Wednesday, 22 March 2017

East Ridge Pres

Romans 3:25 Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood. Propitiation means Christ spilled his blood to placate or satisfy the wrath of God. Most people don’t like this idea. Many churches have cut it right out of their doctrine and thrown it away. Though it is the teaching of the Apostles. “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound doctrine, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,” 2 Timothy 4 Tertullian, said in the second century, there were teachers who said that “a better god has been discovered, one who is neither offended nor angry nor inflicts punishment… he is merely kind.” H. Richard Niebuhr (neeboor) said many churches taught “A God without wrath brought man without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” People love a religion where God does not judge. Where they are treated as good people and offered only wisdom on how to do even better. Everywhere we see this teaching. A theology without blood. A theology without wrath. A theology without a judgment day. A God who is nice and sweet. This is Christianity as therapy. Christianity as paying it forward. Christianity as kindness. Jesus as Life Coach. Jesus as Guru. Many churches are full of such silliness. This is the trivialization of Jesus Christ. Believe in the blood. believe that you are are a sinner and you have done evil your whole life. Even today your good deeds are mixed with evil deeds. Believe that God hates sin. Both in the unbeliever and the believer. Believe that human wrath is usually sinful and selfish and foolish but God’s wrath is holy and righteous and just. Believe your only hope today is the blood of the son of God. Believe in the forgiveness of sins. And rejoice that you know the truth. Taught by Jesus and his Apostles. The true doctrine. Rejoice that you know the true mercy of God.