hand made a thousand-billion stars. They made themselves.

No power keeps them on steady course. The earth spins itself to keep the oceans from falling off toward the sun. Infants teach themselves to cry when they are hungry or hurt. A small flower invented itself so that we extract digitalis for sick hearts.

The earth gave itself day and night, tilted itself so that we get seasons. Without the magnetic poles man would be unable to navigate the trackless oceans of water and air, but they just grew there.

How about the sugar thermostat in the pancreas? It maintains a level of sugar in the blood sufficient for energy. Without it, all of us would fall into a coma and die.

Why does snow sit on the mountain-tops waiting for the warm spring sun to melt it at just the right time for the young crops in farms below to drink? A very lovely accident. The human heart will beat for 70 or 80 years without faltering. How does it get sufficient rest between beats?

A kidney will filter poison from the blood, and leave good things alone. How does it know one from the other? Who gave the human tongue flexibility to form words, and a brain to understand them, but denied it to animals?

Who showed a womb how to take a fertilized egg and keep splitting a tiny ovum until, in time, a baby would have the proper number of fingers, eyes, and ears, and hair in the right places, and come into this world when it is strong enough to sustain life?

There is no God?

What comes to mind is the Psalms 14:1 verse which states, "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God."

THE WILLFUL SIN QUESTION

The idea that we lose our salvation if we sin even once after we get saved  is biblically invalid. 

ByNiteOwlDave 
niteowldave@gmail.com 

When interpreting Scripture, it is vital that we are aware of the context.

If is easy to be led astray if we do not understand the small details in light of the big picture of the Bible.

For example, Hebrews 10:26 is one such verse that can cause confusion and division if one does not understand the big picture context. The verse says,

“For if we sin willfuly after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.”

On the surface, it appears that this verse is stating that if we sin after we are saved, we can kiss Heaven goodbye and say hello to eternal Hell because we have lost the sin atoning blood sacrifice of Christ on the cross and His subsequent resurrection from the dead.

That idea is wrong. This verse is speaking of someone who is not saved. It refers to someone who hears about God (or  Jesus), shows interest in Him, but then backs away. They received the “knowledge” of the Father (or Son), but they never truly believe it. 

The website gotquestions.org suggests that Judas Iscariot is the perfect example of this. He had knowledge of Christ but he lacked true faith. No other rejecter of the truth had more or better exposure to the love and grace of God than Judas. 

He was part of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples, eating, sleeping, and traveling with Him for years. He saw the miracles and heard the words of God from Jesus’ very lips, from the best preacher the world has ever known, and yet he not only turned away but was instrumental in the plot to kill Jesus.

Having turned his back on the truth, and with full knowledge choosing to willfully and continually sin, Judas was then beyond salvation. He rejected the one true sacrifice for sins, the Lord Jesus Christ. If Christ’s sacrifice is rejected, then all hope of salvation is gone.

The Hebrews 10 passage is not speaking of a believer who falls away, but rather someone who claims to be a believer, but truly is not. He may be a professor of Christ but not a possessor of Christ.
 
Once truly saved, we are forever saved. The Bible says over and over that we are saved by faith and not by good works and that, once saved, we cannot lose our salvation.

If being sinless has nothing to do with getting salvation, why should it have anything to do with keeping salvation?
 
We ALL sin after we are saved. Apostle Peter denied Christ three times yet there is no suggestion in the Bible that he lost his salvation. Hardly; he became a zealot for Christ and was martyred for the Lord, choosing crucifixion upside down.

The Bible defaults very heavily on the side of eternal security. If we repent of our sin and accept that all our sins – past, present and future – are paid for by the blood of Messiah Jesus Christ who died and arose again from the dead, we are saved eternally and are headed for Heaven.                                                                          

Here are just three of many verses that hammer home this point -
 
1. John 10:28: “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
 
2. John 6:37: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

3. Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I found this YouTube about willful sin helpful - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njII9gtR7b8