From "Ex-Catholics for Christ" website

Re-printed in its entirety:

GREAT BRITAIN HAS FALLEN!
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD" (Ps. 33:12)
Introduction
Since the Witchcraft Act was repealed in 1951, by Conservative Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Britain's two thousand year old Christian heritage has subsequently and gradually apostatised, and has almost now been totally obliterated!

(It must be pointed out that Churchill was not only a high-degree freemason - Studholme Lodge, 1591- but was also a druid, both of which, I believe, are strictly prohibited and denounced in Scripture.)

Yet in times past, Great Britain was very much a light to a lost world. The United Kingdom gave mankind the English language, discovered cures for diseases, created welfare and medical institutions, sent out more missionaries, distributed more Bibles/literature and taught more about repentance, love and forgiveness of Christ, than any other country anywhere in the world.
As with all areas of decline, it didn't just happen overnight. The 'swinging sixties' can be credited for much of our nations collapse. Rock N' Roll (a term for pre-marital sex) is the cause for our drug culture, homicide, abortions, divorces and sodomy.

Post War Britain has become a sad loving television addict nation, with 20+ million people watching soaps and fly-on-the wall reality shows each day of the week. If society isn't watching such dross, then most of the towns and cities up and down the country are dealing with yob culture and multitudes of young people pouring out of pubs and clubs and vomiting and fighting in the streets, due to excessive binge drinking.

The Daily Mail stated that some 190,000 women get drunk at least once a week, while men aged from 16-24 are the most prolific offenders, with four out of five confessing to drink more than four pints a night.

This image of "cool Britannia" is beamed around the world and our continental friends just shake their heads in dismay.

Forty years ago, the BBC would show numerous programmes, offering those that believed God created the Universe, the chance to scrutinise those that pushed for state funded Darwinism, which is taught in schools and universities. Nowadays, such programmes are totally obsolete. Most topical programmes on TV contain people from the far left and the centre left. It would appear those on the centre right are not welcome to have their say about the matters of concern to those today.

In 1997, New Labour was elected to power, after 18 years of Conservatism.
We were told that the new Government would be 'whiter than white.' But within only a year or two of Mr. Blair's Administration taking office, scandal and resignation gripped the nation. Now some 10 years after being in office, several cabinet ministers have been forced to resign, only to be reinstated by the then "Christian" Prime Minister Tony Blair, only to be forced to resign again. One Christian leader in the UK wisely said that if Mr. Blair was to enforce his 'whiter than white' promise, he'd lose most of his cabinet, for half are atheists, adulterers, fornicators, divorcees, corrupt, homosexual, and even Mr. Blair himself, dabbling in the occult with his wife, according to numerous press reports.

The following are some of the dire consequences of our nations departure from God.
We have sown the wind.
Abolished the death penalty but legalised the murder of children in the womb, using taxpayers money. (Local Health and Education Authorities think nothing of allowing young girls to be operated on without parental knowledge, yet they wouldn't dare allow a child a day trip to the seaside without written parental permission.)

In 2001 the government sanctioned the purchase of the morning after pill over the chemist counter, now anybody can receive this drug!

The government also gave the green light to allow scientists to play God by experimenting with human embryos.

Enacted no fault divorce on demand and forced mothers out to work.
Britain has the highest divorce rate in Europe.

John Major legalised trading on the Lord's Day [Sunday] and Tony Blair instituted a national lottery, with some supermarkets now opening 24/7, which means more children separated from their parents, for longer periods of time.

More Muslims attend Mosques in the UK than Baptists and Methodists combined.

In 1945, there was only one Mosque in England. By 1990, over 1,000 Mosques dominate this country.

The following figures make sad reading:
(i) In 1979, 11.7% of the nation attended the state church; in 1989 it was 9.9%, and in 1998 only 7.40% of the nation attended church.
(ii) In 1979, 5.4 million people attended church; in 1989 it was 4.7 million; in 1998 it was 3.7 million.
(iii) Every 9 days a church closes in the UK. Every 7 days a Sikh temple opens in the UK and every 14 days a Muslim mosque opens in the UK.

The Saturday Times (10/2/07) reported how thousands of Churches in the UK will close in the next 10 years:
"Just one tenth of the nation's Christians attends church, and churches are now closing faster than mosques are opening....By 2005 the number of churches had fallen to 47,600. According to the Christian Research, another 4,000 are likely to go in the next 15 years. In the Church of England alone, which still has 16,000 churches, 1,700 have been made redundant since 1969. Over the same period, the number of mosques in Britain has grown to almost the number of Anglican churches that have closed. The Islamic website Salaam records a total of 1,689 mosques...Methodist churches, down from 14,000 in 1932 to 6,000, and closing at the rate of 100 a year, and are often sold with no restrictive covenant attached."

Most of Britain's cathedrals not only omit Bibles and Gospel tracts from their book stands (they don't even preach the true word of God) but as one author put it, 'more tourists visit these places than worshipers of God.'

Legalised pornography, decriminalised homosexuality and taught this alternative lifestyle to children in schools, from the age of eight and up.

Those that dare oppose this or speak against it are threatened with seven years in prison!!

With Sodomy being a minority lifestyle for people in the UK, with only 1.5%, it is amazing that the majority are totally silenced about this abnormal way of life, and are expected to accept it and embrace it. Amazingly the majority of surveys that have been made available clearly show that most ordinary people don't agree with sodomy: 84% of the public didn't agree with lowering the age of consent to 16 and some 81% against lowering it to 18 (The Christian Institute.)

Also interestingly and no doubt suppressed by the biased press, is the fact that a homosexual man is 23 times more likely to abuse a person under 16, than a heterosexual would (Stephen Green, The Sexual Dead End, pgs. 188,189.)

By the age of 30, 30% of homosexual men will be HIV-positive or die of AIDS.

The number of sodomites reporting 10 partners or more is four times higher than the average heterosexual man. Indeed sodomites are much more promiscuous than heterosexuals.

Please Google Tony Horton's website, a former homosexual turned heterosexual Christian, for additional material on this.

A recent survey carried out by a top US health authority discovered that the average age/life expectancy of a homosexual man was 39 and 45 for a lesbian. The same survey for heterosexuals showed the age to be 72, yet nobody will mention this nor warn the homosexual community of this, for fear of not being politically correct and facing a long term in prison.

One other myth that seems to have taken off is the one that Homosexuals are born that way. You know, like fornicators, murderers and adulterers are "born that way." That no scientific evidence exists anywhere in the world to support this doesn't matter to some narrow-minded people, but for those that are interested in science, please refer to Dr. Paul Cameron's work to refute such a fable (Exposing the AIDS Scandal, 1988.)

In his work, he says the following: "Sodomy is addictive behaviour like chronic drug use or alcoholism", and states that "no one has found a single replicable genetic, hormonal or chemical difference between heterosexual and homosexuals. When you consider [homosexual] practices the case for 'born that way' becomes ludicrous" (pgs. 152, 153.)

Another disturbing find that the media won't delve into is the fact that America's top six serial killers were all sodomites, with some 50% of murders being associated with sodomites venting their anger at one another (Britain under Siege, pg. 55.)

Declassified cannabis to grade C.

Britain now recognises same-sex marriages as being legally binding.

From CHRISTMAS 2005, homosexual and lesbian people will be allowed to have 'civil marriages.' One wonders who's idea it was to start this new law at Christmas, when those that love the Lord will be celebrating the reason for believing - Jesus Christ's Birth and Incarnation. Why not make it May 1? This is the date for secularism/socialism and the Illuminati.

As of 2006, 15,000 "couples" have been "married" since this ungodly legislation was passed. And yet, surprise, surprise, scores have since gone on to "divorce" already. (BBC News 24, 17/12/06.)

On January 10, 2007 the British Government finally passed legislation, that will make it illegal for hoteliers to refuse accommodation for homosexual or lesbian people. Christian, Muslim or Jewish printers or taxi drivers will also be penalized if they too discriminate in anyway such people.

Stephen Green, Christian Voice leader, had the following to say:

"The Government and their 'gay rights' friends have no right to impose their morality, or lack of it, on the 99% of the population who are not that way inclined. Christians, members of other faiths and indeed of none cannot be forced to act against their conscience by providing services to those whose activities they find perverted, disgusting or simply against the clear, unequivocal word of God" http://www.christianvoice.org.uk/Press/press025.html.

The Government has allowed pubs to open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even though police chief's don't want it nor NHS staff or taxpayers, for their council taxes will almost certainly be raised to cover the extra cost of policing.

Tessa Jowell, former Culture Secretary, called individuals that opposed reforming the gaming industry, "snobs."

The Times (12/11/05) reported on it's front page:
"There will be a quarter of a million new gamblers within a year, after the abolition of strict rules on casino entry caused a surge in first-time visitors, the Times has learnt....Britain's 138 casinos have received 100,000 more visits, three times the industry estimates. This will translate into 250,000 new casino-goers in a year....concern is mounting over the massive increase in problem gambling, which has risen fivefold in three years, fuelled by huge growth of internet gaming. More than 300,000 addicts have sought help...until this year 2.7 per cent of the population - 1.8 million - made 14 million visits to British casinos annually. More than 64 billion pounds a year is spent on all forms of gambling, with spending in casinos rising from 3.1 billion in 1999-2000 to 4 billion in 2003-2004."

However on 30/1/07, the UK Government officially sanctioned Manchester to be the first major city to enjoy unlimited gambling and become a city of super-casinos. This will bring more problems, more vice and much more crime. Apart from the gaming industry and some die-hard gamblers, who else in their right mind would want such an ungodly institution on their doorsteps, at least that's what one happy lady told the BBC, when she was told that London wouldn't get this special licence. She was over the moon, yet at the same time, saddened for the average person of Manchester.

(Prime Minister Gordon Brown has since put the brakes on this proposed legislation and for the time being, super-casinos are not yet ready to plague our country.)

Criminals and gangsters are glamorised by society with lucrative film roles and with regular media interest, they are quite content and able to make a good living from this.
Consecutive British Governments have given away UK sovereignty to a secular, unelected, unaccountable and money wasting European Union.

For example, not only is our legal system based on Biblical teachings and standards (with a Moses room in Parliament, and a tapestry of Moses displaying the Ten Commandments), but if one takes the time to scrutinise any coin, they will see the following letters: D.G. REG. F.D. The DG stands for by the Grace of God (Dei Gratia) and FD is Defender of the Faith. It must also be mentioned that each day before the House of Commons commence for business, the Speaker and all the Commoners stand for prayers. All cameras and radio microphones are turned off for this period of time. Yet with Charles Darwin sharing a ten-pound note with the Queen, one can see apostasy at every level within the UK now.

Forsaken the love and obedience to God to serve materialism.

British Prime Ministers, unlike their European allies, address the country without the national flag behind them, or any national identity whatsoever at all.

(I've often thought that a Chief Executive of a major international company would be more identifiable to one's potential audience than an elected Prime Minister and his cabinet.)

And how we reap the whirlwind
Nearly six million unborn babies have perished since David Steel's law was passed in 1967.

97% of abortions are performed on healthy babies, while in certain circumstances no time limit exists in restricting the abortion of a fully developed pregnancy.

(Tony Blair not only consistently voted for abortion, but much more deplorable, was how he voted for the abhorrent and appalling foetal craniotomy in Parliament. This practise involves crushing the baby's head with forceps while still in the mother's womb.)

In 1998, 69% of abortions were carried out on single women.

In 1957 the amount of abortions in the UK were 12,394, in 1986 there were 147,619 abortions; to date it is estimated that 4.7 million babies have been put to death.

There were also 2,894 abortions for the year of 1986, conducted on girls under 16 years old!

The UK has now overtaken the number of abortions that the US carries out each year!

The following story appeared in the Sunday Times (27/11/05), in which it read:

"A GOVERNMENT agency is launching an inquiry into doctors' reports that up to 50 babies a year are born alive after botched National Health Service abortions." I would imagine this figure of '50' is rather conservative. I believe it is probably much higher. I also recall a Catholic bishop, who witnessed at first hand, aborted babies that were still alive and were left by doctors to die in sluice rooms, telling my father of his horror at seeing such barbaric acts. The paper then goes on: "In practice, according to Stuart Campbell, former professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at St George's hospital, London, a number do survive. They can be born breathing and crying at 19 weeks' gestation," he said. "I am not anti-abortion, but as far as I am concerned this is sub-standard medicine." The article concludes: "If a baby is born alive following a failed abortion and then dies (because of lack of care), you could potentially be charged with murder," said Shantala Vadeyar, a consultant obstetrician at South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust, who led the study.

40% of all births are now illegitimate, 56% of marriages end in divorce, 29% of men are economically inactive and over a million children are in day care.

Three quarters of all family breakdowns affecting young children now involve unmarried parents (The Times, 5th February 2005.)

The 2001 censor for the UK reported that 59% of the households with children are married, 11% are co-habiting and 22% are single parents.

The evidence is irrefutable. Unmarried parents are five times more likely to break up than married parents. Children born to unmarried parents are already likely to have more problems at school, work or with their well being. If their parents then split up, the outcome can be worse still because family breakdown itself is associated with all sorts of problems, such as crime, truancy, poverty, and relationship difficulties (The Saturday Times, 5th February 2005.)

Britain has the highest pregnancy among teenagers in Europe.

8.1 in every 1000 girls in 1995 fell pregnant and 8.3 in 1996.

Only 36% of children born out of wedlock are looked after by both parents until they reach the age of 16; compared with 70% for children whose parents are married.

There are two and a half times as many murders as there were fifty years ago, 45 times as much violent crime, 18 times as many rapes are reported, drugs are now endemic and crime rates generally have increased 10-fold.

Over 80,000 people are now incarcerated in UK prisons, as of October 2007. This is the highest ever.

In the 1940's, 100,000 people a year were treated for sexually transmitted diseases, now it has rocketed to 800,000 people a year.

One million people died of smoking in the last decade. 120,000 will die by the end of this year. Tobacco was designed for rat poison, not to be inhaled by millions of people on a daily basis.

Alcohol related crime has shot up in recent years. Figures like 28,000 people die each year through this poison, with an additional 100,000 people suffering indirectly as the result of alcoholics.

Was it not rather prophetic, that on the day the United Kingdom allowed pubs and clubs to open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, that George Best should die of the sin of alcoholism (1 Cor. 6:10.) Not a good omen for future generations!

And we didn't have to wait long, for Charles Kennedy, former leader of the Liberal Democrats was forced to resign from his job, due to his excessive drinking problem. One can only pray that Charles would get saved and follow the late Billy Sunday (former alcoholic too) and take up the crusade to stamp out booze in the UK.

Did not the Apostle Peter say the following of his nations sin:
"Save yourselves from this untoward generation" (Acts 2:40.)

Alcohol wasn't designed to be drunk for recreational purposes, but rather for alleviating pain to those that were sick, and for being consumed much in the same way as medicine is for today.

1,000 child deaths, 1/3 of road fatalities, half of all murders, and half of all wife/husband beating is down to alcohol consumption.

More than 50% of men and 27% of women acknowledge that they have been drunk at least once a week.

In the UK, we now have Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) for CHILDREN!!

AIDS in the UK has killed 3,400, by 1991.

Some writers have traced this killer virus back to those who committed bestiality.

Christian Watch believe that if it hadn't been for drug addicts and sodomites, our country would be AIDS free.

Taxpayer's money spent trying to cure this alternative lifestyle costs the government 160 million pounds, compared to just 9.9 million on heart disease, which killed 197,721 people in 1994.

TV, radio and the arts are awash with blasphemy [increase of 500% in just fifteen years], violence and perversion, while virtue is derided.

The BBC's former director general, Lord Reith would be shocked to learn of today's BBC's distasteful and insulting Jerry Springer Opera going on air, for the BBC quite amazingly has a plaque in BBC House, which reads as follows:

"To Almighty God. This shrine of the arts, music and literature is dedicated by the first Governors in the year of our Lord 1931, John Reith being Director General. It is their prayer that good seed sown will produce a good harvest, that everything offensive to decency and hostile to peace will be expelled, and that the nation will incline its ear to those things which are pure, and of good report and thus pursue the path of wisdom and virtue."

I would encourage the reader to dust one's Bible down and go to the Epistle to the Philippians, taken from the New Testament, and read chapter 4:8,9. Yes, that's right, the BBC is quoting the Apostle Paul. Can you imagine this happening today?

Public and personal debt has overtaken income. The average British household now owes almost 40,000 pounds, with the number of credit cards outnumbering all the people of the UK - 63.9 million cards in circulation!

Government has become bureaucratic, profligate and corrupt: injustice is being done in our land and our historic liberties are being taken away.

Royalty
The Queen and her children have brought Christianity into disrepute. The Queen swore an oath, upon her coronation, to uphold and defend Protestant Christianity in the land of the United Kingdom; this she has continually failed to do, for in recent years the state church has not only apostatised under her leadership but she has also personally participated in being yoked with other faiths, during her visits to Hindu and Muslim mosques and temples in 2002 (2 Cor. 6:14-18.)

It has been my view that since this Monarch came to power, with her liberal and weak leadership, Britain has suffered and declined. This knock on affect, has infiltrated into all the main political parties too. One can only hope and pray for a future king who is a God fearing man. Sadly, nobody in the Royal family today is.

Prince Charles, while married to Princess Diana, publicly confessed on television, how he had been unfaithful to his wife, by committing adultery with his long-term mistress, now turned wife, Camilla Parker-Bowles.

Charles has also spoken about his eagerness to be a defender of all faiths!! If this becomes a reality, not only would it make a mockery out of the British Constitution, but would easily force a major crisis and a dire need for a re-think.

In November 2005, he flew to America where he wanted to plea to the Bush Administration for more tolerance towards Islam, yet when three Christian Indonesian girls where brutally beheaded by Muslim fanatics, nothing came from St. James' Palace.

Government
Mr & Mrs Blair, it is widely reported in the media, entertain New Age guru, Carol Caplin, much to the annoyance of their former chief communications officer, the atheist, Alistair Campbell, who advised the Prime Minister on the eve of the Iraq war not to mention God; Campbell told him, 'we don't do God.' Regrettably, Mr. Blair didn't correct Campbell and inform him that the UK is still (just about) a Christian country with a Christian constitution, therefore such a comment as this at such a sensitive time, would have been rather inappropriate, especially for 48,000 troops, marines, sailors, airmen and support staff were soon to put their lives at risk and still are every moment of every day, until the Government orders them home.

We also later discovered how Ms Caplin's lover, convicted conman, Peter Foster, had played middleman while purchasing some rather nice flats in Bristol for Euan Blair, the eldest son of the four Blair children, who it is also reported has a drink problem, along with Prince Harry. (Please pray for both young men.)

And not to be outdone by the ungodly associates that the Blairs enjoy, the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and his wife, Sarah, both enjoy a close relationship with occultist, J.K. Rowling, and when the Browns had their second child, Ms. Rowling was one of the first to visit them in hospital. One must wonder what Mr. Brown's late father, a Protestant minister would have thought of this unholy alliance.

We also learn how Mr. Blair apparently removed the Lord's Prayer from the walls of Downing Street.

How interesting it took a "Christian" leader to do this, when all previous Premiers (which for the most part have been secular) left this plaque in place!

Yet Mr. Blair would tell Jeremy Paxman, how he believed in the Six Day Biblical Creation account, even though he looked very uncomfortable and awkward about it.

It's not surprising then that the former Prime Minister would go on to have heart problems over the past two years or so, shortly around the time of his quite redecoration of No.10!

Speculation about Mr. Blair's Masonic beliefs is also rampant. The strong suggestion is that he is a 33-degree, Sovereign Knights of Malta.

One other point about Freemasonry in the UK: in the Palace of Westminster, there are two Masonic Lodges; one is the 'New Welcome Masonic Lodge.' And underneath Downing Street, a passage, it is reported, is linked 10 Duke Street.

Conclusion
In Wale Babatunde's helpful book Great Britain has Fallen he concludes on a surprisingly high note, for he informs his reader that:

"The great awakening of the 18th century will be insignificant compared with what God is about to do. This revival will break all race, sex, and denominational barriers. I believe Great Britain is central to the end time move of God" (pg. 155.)

May I say how much I would love to agree with Mr. Babatunde but I just cannot.

The Bible tells us that in the last days it will get worse, much worse (2 Tim. 3:1-9), with no revival offered only apostasy, great apostasy (1 Tim. 4:1,2.)

Revival, I don't believe, will ever come to this country, especially when only 0.1% of Christians take the time to share their faith and work on the streets to win souls to Christ. And some of those that do go on the streets, take a very watered down and largely ecumenical message to unsaved people.

(This ministry recently had the pleasure of working with some American street preachers who told us how saddened they were to hear middle age women and grandmothers, not only arguing with them on the streets of the UK, but also using obscene language and gestures at them. We were told that this type of disgraceful behaviour is almost unheard of in the States for such a generation.)

For once, Britain is many years ahead of America, but sadly for all the wrong reasons. God, I tragically believe, has almost given up on Britain, and He will hold all Churches accountable for this.

The Body of Christ, for the most part, is supposed to lead the way and set a godly example to a lost world, but they haven't done this; they've failed miserably to do this in recent years.

Instead what we get is the Church of England informing us that they would rather destroy the unity of their "broad" church for the sake of allowing homosexual and lesbian/feminist priests to stay in their positions, than sticking to their '39 Articles of Faith,' which don't seem to be worth the paper they are written on anymore.

Incidentally, the Church of England is valued to have shares and land worth 4.5 million pounds, plus a PUB (BBC2, Who Owns Britain, 10/1/06.)

Only a few years ago, the Church of England lost 800,000 pounds on the UK stock market. Not bad going for a Christian Organisation. And the Saturday Times (21/1/06) reported that the Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries, has been given a TWO MILLION POUND MANSION to live in, when he retires, and this will be paid for by his struggling and cash stricken Church. With this kind of money behind them, its no wonder that private schools and medicine are enjoyed by its hierarchy.

We also read how the Catholic Church, it is reported, is still in the arms trade. According to the Protestant newspaper, The English Churchman, Rome was behind smuggling stolen arms back in 1999, during the Kosovan war:

"The arms were mostly Russian, but included NATO arms stolen from Germany...The consignment was ordered in the name of Father Luciano Augustina, a Roman Catholic priest in Scutari...Rodney Atkinson, of Free Nations, said recently, 'The Vatican was using Caritas to provide cover for NATO and German arms smuggling to the KLA. They may also have provided Iran, the world's leading terrorist state, with the same cover in Bosnia. The Vatican's goal is a single European Catholics superstate" (Issue no. 7679, 6-13 Jan. 06.)

Sanctions should have been imposed against Rome.

And the Catholic Church have tried everything in their power to move, hide, mislead and in the end reluctantly pay out huge amount of financial compensation to victims of paedophilia, while some of those priests are still working in parishes today!

And may I list just a very small fraction of paedophilia problems that the Roman Catholic Church is guilty off:

"Priests at St. Anthony's Franciscan seminary, Santa Barbara, California, were found to have molested 34 youths between 14-16 from 1964-1987.... 80 priests in the past 2 years are reported as having received treatment for paedophile tendencies in a Dublin Clinic.... 10,000 out of 57,000 Catholic priests in the USA may be sodomites, although some bishops put the figure at 40% and maintain that 3,000 may be paedophiles. It is estimated that 50% of Catholic priests do not adhere to their celibacy vows.... Cardinal John Ward was arrested on 26th January 1999 for the rape of a 6-year-old girl in London, nearly 40 years ago.... Bishop Robert Sanchez, former Archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was found to have been sexually involved with 2 young women. He had concealed hundreds of cases of young boys abused by priests in his archdiocese and was forced to resign in 1993 after an investigation into the abuses" (Britain under Siege, pg. 59,62, 64.)

Martin Luther, when he visited Rome, said the following which still seems to ring true today:

"Iniquity existed amongst all classes of the clergy. Priests told indecent jokes and used awful profanity, even during Mass. The papal court was served at supper by twelve naked girls. No one can imagine what sins and infamous actions are committed in Rome....they must be seen and heard to be believed. Thus they are in the habit of saying, 'If there is a hell, Rome is built over it.'"

So with all this sordid 'activity,' the following statement for the Catholic Church's official Catechism for 1994, will come as absolutely no surprise at all: ".... they [Homosexuals] do not chose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfil God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. Homosexual persons are called to chastity...by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection" (pg. 505.)

Now this amazing statement is deficient in many ways. First, no scientific evidence whatsoever was quoted to support their private hypotheses about homosexuality being normal. Second, no Scripture was cited to support their view that for most homosexuals "it is a trail." And lastly, if such people are born that way and if society is to tolerate this way of life, why does the Catholic Church then tell us that such people are called to chastity? If they were made that way, surely God would want them to enjoy their way of life?

The Bible tells us very clearly the following about sodomy, and it should be pointed out that this sin is the ONLY one in Scripture where God gives people totally over to indulge in it.

"Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them" (Rom. 1:24-32.)

This is just one verse out of the whole Bible that speaks about homosexuals. The wonderful news is that MANY homosexuals have not only come to Christ but they have also gone on to lead content and normal HETROSEXUAL lives, as far as possible with many being happily married with families.

Yet here is the scandal: few people inform homosexuals this. I believe withholding such invaluable evidence is scandalous and absolutely negligent.

May God have mercy on liberal and fearful Bible believing Christian for not loving homosexuals enough to tell them that change is possible and restitution too.

And even George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, told the Daily Mail in 1997, how he believed that sodomite couples could make better parents than heterosexual married couples.

Some free churches have continued to divide over all types of issues, with many Baptist, Methodist and Brethren churches now becoming video shops, kebab houses or carpet retailers.

The World Council of Churches (a Communist political organisation, that supports the Marxist dictator, Robert Mugabe's ZANU party), which all of the above churches are members of (except the Brethren and some independent churches) have departed so far from the word of God that it's no wonder these denominations are dying off.

(Due to the terrible plight of black and white Zimbabweans, many are turning to former Prime Minister Ian Smith for help. Smith said the following about this desperate cry for assistance: "We really have a bunch of gangsters there who are pocketing their money daily. We live in a country where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I have more black Rhodesians than white Rhodesians coming to see me nowadays. They walk in my front gate because it is always open. Most of them say: "What can we do? Give us the benefit of your experience. Our children are hungry. We never had hunger when it was called Rhodesia." This scandalous ethnic cleansing that is going on in Zimbabwe is totally disgraceful. If this was happening in a Western country, there would be an absolute outcry (remember how the EU reacted when Joerg Haider was democratically elected? They REFUSED to work with him, and soon afterward, he resigned from leading his party.) The UN, US, EU and UK are militarily SILENT on this whole issue. And wasn't it amazing that Prince Charles (New Ager) and Jack Straw (Marxist) were seen shaking hands with Freemason Robert Mugabe. Nelson Mandela's Marxist ANC party, murdered some 120,000 black people, between 1963-1994. Margaret Thatcher refused to do 'business' with the ANC during the years of apartheid. Amnesty International were one of the few left-wing pressure groups that didn't support the ANC due to their brutal methods of torturing and murdering people. Yet in 1993, Mandela, invited by the Conservative government, addressed the Houses of Parliament. And who was sitting there in the audience? Mrs. Thatcher!! And what can be said about the new South Africa, since the ANC was overwhelmingly voted in; for 1998, we are offered the following statistics: 731 house break-ins, 135 rapes, 41 car hijackings and 68 murders. From 1994 to the present day, there have been some 570 murders of white and black farmers. Yet only 39 farmers were murdered during the Mau Mau uprising in neighbouring Kenya.)

Yet even with Anglicanism's anti-biblical liberalism, it still hasn't helped them increase their numbers, people are still not joining this apostate church. What may, however, surprise some is the sad reality that Roman Catholicism is growing steadily, even with its hypocritical and scripture twisting reputation; therefore, one can only conclude that God, for the time being at least, has forsaken Great Britain; for from now on, this country on any international scale won't be chosen to lead the way in evangelising and preaching His word; Britain tragically will have to take a back seat!

And as result of this, I believe that America has not only taken the lead from Britain, but has received many of Britain's blessings, with many scholars believing this is punishment for the fact that Britain not only reneged on the Balfour Declaration of 1917 (they promised the Jews their own land back) but would also go on to abstain at the United Nations in 1948, while they were voting to allow Israel to become a sovereign land.

Since then Britain has been sinking fast and when the Prime Minister of India told the Queen in 1998 that the UK was now a 'third world power,' well that was the final straw; Great Britain had indeed fallen!!

And every person in this country must take responsibility for this, beginning with the Royal family, to the Government, to the Church and to the man in the street. For we know that when man forsakes God, than God forsakes man.

I hope my bleak outlook is incorrect but I fear its not. My feelings for the future of Great Britain are pessimistic and indeed very grave.

I pray I am wrong!
www.excatholicsforchrist.com/articles.php?PageURL=The%20End%20of%20England.htm

The Error of Protestantism

I have been reluctant to post this teaching for fear of being ostracized by my close associates, but fear NOT telling the truth more than losing whatever associations I enjoy among men.

When Martin Luther and other reformers were leaving the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) they were undoubtedly brave, God-Called giants of their day. The history of their deeds is testament of God's grace and intervention in men's lives! It is also a testament of the errors of men. The original plan of salvation was recorded in Acts 2:38, and repeated in Acts 8, 10, and 19! It is abundantly apparent that the Gospel message used to convert the world was "Repentance, baptism by immersion in the Name of Jesus for the remission of sin, and the receiving of the Gift of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by Speaking in other Tongues."

The RCC changed much doctrine! When the reformers left the RCC, they unwittingly took RCC doctrine with them. Today, honest men of God. and Jesuit infiltrators demand obedience to the RCC's error in doctrine. Protestants today label God honoring Christians who baptize as the original church did, in Jesus name, as heretics!

The "Mother of Harlots" carries that name for a reason! To claim the privileges of the bride without benefit of having the husbands name ( taken in baptism) makes one a harlot! A simple reading of the scripture without having someone explain the truth out of it for you reveals a simple truth! The entire New Testament Church was baptized by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord, for the remission of sins! See the Power Point Presentation on "Baptism-Water and Spirit" for further documentation of Historical FACT! The time is coming very shortly where we will be deemed Catholic by doctrine or rebels by our resistanse to RCC doctrine. Many Protestant leaders have been duped by Jesuit infiltrators in to believing RCC doctrines, and many protestant leaders I fear, are in fact RCC priests who only exist to dupe ignorant Christians into error!

Spend some time familiarizing yourself with "Vatican Assassins" available for your reading at the links to the left.

Above all else, spend time in the Word of God- the King James Version of the Holy Bible! Everything tainted by Wescott and Hort should be ignored...avoided! Many of the newer versions are stained by Wescott and Hort- avowed "channelers" of spirits! Possessed by demons! Scoff at those dedicated to KJV at your own peril. The enemy is very good at what he does! He has duped many brighter and more educated than you! Higher education these days often means more diligently indoctrinated in error.

Alright, I'm starting to sound like a fruitcake even to myself! But...I really believe all that I have just posted, and fear that most protestants are too ignorant of TRUTH to recognize error when presented to them! "Study to show theyself a workman unto God..."

U.S. School District to Begin Microchipping Students

Please read this article.This is what Veri-Chip said about it's "Digital Angel" chip being used by every one to monitor peoples movements:

 About the size of a grain of rice, the microchip inserts just under the skin and contains only a unique, 16-digit identifier. The chip itself does not contain any other data other than this unique electronic ID, nor does it contain any Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking capabilities. And unlike conventional forms of identification, the VeriChip™ cannot be lost, stolen, misplaced, or counterfeited. It is safe, secure, reversible, and always with you.

They will resort to any lie to achieve their goal. Since people are becoming used to the idea that there are benefits to this technology, the Liars feel they no longer need to shield you from (all) the truth, only the really inconvenient ones.

U.S. School District to Begin Microchipping Students

High-Tech Combat Equipment Expedited for Use in Iraq - washingtonpost.com

Read this and ask yourself, Does it appear likely whoever is elected really will have any control over what our military involvement will be in the future? The power behind the throne has already determined how long...how much...and anticipated outcomes without any REAL oversight.
The masters in the CFR still parade the puppets around, and Americans by and large believe the puppets matter. We haven't had a president for over 50 years who wasn't a member of this private club. Candidates on both tickets are approved by the masters before being allowed to run. Meaning...it doesn't matter if you vote Republican or Demacrat, you elect David Rockefeller. It amazes me how many people I work with don't believe anything BUT the smoke and mirrors. It's as though people don't really want to know the truth. They want smooth sailing and think that keeping their head in the sand will make the storm go away. Please read the text of "None Dare Call it Conspiracy" by Gary Alan, accessible at the links to the left.
High-Tech Combat Equipment Expedited for Use in Iraq - washingtonpost.com

George W Bush meets Pope amid claims he might convert to Catholicism

OK, I may as well say it. I knew it all along. Tony Blair, Jeb Bush, now GW! Georgie Boy is coming out of his Catholic closet. How long until all those concentration camps are filled with protestants? Rex 84 is a Roman Catholic dream coming true. Anybody out there paying attention? Stay close to Jesus, cause it's gonna get ugly real soon. Click on the link.

Check out this link I posted April 23, 2008. At the time of it's posting I commented that I hadn't had much experience with that site, but it rang true with other stuff I had already verified. Seems the post has been verified at this link as well. Kinda gives the original site some weight. Cut and paste this into your browser for the original list. http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1094.htm

From the Catholic News Agency

Vatican
Pope tells young people to trust in Mary




Pope Benedict XVIGenoa, May 18, 2008 / 12:29 pm (CNA).- At a meeting with young people in the northern Italian city of Savona, Pope Benedict XVI recited the Angelus prayer with the young people and invited them to trust in Mary. He recalled the words the Virgin Mary spoke to shepherd Benedict Pareto in the year 1400 urging him to build a shrine on Mount Figogna, the place where she appeared.

Benedict Pareto, according to tradition, was worried because he did not know how to respond to Mary’s invitation to build a church in a place so remote from the city. The Pope repeated the Virgin Mary’s words: “trust in me! With me in your midst you will not fail. With my help everything will be easy. Only keep your will firm. Trust in me!”

“This, Mary repeats to us today,” Pope Benedict said. “An ancient prayer, very dear in popular tradition, makes us turn in confidence to You with these confident words, that today we make our own: ‘Remember, O Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, sought your help or implored your intercession was left abandoned.’

“It is with this certainty that we invoke the motherly care of Our Lady of the Guard on your diocesan community, its pastors, consecrated persons, the lay faithful: young people, families, the elderly. To Mary we entrust the entire city, with its diverse population, its cultural, social and economic problems and challenges of our times, and commitment of those who cooperate for the common good.”

Turning to the unique heritage of the region the Pope said, "Together with you, I thank God for the strong and tenacious faith of past generations that, during the centuries have written memorable pages of holiness and human civilization. Liguria and Genoa in particular, has always been a land open to the Mediterranean and the whole world: how many missionaries departed from this port for the Americas and other distant lands!"

My Dear Christian friends,
Some of you think I am "over the top" in my views about Roman Catholicism. Any person agreeing with these comments this pope is making is lost and destined for an eterity in hell. Mariology is a central theme in the RCC and nobody holding to this doctrine can be saved. Pope John Paul II, darling of the Protesant church, was a major Mariologist. John Paul II can never be in heaven. Mother Theresa will not be in heaven. I don't say these thing out or hate, but out of love for the truth. Stop accomadating their errors if you want them saved. Tell them the truth. Simple belief in the Christmas story and the Easter story is NOT a salvation event! Adhering to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church cannot save you. You shall know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall make you free. Do you love a Catholic? Try to get them to read Alexander Hislop's "The Two Babylons" and Charles Chiniquy's "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome" Sincere folks in the Roman Catholic Church who claim to love Jesus, love the Jesus of the Catholic church. The Jesus of the Catholic church is Tammuz disguised as the Lord, just as the Mary of the Catholic church is Semiramis in disguise. The Bishops and Cardinals and Pope all know the bible is the enemy of the Roman Catholic church. The bible is the only yardstick for truth, and is in direct opposition to the tenets of the Roman church.

Sincerely wrong is still wrong. The Greeks who worshipped their false god's were sincere. The Roman god's were worshipped in sincerity. Witches and pagans of all stripes are sincere. The TRUTH shall make you free. Using Christian terminology for pagan worship doesn't make it Christian. It makes it even more devilish. The Roman Catholic church has never been a Christian church. Do the research and love the truth. The TRUTH shall make you free.

OneWorld-Two Kingdoms

The Extraterrestrial is my Brother?

Fortunately, I'm NOT a Roman Catholic.

May 13, 2008

Vatican astronomer suggests aliens do not need salvation
by Francis X. Rocca
Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Intelligent life may exist on other planets and has no need of redemption through Jesus Christ, the Vatican's top astronomer said.

The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, was quoted in the Wednesday (May 14) edition of the official Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.

The interview appeared under the headline: "The extraterrestrial is my brother."

"Just as a multiplicity of creatures exists on the Earth, so there could be other creatures, even intelligent ones, created by God," the Argentine Jesuit said. "This does not conflict with our faith, because we cannot set limits on the creative liberty of God."

According to Funes, such creatures may never have fallen into sin, and so have no need of salvation through Christianity.

"It is not a given that they have need of redemption," he said. "They may have remained in full friendship with their Creator."

Asked about the possibility of redemption for sinful extraterrestrials, Funes said he was "sure that even they, in some way, would have the possibility of enjoying the mercy of God."

Elsewhere in the interview, Funes argued that the "big bang" theory of the universe's origins does not conflict with the biblical account of creation.

Funes also said that the Catholic Church had "recognized its errors" in its treatment of the 17th-century astronomer Galileo Galilei, who was convicted by the Inquisition for teaching that the earth revolves around the sun.

Tabernacle in the Wilderness

Thanks to TempleBuilders website from whom I cabbaged much of their artwork without permission. I pray their indulgence and highly recommend their excellent site.

BAPTISM-Water and Spirit

The Roman Road- in perspective

The Truth About Speaking in Tongues

Biblical and Historical Proof
by Eddie Jones

The Pentecostal phenomenon of "speaking in tongues" has created widespread controversy among modern Christendom today. Without the knowledge of the truth, which only comes to an honest heart by divine revelation, many have misunderstood the purpose of tongues. Do not be confused by theories and ideas of men; learn the truth about this important subject. The Bible teaches three principal ways in which tongues are manifested: as the initial evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism, as one of the nine gifts of the Spirit in the church, and in a believer’s personal devotion to God.

Initial Evidence of the Holy Spirit Baptism
Isaiah prophesied, "With stammering lips and ANOTHER TONGUE will he speak to this people." Is. 28:11. In the great commission, Jesus said, "And these signs shall follow them that believe...they shall speak with NEW TONGUES." Mark 16:17.
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the SOUND thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit." John 3:8. As the sound of wind blowing is the evidence of its presence, so is the sound of speaking in tongues evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism.

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a SOUND from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:14. The initial evidence of the Holy Ghost, upon the 120 disciples, was witnessed by devout Jews, out of every nation. They said one to another, "Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?" Acts 2:6-8. Then Peter preached, "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel (See Joel 2:28); And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh...Having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he (Jesus) hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear." Acts 2:1&33. Cornelius and his household spoke in tongues when they were baptized with the Holy Ghost. “They of the circumcision which believe were astonished.. .because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. FOR THEY HEARD THEM SPEAK WITH TONGUES..." Acts 10:4548. Peter confirmed,"...The Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning." Acts 11:15. The believers at Ephesus spoke in tongues when they received the Holy Ghost baptism. "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake in tongues, and prophesied." Acts 19:1-6. When the Samaritans received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the apostles’ hands, there was a miraculous evidence of God’s power which exceeded the miracles and signs already experienced. This prompted Simon the sorcerer to offer money to buy this power: that on whomsoever he laid hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. According to the Biblical signs that follow believers, and the experiences received at Pentecost, Cesarea and Ephesus, there should be no doubt that the Samaritans received the Holy Ghost with the same initial evidence of speaking in tongues. Acts 8:5-25.

The apostle Paul was filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues. Acts 9:17, I Cor. 14:18.

History also proves that speaking in tongues was the evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism in the early church, and has not ceased to be a Biblical experience among believers today.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 1972 Edition, Vol. 22, p. 75 -Tongue-speaking manifested itself early in the Christian experience. At Pentecost (Acts 2) the gift appeared as a sign of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which marked the character of the earliest Christians...During later church history, glossolalia (speaking in tongues) occurred among the mendicant friars of the 13th century, little prophets of Cevennes, the Jansenists, and the Irvingites. Tongues were found also among the early Quakers, as well as among the converts of John Wesley and George Whitefield... In modern times glossolalia has been found chiefly among Holiness and Pentecostal groups.

The Saturday Evening Post, May 16, 1964, p.32 - Praying in tongues has recurred at intervals throughout the Christian era, although it did not affect large masses until early in this century. Its advocates were quickly expelled from the established churches, whereupon they established the Pentecostal churches. For 50 years it remained the almost exclusive possession of the Pentecostal churches.

Newsweek, June 25, 1973, p.80 - The Pentecostal phenomenon has spread with surprising speed through all of the world’s major Christian churches. Why did God choose tongues for the initial evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism? Note the following reasons:
1. Isaiah asked, "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counselor hath taught Him?" Is. 40:13. God is sovereign to choose as He will without being accountable to anyone!
2. Such a marvelous experience as the baptism of the Holy Ghost demands a marvelous evidence. So God chase to speak through the believer in a language foreign to him as the outward evidence of the marvelous infilling of the Holy Ghost!
3. The tongue is the most unruly member of the body and full of deadly poison, which no man can tame. It is a world of iniquity and is set on fire of hell. Therefore, the tongue is capable of defiling the entire body. James 3:6. Before man can be fully sanctified, the tongue, which defileth, must be brought under control. Who can tame the tongue? James compares the tongue to the bit in a horse’s mouth which gives the driver complete control. James 3:3. So whoever controls the tongue controls the person. How beautiful is this glorious truth! God chose tongues, as evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism, to symbolize His complete control of a believer. And this is important for the sanctification of the individual’s body.
4. Although other signs were manifested at Pentecost, God chose tongues for the uniform sign of the Holy Spirit baptism. (Compare Acts 2:2-4, 10:46, 19:6.) Jesus said that this SIGN shall follow every believer of the gospel. Mark 16:16,17. The Jews were convinced that the Gentiles at Cesarea had received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, FOR THEY HEARD THEM SPEAK WITH TONGUES. Acts 10:45-47.

Gift of Tongues in the Church
"For by ONE SPIRIT are we ALL BAPTIZED into one body." I Cor. 12:13. “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." I Cor. 12:4. The gifts of the Spirit are as follows: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, the gifts of healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, divers kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. But by one and the selfsame Spirit, God divides these gifts severally to every man as He will. I Cor. 12:8-11.

Since the gift of tongues is a manifestation of the Spirit (I Cor. 12:7,11), it cannot operate in a person without the Holy Ghost being resident within him. Therefore this gift is only given to believers who have been baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit evidenced by Tongue-speaking. The gift of tongues is different from the tongues as the initial evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism. Compare the following:

1. These tongues differ in purpose. The gift of tongues, along with the gift of interpretation of tongues, has been given to some in the church to convey a message from God to the congregation as the need requires. I Cor. 12:7, 27,28. But the tongues, as evidence of receiving the Holy Ghost, is the believer’s personal experience with God, and is not designed to convey a message to the church.

2. Also these tongues differ in operation. The gift of tongues in the church is limited to two or three messages, and that by course; and one must interpret. I Cor. 14:27. But the tongues as evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism is an unlimited manifestation and requires no interpretation. Paul said, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, EXCEPT he interpret, that the church may receive edifying." I Cor. 14:4,5. Certainly the apostle did not try to discredit or do away with the importance of tongues. Because, in comparison, he illustrated that the less honorable members of the body are necessary, and receive more abundant honor. I Cor. 12:22,23. Each gift of the Spirit has its proper time and place in the church, and when tongues are interpreted they become as important as prophecy! So Paul emphasized, "...Let all things be done unto edifying." I Cor. 14:26. To edify the church, the gift of tongues must be coupled with the gift of interpretation of tongues. To avoid confusion, Paul gave instructions to follow for the use of tongues and interpretation of tongues in the church. (See I Cor. 14:27.) He said, "If there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church: and let him speak to himself, and to God." I Cor. 14:28. Also he said, "IN THE CHURCH I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue." I Cor. 14:19. It is better for the edification of the church to speak five words of understanding than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue without a divinely inspired interpretation. However, lest anyone misunderstand the importance of tongues, Paul concluded, "Wherefore brethern, covet to prophesy, and FORBID NOT TO SPEAK WITH TONGUES." I Cor. 14:39.

"Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not..." I Cor. 14:22. This Scripture deals with God’s speaking to man. (See I Cor. 14:21.) Of course, the believer should know when the Lord speaks, whether by tongues or not. But as a proof to the unbeliever, or anyone who doubts the Word of God, tongues are manifested for a miraculous sign of His presence.

Paul asked the question, "Do all speak with tongues" I Cor. 12:30. The context of this Scripture requires a negative answer, because Paul is discussing tongues as a gift of the Spirit only, and not as the evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism. (See I Cor. 12:28.) The gift of tongues is in addition to the tongues experienced with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. (By the same rule, the gift of faith is in addition to the measure of faith given a person to be saved. Compare Ram. 12:3, I Cor. 12:9.) So everyone may not receive the gift of tongues. But in every case, where the initial evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism is recorded, "ALL" spoke in tongues. (For examples see Acts 2:4, 10:44, 19:7.)

Personal Devotion to God
Tongues are also manifested in a believer’s personal life of prayer and worship. They serve as a means of his secret communication with God in the Spirit. These tongues are not meant to be understood by men; therefore, they need no interpretation. "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries." I Cor. 14:2. "The Spirit itself maketh intercession far us with groanings which cannot be uttered." Rom. 8:26. Paul said, "If I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." I Cor.14:14,15.

These devotional tongues are also for the personal edification of the believer. They are for self-encouragement and uplifting of his spirit. Paul said, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself..." I Cor. 14:4. So the apostle gladly stated, "I thank my Gad, I speak with tongues more than ye all." I Cor. 14:18.

How long will tongues continue to be manifested? "Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." I Cor. 13:8-10. The phrase, "when that which is perfect is come," is translated from the Greek phrase "to teleion". The word "teleion" is a singular neuter term which refers to Jesus Christ. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon, p.618, defines the phrase “to teleion” as used in I Cor. 13:10: "The perfect state of all things, to be ushered in by the return of Christ from heaven." Paul said, "Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then (when that which is perfect is come) shall I know even as also I am known." I Cor. 13:12. When the church, having reached her state of perfection, stands face to face in the presence of God, there will be no need for prophecies, tongues and knowledge. But until that which is perfect (Jesus Christ) is come, that which is in part will remain. And as long as there remains prophecies and knowledge, tongues shall not cease. So Paul instructed the church to COME BEHIND IN NO GIFT, WAITING FOR THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. I Cor. 1:7.

Believe the Truth! The Pentecostal phenomenon is for you today! If you desire the greatest experience God has offered to mankind, I urge you to repent, and be baptized with water in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues! Acts 2:4,38,39

Bible Studies that will change your whole eternity ....

Q & A about the Oneness of God

ONENESS OF GOD
by David A. Huston
“Hear, O Israel:
The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your strength.”
– Deuteronomy 6:4-5 –

The Bible teaches plainly and without ambiguity that God is one! It never says that God is two or three or any other number. It simply says that God is one! Yet many who believe in God have been taught that God is not one. They have learned that God is two, which is called Arianism or binitarianism. Or that God is three, which is called trinitarianism.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia states, “When one does speak of an unqualified Trinitarianism, one has moved from the period of Christian origins to, say, the last quadrant of the 4th century. It was only then that what might be called the definitive Trinitarian dogma ‘one God in three Persons’ became thoroughly assimilated into Christian life and thought. The formula itself does not reflect the immediate consciousness of the period of origins; it was the product of three centuries of doctrinal development” (Vol.XIV, p.295).

If the doctrine of the trinity was not in “the immediate consciousness” of either Jesus or His apostles, then what doctrine did they teach? The answer is, they taught the same doctrine Moses taught: that God is one! In Mark 12:29, Jesus said, “The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Yet in 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 Paul wrote, “For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”

If God is one, why then does Paul make a distinction between God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ? This sounds like at least two.

What we’re talking about here is how to describe God and how to understand Jesus. But because of verses such as this one, many people have had a difficult time understanding the Bible teachings about God and Jesus. So, in an attempt to be better able to describe God, let’s look at some of the questions people have asked concerning the doctrine of the Oneness of God.

In the Old Testament:
1. Isn’t the Hebrew word for “God” plural?
THE HEBREW WORD translated “God” throughout the Old Testament is the word Elohim. This word appears 2570 times. Some have said that because this word is a plural noun, it indicates that God is a plural being, that He is one God, yet simultaneously three distinct divine persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit...the trinity. But in Hebrew, plurality not only indicates more than one, it also indicates bigness or greatness or vastness. For example, the word mayim meaning “water” is also a plural form. So is shamayim meaning “heaven.” Heaven is vast!

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created....” The verb “created” is in the singular form, proving that Elohim is intended to be understood as a singular noun. When Elohim was first translated into Greek by Jewish scholars, they selected the word Theos, which is a singular noun. They never used Theoi, the plural form, which is translated “gods.” To say that the fact that Elohim is plural proves that God is a plural being is to read into this word a meaning that simply isn’t there.

Galatians 3:20 says, “Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one [Theos eis esti]. James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God [Theos eis esti]. You do well. Even the demons believe; and tremble!” Even the demons know that God is ONE!

2. What about, “Let us make man in our image”?
GENESIS 1:26 SAYS, “Then God (Elohim) said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness....’” What did God mean when He said “Us”? Some say this was the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit speaking together as one God. But Job 38:4-7 tells us, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements?... Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

In the Old Testament, the term “sons of God” always refers to angels. Throughout the life of Jesus we see angels in action—at His birth, in the wilderness, at Gethsemene, at the resurrection and the ascension. Throughout the book of Acts we also see angels involved with the people of God. Hebrews 1:14 says that angels are sent to minister to the “heirs of salvation.” Clearly angels are involved in the ongoing process of “making man” into the image of God. Language similar to Genesis 1:26 is found in Genesis 11:7 and Isaiah 6:8 where God is clearly speaking to angels.

Genesis 1:27 says, “So God [Elohim] created man in His own image....” Through the new birth each of us can be made into the image of God; yet none of us have plural identities or personalities. Each of us is only ONE PERSON! Genesis 3:22 says, “Then the LORD God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.’” 2 Samuel 14:17 says, “As the angel of God, so is my lord the king in discerning good and evil.” Is it really so unreasonable to believe that the Creator spoke with angels?

3. Isn’t Jesus the wisdom of Proverbs 8?
PROVERBS 8:1 SAYS, “Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice?” Proverbs 8:22-23 says, “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth.” And Proverbs 8:29-31 says, “When He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters would not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men.”

The idea that the wisdom being spoken of in this passage is a second divine person was first suggested by a Jewish philosopher named Philo who lived at the time of Christ. Philo tried to explain the Old Testament using the ideas of the Greek philosopher Plato. His ideas about the wisdom of Proverbs were later picked up by so-called Christian philosophers, who identified this wisdom with the Son of God. But notice what the Bible says, “Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice?” Throughout the book of Proverbs, wisdom is personified as a woman. The wisdom of God is the wise woman; the wisdom of the world is the deceitful, lustful woman. To say that the wise woman of Proverbs is the pre-existent second person of the trinity is to read into the Scripture what is not there.

In the New Testament:
1. What about the baptism of Jesus?
MATTHEW 3:16-17 SAYS, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” Here we see the man, Jesus, standing in the baptismal waters of the Jordan river, the Spirit of God descending “like a dove,” and a voice speaking from heaven. Is this a portrait of the trinity, three distinct divine persons in one God? If it is not, then how are we to understand this scene?

To understand it correctly, we must remember that Jesus did not cease to be the omnipresent God when He took on flesh. The entire time He walked the earth as man, He simultaneously ruled the universe as God. Even though the fulness of who God is dwelled bodily in Jesus Christ, the fulness of His Spirit was not confined to His body. God was in Christ; yet God was also everywhere else! Understanding this, it is easy to see that the omnipresent Spirit of God spoke from heaven and sent a manifestation of Himself in the form of a dove, even as His human body stood in the muddy waters of the Jordan river.

What then was the purpose of these manifestations? In John 1:31, John the Baptist said that he came baptizing to “reveal the Messiah to Israel.” In other words, the purpose of the baptism of Jesus was to serve as the starting point of His ministry and the public declaration of His Messiahship to the people of Israel. John 1:32-34 states that the dove was to be a sign to John. Since Isaiah 40:3 said that John would be the forerunner of Jehovah (the LORD), John needed to know that Jesus was indeed Jehovah in the flesh.

John knew it would be the one the Spirit descended upon. But since the Spirit cannot be seen, God sent this special manifestation of the Spirit in the likeness of a dove. Furthermore, the descent of the Spirit was a type of anointing. Jesus had come to fulfill the roles of prophet, priest, and king, so He had to be anointed into those roles. But since Jesus was a sinless man and was also God Himself, to be anointed by a sinful man with symbolic oil was not enough. Instead, Jesus was anointed directly by the Spirit of God.

The voice from heaven was for the benefit of the people. A similar incident took place in John 12:28-30. This manifestation of a voice served as a divine introduction of Jesus to Israel as the Son of God and their Messiah. Since there were many people present at the baptismal site, the Spirit singled out the man Jesus and identified Him by the voice. This was certainly far more dramatic and effective than if Jesus had, as a man, simply announced Himself as the Messiah of Israel.

2. If Jesus was God, why did He have to pray?
HEBREWS 5:7 SAYS that Jesus prayed “in the days of His flesh.” Psalms 65:2 says, “O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come.” When Jesus prayed, it was not one divine person praying to another; it was flesh praying to Spirit, humanity praying to Deity, man praying to God, the Son praying to the Father.

Why would one diving person need to pray to another? If that were what was happening, then we would have to say that the second divine person was inferior to the first divine person. That would mean that they are not coequal at all. But when we understand that God was manifest in the flesh, then we realize that while He was in the days of His flesh, Jesus had to do what all flesh must do: pray to the One who hears prayer. Furthermore, He was giving us an example of what it means to live in submission to God.

3. Didn’t God forsake Jesus on the cross?
MATTHEW 27:46 SAYS, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” What was happening here? Was the first person of the trinity forsaking the second person in the midst of His greatest trial? No! This passage cannot be describing an actual separation between the Father and the Son, because the Son IS the Father manifested in the flesh. Jesus Himself said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 5:19 says that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.” It never states that God left Christ on the cross.

What then does the cry of Jesus mean? It does not mean that the Spirit of God departed from Christ’s body, only that it provided no help to the body. In other words, the fact that Jesus was God in the flesh does not mean that His flesh didn’t feel the pain of the nails just as our flesh would. There was no lessening of the physical pain by the Spirit.

Hebrews 9:14 says that Christ offered Himself to God “through the eternal Spirit.” If the Spirit had left Him on the cross, He would have ceased to be the Christ—the Anointed One. The Spirit was with Christ throughout the ordeal. Jesus was not abandoned by God, but He did experience how it feels to be God-forsaken. Remember, He was bearing our sins in His own body on the tree. He felt what it feels like to be a sinner. He felt the fiery pain of the nails. He felt the humiliating sting of the insults. He felt the awful horror of divine judgment.

In addition, Jesus was pointing the people to Psalms 22, a riveting first-person account of the agony of the crucifixion, which begins,
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?” It goes on to say, “I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me” (Psalms 22:1, 14-17).

When did the Spirit actually depart from the body? Matthew 27:50 says, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.” The Spirit departed when Jesus died.

4. What about the stoning of Stephen?
WHEN THEY HEARD these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (Acts 7:54-56). What did Stephen actually see? The Bible says he saw “the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” How did he describe what he saw? He said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” The “glory of God” seems to be equal to “the heavens opened.”

We see something similar when a short time later Paul saw Jesus. The Bible says, “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus....’” (Acts 9:3-5). Later on Paul said, “I could not see for the glory of that light” (Acts 22:11). So the light from heaven is the glory of God. Stephen saw heaven opened and a glorious light shining forth. And He saw Jesus, the Son of Man, (ben Adam) “standing at the right hand of God.”

Did Stephen see two distinct divine persons? Did he see both the man Jesus and a large right hand belonging to God? Does God actually have a literal right hand? Of course not! Didn’t Jesus say, “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24)? Does a Spirit have a hand?

What does the Bible means when it speaks of “the right hand of God”? Let’s allow the Bible to explain itself: Exodus15:6-7 says, “Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces. And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You....” Psalms 20:6 says, “Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.” Psalms 89:13 says, “You have a mighty arm; strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.” The “right hand of God” is an Hebraic figure of speech referring to the power and strength of the Almighty God.

In Matthew 26:64, Jesus said, “Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Mark 16:19-20 says, “So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.”

After His resurrection and ascension into heaven, the man Jesus took His seat upon the throne of heaven. No longer is He acting in His role as suffering Savior; now He is acting in His role as the Lord God Almighty. Hebrews 1:3 says, “When He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.....” Hebrews 8:1 says, “We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.....” And Hebrews 10:12 says, “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God....” 1 Peter 3:22 says of Jesus, “Who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.”

What Stephen actually saw was the man Jesus who had ascended into heaven standing in the place of divine power and glory. He did not see two distinct divine persons. Acts 7:57-59 says, “Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him... And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’”

What name did Stephen use when He called upon God? He said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” What was the answer Paul received when He asked, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus....”

5. What about the Advocate in 1 John 2:1?
1 JOHN 2:1-2 SAYS, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” What do we see in this passage? Do we see one divine person continuously pleading with another divine person to grant us forgiveness when we sin? Didn’t Jesus say, “The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” (Matthew 9:6)? Why would He need to be continuously pleading with the Father to forgive us?

1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus....” What we actually see in 1 John 2 is the role of the man, Christ Jesus, who has once for all time become “the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” The word “propitiation” means “the place where mercy can be found.” When we have sinned, Jesus is the place where we can find mercy. Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Our High Priest, our Mediator, is the One who sits on the throne of grace. When we come to Jesus for forgiveness, we have come to the Father.

Hebrews 7:25-27 says, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.”

During the days of the tabernacle, the high priest had to continually intercede for the people by offering up sacrifices for their sins. But Jesus has interceded “once for all when He offered up Himself.” Hebrews 10:11-14 says, “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”

The advocacy of Jesus Christ took place in the days of His flesh when He hung on Calvary’s cross and shed His own blood for the forgiveness of our sins. There are not two divine persons in this passage, but one God who has come in the flesh to save us from our sins.

6. What about Matthew 28:19?
MATTHEW 28:18-20 READS, “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” What name did Jesus have in view? Did He tell His apostles that He possessed all authority in heaven and on earth, therefore, go baptize in my name plus two others?

As a companion passage, Mark 16:15-17 says, “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues....’”

Moreover, Luke 24:46-47 says, “Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’”

How did the apostles understand Jesus’ instruction about baptism? Speaking to a crowd immediately after the ascension of Christ, Peter told the people, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Jesus was not giving His apostles a baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19; He was giving them a revelation. They knew that the name of the Son was Jesus. But Jesus wanted them to understand that Jesus was also the name of the Father, for Jesus said in John 5:43, “I have come in My Father’s name....” In John 17:6 He said to the Father, “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me....” What is the only name Jesus manifested? The name Jesus!

The name of the Father is Jesus. Why? Because the Father and the Son are not two distinct divine persons. The Son IS the Father manifested in the flesh. In John 14:9, Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father....” So how could the Father have a name different from the Son?

But what about the name of the Holy Spirit? John 14:26 says, “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things....” The Holy Spirit is not a third divine person distinct from the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the Father’s Spirit. He is the Spirit of God. John 4:24 says that “God is Spirit.” 1 Peter 1:16 says that God is holy. Therefore, God is the Holy Spirit. In Philippians 1:19 He is called “the Spirit of Jesus Christ....” The spirit of a man doesn’t have a name different from the man. Therefore, the name of the Holy Spirit is Jesus. So when Jesus told His apostles to baptize in the name (singular) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, He was telling them to baptize in the name of Jesus!

Consider the following references concerning the name that is to be used in water baptism:
Hastings Dictionary of the Bible
“It must be acknowledged that the threefold name of Matthew 28:19 does not appear to have been used by the primitive church, but rather in the name of Jesus” (p.83).

Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (1951)
“The formula used was ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ’ or some synonymous phrase; there is no evidence for the use of the trine [threefold] name...The earliest form, represented in Acts, was simple immersion...in water, the use of the name of the Lord, and the laying on of hands” (Vol.2, p.384).

The Illustrated Bible Dictionary
“Unlike John’s baptism, Christian baptism was from the first administered ‘in the name of Jesus.’ It is clear that, from the first, baptism in the name of Jesus functioned as the rite of entry or initiation into the new sect of those who called upon the name of Jesus” (p.173).

Canney's Encyclopedia of Religions (1970)
“Persons were baptized first ‘in the name of Jesus Christ’...or ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus.’...Afterwards, with the development of the doctrine of the Trinity, they were baptized ‘in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost’” (p.53).

Encyclopedia Biblica (1899)
“It is natural to conclude that baptism was administered in the earliest times ‘in the name of Jesus Christ,’ or in that ‘of the Lord Jesus.’ This view is confirmed by the fact that the earliest forms of baptismal confession appear to have been single—not triple, as was the later creed” (Vol.1, p.473).

The New Catholic Encyclopedia
“There is the difficulty that although Matthew 28:19 speaks of the Trinitarian formula, which is now used, the Acts of the Apostles and Paul speak only of Baptism “in the name of Jesus.” An explicit reference to the Trinitarian formula of Baptism cannot be found in the first centuries” (Vol. 2, p.59).

The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (1957)
“The New Testament knows only baptism in the name of Jesus...” (Vol.1, p.435).

Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed. (1910)
“The trinitarian formula and trine immersion were not uniformly used from the beginning...Bapti[sm] into the name of the Lord [was] the normal formula of the New Testament” (Vol.2, p.365).
Hastings Encyclopedia of Religion
[In Christian baptism there was an] “identification between the baptized and Him in whose name baptism took place. The one became thereby the personal property of the other, as part of the people of peculiar possession” (Vol.2, p.377).

7. What about the salutations?
PAUL INTRODUCED HIS LETTER to the Romans with these words, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:7). By referring to the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, the writers of the New Testament were not teaching that God is more than one divine being. What they were doing was emphasizing the two primary roles of God in salvation and the importance of accepting Him in both roles. We must not only believe in God as Creator and Father, but we must also believe in Him as the one who was manifested in the flesh as Jesus the Messiah.

The salutations not only emphasize belief in God, which the Jews and many pagans accepted, but also in God as revealed in His Son, Jesus Christ. In John 14:1, Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me [the manifestation of God in the flesh].” In John 14:6 He said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me [the manifestation of the Father].”

1 John 2:22-23 says, “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” To deny that Jesus is the Christ is to deny both the Father and the Son. We must believe in one God, who is Creator, Father, and Eternal Spirit...AND, we must believe that He has come in the flesh as the Son, the one who was born of a woman, the man Jesus Christ.
What does the Bible mean when it speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?

THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT are not three divine persons in one God; they are three descriptive titles of God that show us how God has brought us salvation. First of all, we know that “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24). And, as Jesus said, “A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). As Spirit, God is said to be invisible. John 1:18 says that “No one has seen God at any time.” As Spirit, God is said to be eternal. Hebrews 9:14 speaks of “the eternal Spirit.” So as Spirit, God has no flesh and bones, cannot be seen, and cannot die.

But after man sinned, it became necessary for a proper blood sacrifice to be offered as an atonement for sin. This is called salvation. Ezekiel 22:30 says, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” Isaiah 63:5 says, “I looked, but there was no one to help, and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me....”
There was no man who could qualify as a sufficient sacrifice, for all had sinned and come short of the glory of God. So God’s own arm brought salvation. In other words, God did it Himself. He became the sacrifice. But to do this He had to become a man, since as Spirit He had no blood and He could not die. This is the essence of God’s plan for man from eternity.

John 1:1says, “In the beginning was the Word [logos], and the Word [logos] was with God, and the Word [logos] was God.” The word logos can have two meanings which are different yet closely related. It can mean a thought or idea, but it can also mean the expression of a thought or idea. The Greeks used the term “interior logos,” which means an idea, a concept, or a mental image. They also used the term “exterior logos,” which refers to the expression or actualization of an idea or concept. In the Bible, the Logos was God’s plan. In the beginning was the Plan, and the Plan was with God [in His mind], and the Plan was God [that He would make Himself known].

What did God plan? 1 Peter 1:18-20 describes His plan this way: “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold,... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world [Interior Logos], but was manifest [Exterior Logos] in these last times for you.”

God foreordained [planned in advance] the shedding of the blood of Christ before the beginning. In other words, He planned to come into His creation as a man and shed His own blood. This is how Paul can say in Acts 20:28 that God purchased the Church with “His own blood.”

Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” At the exact time He planned, the Son came forth. Ephesians 1:3-4 tells us that God chose us in Christ before the beginning. Romans 8:29-30 tells us that God foresaw the whole company of believers in Him. 2 Timothy 1:8-10 reveals that God gave us grace before the beginning. Titus 1:1-3 says that God promised us eternal life before the beginning. And John 17:5, 24 tells us that God loved His plan before the beginning.

Nothing is more important to God than the accomplishment of His plan. So in the beginning God had a plan. And that plan was “with God.” It was in His heart. It was in His mind. He was thinking about it, considering it, envisaging it. And that plan “was God”—it was that God would reveal Himself to man, that the invisible God would make Himself known, that the Interior Logos would be transformed into Exterior Logos.

The interior is the mystery concealed. The exterior is the mystery revealed. Therefore John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” According to 1 Timothy 3:16, the mystery is that God [the invisible Father of Christ] was manifested [rendered visible] in the flesh [not just in a body, but in a human being]. 2 Corinthians 5:19 says, “God [the invisible Father of Christ] was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.” God’s own image of Himself became flesh and bone and dwelt among us. We call this the Incarnation. This is Jesus of Nazareth, the uniquely begotten Son of God.

This is why the Son is called “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). He is that aspect of God which can be seen. So we can see that to bring us salvation, there had to be a Son. The term “Son” always relates to the Incarnation. It always refers to the One who was born. Speaking as the Son, Jesus never said, “I am the Father.” Why? It’s because He was more than the Father. He was the Father in the Son. He was God manifested in the flesh.

Who was the Father of the Son of God? Luke 1:35 says, “And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One [holy thing] who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’” Matthew 1:20 says, “That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” When the Spirit of God brought forth the conception of the Son in Mary, God became the literal Father of Christ.
The Three Terms, Not Three Persons

FATHER IS A TERM of relationship. When we speak of God as the Father, we are speaking of Him in terms of our relationship to Him as His children. When we pray, we may speak to God as our Father, but we would not usually say, “The Father is really moving in this service.” Or, “He was filled with the Father.” Instead we would say, “The Spirit is moving.” Or, “He was filled with the Spirit.”

The Spirit is not a third divine person, distinct from the Father and the Son. The Spirit is God is action. Think of these terms this way:

The Father is God in relationship.
The Son is God in flesh.
The Holy Spirit is God is spiritual action.

As Father, God is the One who gives anointing. As Son, God is the Anointed One, the Christ. As Spirit, God is the anointing. These are not three distinct divine persons; they are simply three descriptive titles showing us the way God works in our lives to bring salvation.

For salvation to come to man, there had to be a sinless man for the sacrifice. For the Son to be a genuine man, He had to be born of a woman. But for the Son to be a sinless man, He had to be conceived by God. Therefore, to bring salvation God had to become the Father. But once the Son had died and been raised, God had to begin operating in the world as Spirit. Therefore, to bring salvation, the Spirit had to begin moving, just as it did when God brought order to His creation in Genesis 1:2.

As the Spirit, God is able to be all places at the same time. 1 Corinthians 15:45 says, “And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” It is perfectly correct to say that Jesus is the Spirit, Jesus is the Son, or that Jesus is the Father. As Acts 4:12 affirms, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

When a person is filled with the Spirit, who is it that comes to dwell within him? 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?” And Ephesians 4:6 says, “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Are there three divine persons living in us? No. Jesus is in us by His Spirit.

God is not three distinct divine persons. Neither does He have three identities, three personalities, or three centers of consciousness. God is not three at all, GOD IS ONE!

The doctrine of the trinity was developed by philosophers attempting to explain the God of the Bible using the ideas of Greek philosophy. But in Colossians 2:8-9 Paul warns, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily....”
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” – Deuteronomy 6:4 –

© David A. Huston, 2001 Permission is granted by the author to freely copy or reproduce this booklet for evangelistic purposes. All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN. Anyone with additional questions may contact the author at www.GloriousChurch.com.
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God Alone is the Source of Salvation
Faith and Obedience are Man's Response



In an editorial one minister declared, "There is nothing that can be added to bring salvation to a soul. Grace," he wrote, "wrought salvation with no strings attached." Another minister stated. "Grace plus nothing equal salvation." Is this biblical? Have these ministers gone farther than the Scriptures go? Must not the recipient of salvation take some corresponding action in response to grace? If there is nothing that one can do, or if no response is necessary, what about the scriptural passages that call for action? When guilty sinners asked, "Men and brethren what shall we do?" the Apostle Peter replied, "Repent . . ." (Acts 2:37-38). When Saul of Tarsus inquired, "Lord, what wilt thou have me do?" the Lord answered, "Go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" (Acts 9:6). After a devastating earthquake, while springing into the crumbled ruins of the prison in an attempt to take his own life, the Philippian jailer heard the voice of Paul call out, "Do thyself no harm, for we are all here." He was sure his prisoners would be gone. When he discovered them yet present, he turned to Paul and Silas and cried out, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Their answer was, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house" (Acts 16:25-31). In each of these scriptural incidents, action was demanded of the inquirer. The first was, "Repent"; the second, "Go; the third, "Believe." All three called for action of the will. A command was issued in each instance. It was not Grace plus nothing equals salvation. "It was grace plus faith plus obedience equals salvation"! Or "Grace plus obedient faith equals salvation."

Grace is God's Act
Grace is the unmerited, undeserved favor of God bestowed on a person through the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is the source of salvation. Grace means that God initiates salvation. It includes every act on God's part that brought salvation to mankind. God's grace caused Him to manifest Himself in flesh as Jesus Christ, assume limitations, freely give Himself on Calvary and arise on the third day for our justification.

God Alone is the Source of Salvation
Salvation was initiated in heaven as God's plan. Man was not counseled concerning it. In fact, man had nothing to do with its institution other than being the object of it! "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

"God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us. . ." (Ephesians 2:4).
"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich" (II Corinthians 8:9). From these verses the role of grace in salvation is evident---grace initiates salvation.

Faith and Obedience are Man's Response
Faith takes God's grace, mercy and kindness and appropriates it to an individual's own life. "For by grace are ye saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8).Faith is the agency in the heart of a man that receives the message of God's great grace, applies grace to his own condition, and sees a way out of his lost state. In other words, faith appropriates salvation.

Finally, obedience steps upon the scene and becomes the active agent, motivating one to act on what grace has provided and faith appropriated. Actually we can view obedience as included in true biblical faith and not something apart from it. Since many people think of faith as merely mental assent, we must stress that saving faith does involve obedience. At least nineteen passages in the New Testament adjure obedience to salvation.

In short, obedience activates salvation. "And we are witnesses of these things; and so also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him." (Acts 5:32). "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto you." (Romans 6:17). "He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9). The truth about salvation can be illustrated by a checking account. The account in the bank is the source of money and corresponds to grace. The act of cashing the check represents obedience. Let us suppose someone wants to give you a gift of $1,000. He writes a check for that amount and instructs you to cash it. It is yours; you have the check in your hands. But the money is still in the bank and not in your hands until you cash the check. Your act of cashing the check is the required obedience, and this obedient response is needed if you are to enjoy the benefits of the bank account and check. If you do not act, the bank retains the money in the donor's account and you do not get it! So it is with God. The donor is God, the check is faith, and obedience cashes the check.

The doctrine referred to in Romans 6:17 is experienced earlier in that chapter. Romans 5:20-21 depicts the wonderful grace of God that always abounds more than sin and leads to eternal life. Then Romans 6:1-7 describes the means by which grace is applied. Specifically, the Roman Christians died to sin, were baptized into Jesus Christ, thereby being baptized into His death and being buried with Him in baptism, and arose to walk in newness of life. In other words, they obeyed the command to repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and receive the Holy Spirit. This experience identified them with Christ's death, burial and resurrection, thereby bringing to them the abounding grace of God's provision. Their obedience, which was faith in action, was the channel through which they received God's grace.

No, it is not "Grace + 0 = Salvation." Rather, "Grace + Faith + Obedience = Salvation." If a person does not obey, then he does not truly believe, and if he does not believe then he has not received the grace of God. Acts 2:41 depicts the proper attitude that we must have towards the revelation of God's grace: "Then they that gladly received His word were baptized: and the same day were added unto them about three thousand souls." After hearing about the grace of God, the crowd believed by receiving Peter's word and immediately obeyed by being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Likewise Saul immediately obeyed when Ananias told him what to do (Acts 9:17-18;22:16), and the Philippian jailer obeyed after Paul and Silas had explained the way of salvation to him (Acts 16:31-34). Obedience is the criterion of faith. We must respond in obedient faith to receive the grace of God in our lives. We must not be misled into thinking that no response on our part is necessary for us to be saved. We must obey God's word. We must believe and obey the message preached by the apostles and received by the crowd on the Day of Pentecost: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38).

*Taken from the Word Aflame Press Tract - "GRACE + 0 = SALVATION?" - #1567220754
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