The Elephant In The Room

 

 

The Elephant In The Room

 

Why is organized religion hell-bent on sending people to an 'eternal torture chamber' when God is loving and merciful? ~ Psalm 106:1

 

If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being human, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! ~ Luke 11:11-13

 

As it is written in Acts 2:17, quoting for Joel 2:28:"And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh." (what part of all is there not to understand?) When you receive God's spirit you receive eternal life. 

Churchanity teaches that God created the hell HE so desperately wants to save us from. (let that sink in)

The word "hell" in both the Hebrew and Greek languages means the place of the dead, or grave, not an ever-burning torture chamber. God only gives us two choices: eternal life or eternal death. 

 

In Matthew 25:46 we read the words of Jesus: “And these (the goat people) shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” The word "punishment" means death or destruction which harmonizes with Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  

We cannot be alive "in agony" and dead at the same time. The wages of sin is death... not alive jumping from one hot rock to another. In verse 41, the translators chose the word "fire" instead of destruction. 

 

Let's Examine This "Hell" that is one of the most Popular Doctrines of Denominational Christianity

The doctrine of an ever-burning "hell" is False.

Truth: The word hell means "the place of the dead or grave." People only have two choices - eternal life or eternal death. You cannot be alive and dead at the same time. The dead know nothing and feel nothing. ~ Ecclesiastes 9:5 

 

The grave/hell and the "lake of fire" are two different things.

 

Truth: Notice carefully, Revelation 21:8  "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” 

 

Death!... not alive and suffering forever. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 6:23  

 

It is, in fact, because of the way that the word “hell” is understood today that it is such an unsatisfactory translation of these original Bible words. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, unabridged, under “Hell” says: “fr[om] . . . helan to conceal.” The word “hell” thus originally conveyed no thought of heat or torment but simply of a ‘covered over or concealed place.’ In the old English dialect the expression “helling potatoes” meant, not to roast them, but simply to place the potatoes in the ground or in a cellar.

 

The meaning given today to the word “hell” is that portrayed in Dante’s Divine Comedy and Milton’s Paradise Lost, which meaning is completely foreign to the original definition of the word. The idea of a “hell” of fiery torment, however, dates back long before Dante or Milton.

The Grolier Universal Encyclopedia (1971, Vol. 9, p. 205) under “Hell” says: “Hindus and Buddhists regard hell as a place of spiritual cleansing and final restoration. Islamic tradition considers it as a place of everlasting punishment.” The idea of suffering after death is found among the pagan religious teachings of ancient peoples in Babylon and Egypt. Babylonian and Assyrian beliefs depicted the “nether world . . . as a place full of horrors, . . . presided over by gods and demons of great strength and fierceness.” 

Although ancient Egyptian religious texts do not teach that the burning of any individual victim would go on forever, they do portray the “Other World” as featuring “pits of fire” for “the damned.”—The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, by Morris Jastrow, Jr., 1898, p. 581; The Book of the Dead, with introduction by E. Wallis Budge, 1960, pp. 135, 144, 149, 151, 153, 161, 200

“Hellfire” and "Damnation" has been basic teachings in Chrurchanity for many centuries. It is understandable why The Encyclopedia Americana (1956, Vol. XIV, p. 81) said: “Much confusion and misunderstanding has been caused through the early translators of the Bible persistently rendering the Hebrew Sheol and the Greek Hades and Gehenna by the word hell.

 

What about the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:22?... "But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.'' Doesn't that prove hell is a fiery place? Let's examine the two Greek words, gehenna and hades, that the translators chose to call "hell fire or simply "hell."

Gehenna is a physical place in this world—a valley just outside the city of Jerusalem. Here’s the Wikipedia page about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gehenna. With a history of child sacrifice in that place, it was thought of as a cursed and eventually became the trash pit for the city, which meant it was constantly burning.

Hades. Ten of the NT occurrences of the word “hell” in the KJV are a translation of the Greek word Hades, which is the name of the Greek god of the underworld. Those ten places are: Matt. 11:23, Matt. 16:18, Luke 10:15, Luke 16:23, Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31, Rev. 1:18, Rev. 6:8, Rev. 20:13, Rev. 20:14. It also shows up translated as simply “grave” in 1 Cor. 15:55.

 

Hades doesn’t contain the idea of either fire or torment. The different outcomes implied by the word Hades are that the wicked die while the righteous have eternal life. No fire involved—upon death of the body, the soul dies (read Ezekiel 18:4)

 

The only passage above where fire comes in is Rev. 20:14 where both death (thanatos—the death of the physical body) and hell (hades—the death of the spirit) are cast into a lake of fire—presumably to cleanse the world of all forms of death so that only life remains.

 

Hell (the grave) and lake of fire are two different things and designed for two different purposes. The phrase "lake of fire" only appears four times in the entire Bible, and only in the book of Revelation, chapters 19 and 20.

The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. ~ Revelation 20:10

This scripture is the fate of only three beings, not the the fate of millions of  "unsaved" people. Revelation 20:15 states: And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. However, after the resurrection of the "unsaved" or as the Bible says - unjust, i.e.justified, that number will be very small or non-existent.

 

So what happens to the "wicked" and/or "unsaved" people? What did Jesus reveal to the Apostle John?  

 

Revelation 1:1-3 - The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,  who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. 

                                                                                                                  

• Revelation 2:11
  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’

  
  
• Revelation 20:6
  Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

  
  
• Revelation 20:14
  Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

  
  
• Revelation 21:8
  But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Death... not alive in an ever burning fire.

Many people believe that a threat of "hell" induces sinners to repentance and keeps the "saved" in line. However, let's read what the Bible says: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. ~ 2 Peter 3:9

ALL does not leave anyone out of God's will. There are two resurrections. Those "in Christ" are raised first. ~1 Thessalonians 4:16. The second resurrection is for the "unsaved" to learn the truth and come to repentance.

Psalm 136:26 - Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.

Romans 9:15

For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”

As Christ-Followers, it is not our place to condemn or judge other people. We are allowed to condemn sin but not the sinner... God is the righteous judge. It's a 24/7 job minding our own business. As it is written: Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. ~ Philippians 2:12 

Matthew 7:2 - For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

If you belong to a "Hell Raising" church organization, or just plain tired of playing church, You're Invited to Join Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group

 

The purpose of this post is to get people to think about what they believe and why they believe it, not debate who's right or wrong. To learn the revealed truth of God we must know and understand the true meaning of the words God inspired to be written. Use Strong's Concordance to check the original word before it was translated. Do your own research, make up your own mind, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you.

 

 

 

Sin

 

BEING A CHILD OF GOD

ARE WE STILL A SINNER?

Do Christians Sin?

What is sin?

Sin translates from the Hebrew word khata‘ and the Greek word hamartia. The most basic meaning of sin isn’t religious at all. Khata’ simply means “to fail,” or “miss the mark or goal.” What is the goal?

The goal is to always do what is right, not in our eyes but the righteous standard set by God. There are at least three ways to miss the mark, not just miss the bullseye, but the entire target.

1. 1 John 3:4 - sin is the transgression of the law

2. Romans 14:23 - whatever is not from faith is sin

3. James 4:17 - to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin

Why did God set these standards for sin? Answer: Because He loves us and wants what's best for us.

 

When we break man's law we're a criminal. When we break God's law we're a sinner. So let's say you violate a traffic law and you pay a fine for transgressing the law. Does that make you a criminal? No, you admitted your guilt and paid the penalty. When Christians sin they repent and try to do better. Jesus pays the penalty for us.

Before exploring whether or not Christians sin, let’s define a couple of terms. Regardless of how tattered the word Christian has become throughout history, the biblical definition of a “Christian” is one who is a Christ-follower, a disciple of Jesus (Acts 11:26). A Christian is NOT someone who has ascribed to a particular set of religious beliefs or practices, joined a church, prayed a prayer, or participated in certain sacraments or rituals. A Christian is a person who has responded to the conviction of the Holy Spirit (John 6:44) by putting his or her whole faith in the finished work of Christ for salvation (Ephesians 2:8–9; John 3:15–18). Christians are those who have repented of their sin and have made Jesus Lord of their lives (Romans 10:9–10; Acts 2:38). They are born again by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 3:6–7).

“Sin” is any thought, word, or action that is contrary to the character or law of God. We all sin (Romans 3:23), and even what we consider good deeds are often tainted by selfish motives or pride (Isaiah 64:6). Left to ourselves, it is impossible to please God or to be completely free from sin (Romans 3:10; Ecclesiastes 7:10).

When we come to Christ by faith and trust Him to forgive and cleanse us of all our sin, we begin the process of a new birth (John 3:3). That new birth of the spirit results in a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). God gives the repentant sinner a new heart that is now turned toward obeying and pleasing Him rather than self (2 Corinthians 5:9; Romans 8:5–6). Whereas we were formerly slaves to sin, we are now “slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:16). Sin’s control has been broken by the power of Jesus (Romans 6:6; Titus 2:14)

However, we still live in the flesh, and the flesh is prone to want what it wants. In Romans 7:21–23, Paul admits the battle between flesh and spirit in his own life: “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.” Each battle with temptation is won or lost based upon how fully we are surrendered to the control of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16–17)

The book of 1 John was written to Christians. The apostle says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8–9). It is clear from this passage that even those who have begun the process of new birth and redeemed by the blood of Jesus will still sin. Through thought, attitude, or action, we will “grieve” (Ephesians 4:30) and “quench” (1 Thessalonians 5:19) the Holy Spirit at times. But this passage also reassures us that God offers continual, ongoing grace whenever we agree with Him about our sin and ask for His cleansing.

However, other passages clarify the boundaries of this ocean of grace. First John 3:6 says, “No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.” Verse 9 says that those who have been “born of God” will not continue to live sinfully. The implication is that this is not a matter of trying harder. Rather, it is the equivalent of saying, “A fish cannot remain on land for long because its nature is to seek water.” A fish could flop onto the shore and survive for a short time. But it was not made for land and cannot continue there. When we obey God, our nature changes, and we cannot continue in sin. Christ not only erases our past sin; He also transforms our hearts so that we no longer desire to sin (Colossians 2:13–14).

Paul asked, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1–2). Although Christians will still sin after being saved, the heart change that the Holy Spirit brings will result in a new attitude toward sin. Sin cannot continue being a lifestyle choice if we have surrendered our lives to Jesus. That’s what it means to say that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9; Colossians 2:6). We have a new boss. We cannot be followers of Christ and followers of sin at the same time. They are going in opposite directions (Luke 9:23; 14:33). Romans 12:2 instructs, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Renewal can take some time, but it is a process that produces a change of behavior.

When a true child of God goes astray, our Father administers discipline to bring him back into obedience. Hebrews 12:7–8 says, “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” If a professing Christian can choose a lifestyle of sin without experiencing enough discipline to bring him to repentance, then according to this Scripture, it is highly unlikely that that person is a child of God.

Do Christians sin? Yes. Do they willfully continue in sin? No. Scripture indicates that, while we will always “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), we have the hope that the power of God is at work in us to “make us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NLT)

 

 

You are cordially invited to join Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group