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Myth:
Christians are polytheistic, that
is they worship many gods
Christians are not
polytheistic. They worship the one true God of the Bible. Scripture
teaches the eternal God is a 'triune God', meaning He is manifested in three person, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit. One God and three persons, each being co-equal, co-eternal,
which is referred to as the Trinity. Those who hate Christians, or
refuse to believe, see this as worshiping three gods. However, they do not
understand because they do not want to. No human can fully understand the Trinity,
but we don't either understand how the sun faithfully revolves around the
earth, but we accept it anyhow.
Truth:
The Bible is the only complete,
inerrant Word of God
Christians believe
that the Bible is the complete inspired Word of God. It is without error, and
is the only source for faith and practice. Christians do not accept any
other source as scripture.
Truth:
Jesus was born of a virgin
This is the
cornerstone of the Christian faith. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary as presented
in Matthew 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was
betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of
the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to
make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he
thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you
Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And
she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will
save His people from their sins." So all this was done that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
"BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD, AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL
CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which is translated, "God with us."
Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded
him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth
her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He did not have an earthly father for
the following reason.
Scripture tells us that all men (and women) have a sin nature. And, sin is
what stands between us and God, who is Holy. Jesus came to be a sacrifice for
our sin, to provide a way of salvation to all who put their trust in Him. In
order for Jesus to be qualified as a sacrifice for our sin, He had to be
perfect, that is, He had to be sinless. That is why He did not have an
earthly father. The 'sin seed' if you will, comes through ones
father. Women have a sin nature as do men, because they also have an
earthly father.
For He made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we
might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
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.
(Hebrews 4:15)
Being without sin, Jesus took on our sins and died on the cross as payment on
our behalf. What greater expression of love is there.
The sinless Savior died for sinful man, so that sinful man can by faith be
saved.
Self-proclaimed religious men do not want you to know love like this. They
want to discount this great truth in order to steal your souls. It's
perhaps time to stop listening to them, and begin listening to your heart.
Truth:
Jesus Christ was God in the flesh
Jesus Christ was God
in the flesh. God took on the form of man and walked amongst us.
"BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD, AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY
SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which is translated, "God with
us." (Matthew 1:23)
Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for
us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you
have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can
you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own
authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. (John 14:8-10)
Jesus said, "I and My Father are one." (John 10:30)
It was this claim that ultimately caused those in authority to crucify Jesus.
Truth:
Jesus Christ died on the cross, was
buried, and rose from the dead on the third day
This is the one
unique event in all of history. No other person has ever accomplished
this. This event proved that Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be.
The Bible tells us, "... Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day
according to the Scriptures," (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
By His resurrection from the grave, Jesus provided the hope of eternal life
for all who by faith put their trust in Him. He died so we can
live. Through His resurrection, we have eternal life.
Truth:
After His resurrection, Jesus
ascended up to Heaven
About forty days
after Jesus rose from the grave, he ascended to Heaven, promising to return
one day.
Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up,
and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked
steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in
white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing
up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will
so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:9-11)
Jesus ascended with the promise to return. And, he will return sometime in
the near future to set up His millennial (1000 year) kingdom on earth.
Truth:
The collective group of Christians
is called the Church
There is much
misunderstanding of what the Church is. It has been poorly represented
through history as the Roman Catholic Church, which is not the case at all.
The Church is the collective group of all believers, that is, those who have
put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, past, present, and those who will
in the future.
The church is often referred to as a local place where people gather on
Sunday mornings, such as First Baptist, First Lutheran, etc. One definition
for church is defined as a local body of believers. However, when speaking of
the Church in its primary context, it is worldwide. It has not national
boundaries, no geographical boundaries. It spans all races, all
languages. All who have been redeemed (born again) are part of the
Church.
The relationship between the Church and Jesus is illustrated in many ways in
the Bible. At times, the Church is called the Body of Christ, Christ
being the head. At other times, the Church is the Bride of
Christ. Still other times, a temple, Jesus the Chief Corner Stone. The
church is a separate, called out people, that calling to cease at the next
event discussed below.
Truth:
Christians will be taken out of the
world in a microsecond
There will come a time when the Church will be caught out of this
world. The scripture below states that event:
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For
the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
This event is called by Christians as the Rapture. At the sound of a
trumpet from Heaven, the deceased Christians will come out of their graves
and be taken out. Then, Christians alive around the world will be taken out
to meet Christ in the air. He will then take us with Him back to
Heaven. Based on Biblical prophecy, this event could happen at any
time.
Myth:
Christians can go to war to
proselytize (find converts)
Christians are
nowhere in the Bible told to go to war. In the past, wars fought in the name
of Christianity, or in the name of Christ had nothing to do with true
Christianity. They were wars fought by evil, selfish men who used the name of
the Church to accomplish their ends.
Scripture teaches Christians to be peaceful, be respectful to authority, to
love their neighbor, love their enemies, etc. Never are they instructed
to take up arms. Regardless of what historians want us to believe, the
Crusades and the Inquisition were products of the Satanic world, not of God.
Truth:
Christians teach that there is a
literal Hell for all who reject Christ
Christians have
learned from the Bible that there will be a final judgment followed by an
eternal Hell for all who reject Christ and His saving grace.
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I
saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened.
And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were
judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the
books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered
up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his
works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the
second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into
the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)
All people who reject Christ will one day meet Him face to face, be judged as
a result of rejecting Him, and spend an eternity separated from God, as
explained in the Scripture passage above.
NOTE:
If you have a question in which you'd like this author to address, use the
E-mail below.
director@orrministries.com
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