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“HAVE NO FELLOWSHIP WITH THE UNFRUITFUL WORKS OF DARKNESS, BUT RATHER EXPOSE THEM. FOR IT IS SHAMEFUL EVEN TO SPEAK OF THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE DONE BY THEM IN SECRET.” (Eph. 5:11-12.)
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Muslims… Continued:
“IF YOUR CHRISTIAN GODHEAD IS ONE GOD AND EVER-PRESENT, HOW COULD GOD FORSAKE CHRIST JESUS ON THE CROSS?” Jesus was truly and completely forsaken in the place of all humanity: Throughout Jesus’ human life on earth, Jesus could call on the help and comfort of the Holy Spirit and His holy angels, (Mt. 26:52-53.) Since His arrest in Gethsemane, however, He had to restrain their ministrations. In the place of all humanity, Jesus had to go to the cross alone. Of course the Spirit and the angels were there all the time, but this time, Jesus had to drink this terrible cup without their support, (Rom. 8:11.) The sinless Jesus had to atone for fallen humankind’s sin “in the flesh”; as a mere human. In the ninth hour, (3 p.m. our time,) there was physical darkness over all the land as death stalked the man Jesus Christ on the cross, and He declared the most important part of the fulfillment of David’s prophecy in Psalm 22 when He cried, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? [which means,] My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Incidentally, Jesus was not, as some Charismatics believe, speaking in tongues on the cross, “for he who speaks in [an unknown or angelic] tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him, as he speaks mysteries in the spirit,” (1 Cor. 14:2; 15:1; 13:1a.) Jesus was actually petitioning His Father in the Syrian language on the cross. Tragically, even Christian scholars try to diminish either Jesus’ complete humanity, or Jesus’ complete Divinity – or try to make Him into a half-man-half-god being; a god-man of some kind. But the man Jesus Christ was completely God in the fullness of human ‘flesh’ or body. When Jesus Christ was “begotten” (not created) by God, God Himself took on humanity in totality, and so, these words of Jesus on the cross describe the frailness of His human body in every aspect - yet it remains unthinkable that His Divinity could forsake Him at that moment. Jesus is, was, and always will be One God in the Personhood of the Triune Godhead. God can never divide Himself into polytheism, (three separate gods.) Jesus also had to face abandonment by God in our place: It was no coincidence that Jesus, in His complete humanity, cried “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” to God the Father in His final hour. As a mere man, it was inevitable that Jesus, in our place, also had to face our ‘last enemy’ - physical death. However, it was not the prospect of death itself that caused God to forsake the Son of man in His greatest hour of need. Before Jesus could finally sigh, “It is finished,” He had to endure the most horrendous penalty of all. The most unbearable punishment for sin and cursedness, which all of unsaved humankind still have to suffer. The end result of choosing a life of sin and cursedness without ever accepting the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ is abandonment by God at the moment of physical death, (Rev. 2:11; 20:6; 21:7-8.) John wrote in Jn. 3:17-18, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God, [Christ Jesus.]” Just as Jesus ‘became’ sin; just as He ‘became’ a curse, Jesus ‘became’ abandoned, so that His complete atonement could be credited to us. Humankind’s abandonment by God was imputed to Jesus so that God, in Christ, could impute or ascribe, full acceptance to humankind! However, God the Father’s abandonment cannot be likened to the destructive desertion of a human father who sinfully turns his back on his own son. However sorrowful that might be, a human father’s rejection can only last during our lifetime on this temporal level. Everything in this mortal world will eventually come to an end, but everything in the immortal realm of God lasts for all eternity. Father God’s abandonment was, and always will be much more severe than any other form of human suffering; the most grievous affliction that can ever befall any human being. Unsaved humankind’s rejection by God at the hour of death is a final, inescapable, irreversible affliction. To our limited human understanding, abandonment by God would leave a human being utterly alone and in endless despair; helplessly and hopelessly incarcerated in the finality of eternal darkness – a suffering completely unthinkable, indescribable, and unbearable! More importantly, Jesus wasn’t forsaken for the lostness, sin, and cursedness of only one person; He was forsaken for the perdition and crime of every person who ever lived, and everyone who ever will live on earth! Jesus had to die on the cross under the curse of God’s rejection and damnation, which, for those who still choose to die without Jesus as their personal Lord, Saviour and Redeemer, also carries the unthinkable penalty of the “second death:” eternal separation from God under the eternal punishment of God! – (Rev. 2:11; 20:8.) The man Jesus Christ was really and utterly forsaken in our place, yet God Jesus never lost His position in the Godhead while His human body and soul was forsaken, for even in this hour of incredible torment, He clang unwaveringly to the Godhead, until He finally cried with a loud voice, “It is finished! Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Of course Jesus’ Sin-Offering ended when He died on the cross. It was finished. The battle was over. His atonement for humankind was complete. He had made it through in His flesh; He could finally surrender His spirit into the eternal hands of His Father. It is beyond the capacity of man to fully comprehend Jesus’ abandonment on the cross, just as it will always remain humanly impossible to truly understand God’s complete acceptance of humankind through the blood-atonement of His Son Jesus Christ. But then, as someone once said, ‘If we could understand God in all His infinite greatness, He wouldn’t be God at all.’
THE REALITY OF SUFFERING FOR THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD: In conclusion we can say that Jesus’ believers can never pacify themselves with the thought that there can be some form of salvation in religion, therefore they do not have to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit in fulfilling the commission of Jesus Christ. There is salvation in no other name but the Name of Jesus Christ. Buddha, Krishna, Allah, and all others that is worshipped, are false gods. That’s a shocking but sad reality. “In the 7th century, through profoundly new revelations from Allah, Mohammed simply converted the God of the Bible, Yahweh, and His Saviour Son Jesus, into Allah and his prophet Mohammed.” [Yeshua Communications and Light of Life Ministries, Australia.] Abo Al-Kasin wrote in his book, ‘Who is Allah,’ “The hard evidence demonstrates that the god Allah was a pagan deity in pre-Islamic pagan culture. In fact, he was the Moon-god who was married to the sun goddess, and the stars were his daughters.” The Islamic insignia, the crescent moon and star, also signify Islam’s connection to the moon-god. Texe Marrs confirmed that in his book, ‘Codex Magica,’ p. 210. He stated, “it is doubtful [they] have any idea of the actual meaning of these symbols.” It is important to know that neither Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, nor any other religion tolerates any form of ‘interference’ from Jesus in the lives of their followers. As a result, Jesus’ believers have to realize that the Word of God is true under every circumstance. “The Gospel is for free,” someone once said, “but it’s not cheap.” We have to count the cost to follow Jesus, and we should never try to deceive other people into following a shallow, watered-down gospel of wealth, health, and happiness. Jesus declared in Lu. 14:26-33 and in John 15:20; 16:2, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also [in comparison to His love for Me,] he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross, [or hardship for the Gospel Truth,] and come after Me, [Jesus Christ Himself, not a religious system and its manmade doctrines,] cannot be My disciple… Likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple… But all these things they will do to you for My Name’s sake, because they do not know Him Who sent Me… These things I have spoken to you that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues, [mosques, and churches.] Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service…” The footnote of the Spirit Filled Bible explains, “A disciple must subordinate all earthly relationships to loyalty to Christ. ‘Hate’ does not mean to bear ill will, but to choose Christ over all others. A disciple must die to self-centeredness and be willing to endure suffering and even martyrdom. Erecting a stately building is costly and waging war is dangerous; illustrating the costliness and danger that disciples of Jesus must be willing to face.” We should not find it strange, then, if we meet with hostility and adversity when we truly repent from the religious world in order to follow Christ. Born again believers should be familiar with the rejection, slander, and other forms of persecution from even their own religious family and community. In a first case scenario — when people of other religions, such as Islam, sincerely embrace Christ, they will suffer severe rejection and be driven from their homes and loved ones. In a second case scenario, they will immediately be judged under Shariah or Islamic law and put to death. The stark reality for these believers is that they will have to forfeit everything they have, everything they know and trusted, and everyone they love to truly follow Christ. It was not for nothing that Jesus taught so clearly on this subject, (Mt. 10:34-39.) If ever there is anything that keeps a soul in bondage to this world, it is the human need of acceptance. The threat of losing all our loved ones, our place in familiar society; the support and fellowship of our entire community, can become one of the greatest obstacles and trials a believer in Christ will have to face. The disciples of Christ Jesus will have to accept the fact that making new disciples for our King is but the beginning of our involvement in their lives. May God give us the grace to truly love our born again neighbors as we love ourselves. “Then a certain scribe came and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.’ But Jesus answered, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, [familiar homes and families,] but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head,” (Mt. 8:19-20.) Yet, “what will it profit a man to gain the whole world, but to loose his soul for all eternity?” Read this discussion from the beginning Find many more discussions on the Main Page Find more apologetics in the Sub Domain Discover the shocking, true exposés in the Main Domain Read the valuable discussions in the third website, www.freeme2.co.za |
