Ray Comfort's Blog, page 64

Life's Most Important Information...

"An aside, anyone who stands in the gap, fire fighter, soldier, police etc has earned a pass to heaven. They have seen hell, so all the rhetoric you post Ray means nothing in the service these people have purchased. If God can not grant grace to those that have served above and beyond cant find grace, then your "gospel" has no meaning, what so ever. Any Deity that cannot see the dedication and good works of these fine people, what ever their theological point of view, should not be worshiped." Icouldbe

You are correct. Deity that cannot see dedication and good works of "fine people" shouldn't be worshipped. Our problem is that in our own eyes we may think of ourselves as fine people, but God's eyes, we are not. We are wicked criminals who have violated His moral Law.

He is perfect and demands moral perfection, and for you and I to say that He is not, is to make up a god that doesn't exist. But when we acknowledge our sins and see God in truth--as the Law-giver and Judge, our "good" works are not seen as good works at all, but despicable attempts to bribe the Judge of the Universe--"God, I will give you my moral deeds, and in exchange You give me everlasting life." That's a purchase.

Let's think about that for a moment. How much "above and beyond" must I serve to buy eternal life from God? How much "hell" do I need to endure to merit everlasting life? Does a Jew suffering in a Nazi concentration camp enough? How about a Frenchman suffering under the Nazis? How about a German who suffered for days on a battlefield and dying, after standing on a landmine?

How about an American suffering "hell" after being trapped in a car for hours because of some terrible accident? How about cancer sufferers? What about asthmatics? How much "hell" is necessary, and who is it that makes the determination that the suffering is finished--complete so that everlasting life can be granted? Is it the sufferer? Or is it God? If you say that it's God, then it certainly isn't the God of the Bible.

But the moment Jesus of Nazareth cried, "It is finished!" the suffering was complete. The debt was paid. The Law was satisfied and wicked sinners could have their case dismissed and allowed to live--not because we had done anything, but because the Judge is rich in mercy.

That's the good news of the Gospel--that no one needs to suffer anything to have their sins forgiven and find everlasting life, because God Himself provided the sacrifice. He became a Man and took the sin of the world upon Himself (see 1 Timothy 3:16).

When any human being--Jew, Gentile, black, white, rich, poor, Hindu, Moslem, Buddhist, or any religious person forsakes his own supposed "good works" and trusts in God's mercy through Jesus Christ, they find everlasting life. God immediately "imputes" His righteousness to you (He freely gives a right moral standing). This is what the Scriptures teach from beginning to end (the book of James speaks of works being the fruit of salvation, not the means to it).

Again, a man or woman receives everlasting life, not as payment for his good works, but as a gift of God (through imputed righteousness) by trusting in His mercy. Remember, the below verses are from a book written nearly 2,000 years ago, but they perfectly address the fallacy that works merit salvation.

Read them carefully, because your own salvation depends upon your understanding of this great truth. If you cling to your works and refuse God's mercy, you will receive His fearful Justice. You have His promise on that:

"Now to a laborer, his wages are not counted as a favor or a gift, but as an obligation (something owed to him). But to one who, not working [by the Law], trusts (believes fully) in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited to him as righteousness (the standing acceptable to God). Thus David congratulates the man and pronounces a blessing on him to whom God credits righteousness apart from the works he does: Blessed and happy and to be envied are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered up and completely buried" (Romans 4:4-7, Amplified Bible)For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

Transitional Dog...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd4_3IPZ2JMFor Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

Just Believe...

Darkknight56 said..."You want me to believe that Richard Dawkins, world famous atheist, believes in a designer? How do you differentiate the appearance of design from actual design?" Hi Darkknight56. You have free will to believe whatever you wish. But, check out what Richard Dawkins said in his interview with Ben Stein (Expelled No Intelligence Required). See it with your own eyes, listen to it with your own ears on Youtube. Why would Richard Dawkins speculate about life being designed by aliens and seeded on this planet if he could see no appearance of design? Why would he even speculate about an alien designer if life did not appear to be designed, or he had ruled out an intelligent designer? God Bless. Neil.

Neil, it's futile to try and reason with the "new atheists" about Professor Richard Dawkins. Remember, he's their pope, and he is therefore without sin. His word is infallible. If he says that we are cousins of bananas, then we are cousins of bananas. We don't question the pope. If he says we are all apes, then we are all apes. If he says that nature has the appearance of being designed, but no Designer, then that's just the way it is. He doesn't debate the issue. Debating is beneath his holy dignity.

If he stands on the balcony of secular reasoning and says that in the beginning nothing created everything, that's what happened. Don't think for yourself--only believe, and then join the faithful and sing his praises.

If you heard him say that aliens may have seeded this planet, then you are mistaken, because the professor has ex cathedra. You just have to deal with it.

Pic. Pope Gregory the Great.For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

My Last Day in New Zealand--back in 1989

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ5KIRApHXsFor Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

You May Find This Boring...

"What does a trillion years feel like? In light of eternity, even after a trillion years, it's only just 'beginning'. But it's your choice on where you'll spend eternity." I barely know what to do with myself if I have more than 5 hours of free time. Heaven or Hell... BOTH of those seem like torture once the novelty wears off. How do YOU reconcile the inevitable boredom you will feel after having done everything in the Universe two times over in your precious paradise in the clouds? Or is there is 'suicide' option in Heaven once you've had enough?" Stormbringer

I hear what you are saying. I feel the same way. I used to think that if I was ever put in prison for my faith, I would pass the time by working out. One day I had to wait for a doctor, in a small room that was about the size of a prison cell. The wait turned out to be for about 30 minutes. I enthusiastically worked out for the first five minutes, looked at all the horrible posters of lungs and other things on the wall for another five, and them spent the last 20 minutes going crazy with boredom.

Some people don't mind doing nothing. Others, like me and you, need to do something meaningful. However, this sense of boredom drives some to drink, some to drugs, some to suicide, and some to their knees.

The Bible says that when mankind fell because of sin, it brought with it the Genesis curse. This subjected the entire human race to something called "futility" (we call it "boredom"). From that moment in time, every pleasure that every human being found in this life had its high, then went back to mundane boredom. All pleasure became temporary.

The moment we find peace with God through repentance and faith in Jesus, God seals us with His Holy Spirit and marks us for His coming Kingdom. That's not some harp-playing "spiritual" realm, but life on this earth without the Genesis curse. That means no earthquakes, floods, famines, hurricanes, tornados, poisonous snakes, biting tigers, mosquitoes, pain, tears, suffering, cancer, aging, depression, disease, death, dandruff, and dentists. And guess what? No more futility! No more boredom. God promises (and He cannot lie), that all those who trust in His mercy will have pleasure "forevermore." I can't wait. Please join us. See John chapter three for entry details.For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

Welcome to the Atheist Church

"And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed are you poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you that hunger now: for you shall be filled. Blessed are you that weep now: for you shall laugh. Blessed are you, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice you in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets" ( Luke 5: 20-23).

There are people we call themselves "Christians,' and they aren't hated because they belong to Jesus Christ. They are hated because they are condescending, or self-righteous, or because they are simply hateful. But when Jesus spoke of those who are highly favored by God ("blessed"), He was speaking of those who love Him, and therefore live for Him. They are the ones who will be hated by this world, because they refuse to live like the world. Their lives of holiness (separation from the pleasures of sin) is an offense to them.

Every genuine Christian is a "light" that Jesus said "cannot be hid." Light exposes. It reveals moral guilt. Before I was converted I loved the darkness and hated the light. Anything to do with God, and especially the name of Jesus Christ, made me feel uncomfortable to a point of giving me the creeps. But on April 25th, 1972, I moved out of the darkness into the light. I became a partaker "of the inheritance of the saints in the light." God delivered me "from the power of darkness" and conveyed me "into the kingdom of the Son of His love..." (see Colossians 1:12-14).

So whenever I speak to a non-Christian about the things of God, I know that he or she is going to feel uncomfortable. I know that it will give them the creeps and that I may be hated for what I say, especially when I use the light of God's Law. It is the moral Law that exposes our sinful heart and reveals what we are in truth--liars, thieves, blasphemers, lust-filled adulterers, etc., and stirs the conscience: "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed" (John 3:19-20, NKJV).For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

That Bronze Age Book...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyNseXdd260&feature=channelFor Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

Low-life's and Public Restrooms

Now and then I take a few moments to check out different atheist sites to see what is being said about me. I don't go there much because everything is pretty nasty, and reminds me of the low-life language on the wall of a public restroom in a bad part of town.

However, sometimes among the dirt there's a little diamond. An atheist will say that he appreciates that I let through a lot of negative comments about myself, and they give me a backhanded compliment for doing so.

But there is good reason why I let through comments that say that I'm a liar and a money-hungry charlatan. It's because I know that I'm not, and that those who accuse me of being so are either nasty themselves, or they have misinformation, or they say that I "misrepresent" their atheistic and evolutionary beliefs. Rather, I don't accept the beliefs of their particular sect of atheism, with its new definitions of the nature of atheism and unscientific beliefs about evolution.

But here is the dilemma for the accusing atheist. If I am a liar and I'm a slick and greedy charlatan, I'm not doing anything morally wrong. This is because there are no moral absolutes to which an atheist can point. He may think that it's wrong, and say that he wouldn't do it himself, but he has nothing upon which to hang his right and wrong, according to his worldview.

However, if there are moral absolutes and there is a God that will punish liars and those who are covetous, in a place called "Hell," then the atheist is also in big trouble for his own glaring sins. He can't win either way. All he can do is name-call in the hope that that will discourage me. And so we have the continual name-calling and accusations.

But I'm not discouraged at all, because God alone is the judge of my actions, and He's "rich in mercy." But those atheists who judge me without mercy should be aware of what they are doing:

"For he shall have judgment without mercy, that has shown no mercy..." (James 2:13).

"For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you" (Matthew 7:2).For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

"Oh Wise and Holy Christians..."

"Does it or does it not say: MARK 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 7:10 For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curses father or mother, let him die the death It does so how am I supposed to read this huh? How should I morally accept what I read here? Jesus is saying anyone that curses there father or mother let them die the death or as the OT says "stone them to death". Please explain this to me oh wise holy good Christians. I mean gosh I am just godless heathen atheist what do I know?" Caveman 73

You are right to be horrified by these verses of Scripture. But before we look at the answer as to why you should be horrified, let's pull back for a moment, and look at what you call "nature" and what I call "creation."

Think of what happens when someone falls off a sixty story balcony. The consequences of a human being falling and hitting the ground are horrific. Or think of what happens when a human being is trapped in a house that is consumed in an inferno. That's also horrific.

How now would you answer someone who said to you, "Oh wise Mr. Caveman, please explain this to me?" You would probably say, "Well, that's just the way it is. That's the natural world in which we live, in which there are consequences. So make sure you don't fall off sixty story buildings, and make sure you have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in your home."

In Mark 7, and in many other places, Jesus expounds the harshness of God's moral Law. That Law demands the death sentence for violation of the Sabbath, for adultery, homosexuality, for murder, blasphemy, and for dishonor of parents. It is extremely harsh. Harsher than the laws that govern fire and gravity. Jesus warned that the morally perfect Law demands that we give an account of even every idle word we speak. It considers lust to be adultery and hatred to be murder. Look at how the Bible says those who reject the gospel, will come under even greater wrath:

"Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:28-29--NKJV)

Jesus warned that the justice of God on Judgment Day will "grind" sinners to "powder." When something is ground to power, a thorough job is done. Nothing is left, and that's how it will be on Judgment Day. No stone will be left unturned. Every transgression of the Law will receive retribution. That's the way it is.

But thank God, that's not the way it needs to be for you and me. We have the smoke detector of a good conscience, and if we will listen to it, it will alarm us and send us to the cross. That's where the consuming fire of God's wrath was extinguished, for those who repent and trust in the Savior.For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

"Christian" Leaders Leaning Towards Atheism

After seven seasons as host of Canada's "most listened to spiritual talk show," Drew Marshall announced to his listeners that he is no longer convinced there's a God.(1) ABC News recently reported that a Southern Baptist pastor has become a closet atheist,(2) and an evangelical Bible Belt pastor said that he had been living a lie and confessed, "I live out my life as if there is no God."(3)

The doubting talk show host said that he became a follower of Christ in 1981. But it wasn't until recently that he verbalized that he wasn't convinced that God existed, saying "I feel pretty close to walking away from my faith."(4)

I have to confess that I too have been having doubts. I've been living in the same house for more than 15 years, and I have secretly doubted if there was a builder. I know it's beautifully made, with walls, carpet, doors, cupboards, windows, rooms, lighting, air-conditioning, a floor, an intricate electrical system, a fireplace and a roof, but it's only recently that I have actually verbalized that I'm not convinced that there was a builder.

You would have to question my sanity if I really believed, let alone said such a thing. It is a scientific impossibility for a building to build itself (even the Bible says "… "Every house is built by someone…"(5)), and it is a scientific impossibility for creation to create itself. The amazing creation that surrounds us is 100% scientific proof that there is a Creator--"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made…"(6) That's why the Scriptures rightly call anyone who doubts the existence of God, a "fool" (see Psalm 14:1, Romans 1:21). Atheism is an undiagnosed form of insanity. No wonder Isaac Newton called it "senseless."

But the talk show host's problem is bigger than himself, and it's deeper than his nagging doubt. We have millions of people within the contemporary Church who have been convinced intellectually of the existence of God, but they've never been converted experientially by the power of God. So when someone comes along with what they perceive to be a more convincing argument, they begin to doubt their salvation. And so they should--because they are not saved. They are false converts; something Scripture refers to as "goats among the sheep", "tares among the wheat", "bad fish among the good."

False converts aren't the genuine article. They are pretenders that sit among God's people. This should come as no surprise to the skeptics. They have always said that the Church is "filled with hypocrites." And there the pretenders will remain, right up until Judgment Day when God separates the genuine from the false.

Spurious converts don't experience the "power" of the gospel (see Romans 1:16). The message they heard didn't come to them "in power, in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance."(7) This is because the cross is the center of the gospel. It is the supreme expression of God's love to the sinner and there is a good reason it was obscured to them. The only way to see the love expressed in the cross is to see sin in its true light. And the only way to see our sin clearly, is to understand the moral Law. A cure is of little worth to a healthy person, and the cure of the cross is of little value to those who have never seen how deathly sick they are before a morally perfect God.

If we haven't personally seen the cross, then we haven't personally experienced the love of God. This is the tragic case of Drew Marshall, expressed in his own words:

"My reasons for feeling like 'jumping' are plenty. However, they would best be explained by the following illustration: 'Imagine a soldier at war, overseas for 30 years. Each week he would write at least one letter to his father back home. Each week he would expectantly wait for the one who supposedly loves him unconditionally, to write him back or phone or possibly even come for a visit. Any kind of personal interaction would do. He's heard through his friends and other soldiers just how much his father loves him, but those rumors of Glory aren't enough to sustain his faith in his father anymore.'"(8)

There's not been a day in the last 39 years since my conversion that I haven't basked in the sunshine of God's incredible love for me. I have never doubted it for a second. I would sooner doubt the love and faithfulness of my much-loved wife of 40 years, than I would doubt the love and faithfulness of God, so evidentially demonstrated in the blood of the cross.

If I don't believe in and trust my wife, I insult her integrity. I deem her to be devious. The Scriptures warn, "He that believes not God has made Him a liar,"(9) and "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God."(10)

So my advice to pretenders in pulpits, is to go through the Ten Commandments (as expounded by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount), and apply each one personally, with a tender conscience. Then get on your knees before a holy God and don't get up until you know Him whom knowing is eternal life (see John 17:3). This issue is more serious than a heart attack. It's the issue of your own eternal salvation, and the salvation of those you will lead astray with your unfaithful words.

If you want a deeper understanding as to why the Church is so filled with false converts, get a copy of the free book, God Has a Wonderful Plan For Your Life--The myth of the modern message. Or you can read or listen to the book freely online at www.FreeWonderfulbook.com.

Notes:
(1) http://drewmarshall.ca/droogle/
(2) http://abcnews.go.com/WN/atheist-mini...
(3) Ibid
(4) http://drewmarshall.ca/droogle/
(5) Hebrews 3:4 (italics added).
(6) Romans 1:20 (italics added).
(7) 1 Thessalonians 1:5 (italics added).
(8) http://drewmarshall.ca/droogle/
(9) 1 John 5:10
(10) Hebrews 3:12 (italics added)

Picture: Drew MarshallFor Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.