Thank you Scripturist Readers....

I logged on today and as I often do I scrolled down to take a peek at the hit counter. I thought it was strange to see that we have had 123,456 hits. So I right clicked and saved the counter pic at that number. (see below)

I am always amazed at the number of hits we get. I feel we have not been posting as much as we would like but the hits still keep coming. So thank you Scripturist.com readers.

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DO I HAVE TO CONFESS JESUS?

Question: Do I have to confess Jesus as Lord to be saved? Isn’t confessing Jesus a work? I thought we were saved by grace not by works.

Answer: What we say has eternal consequences, because it shows what is in our hearts. What is in our heart has eternal significance because that is what God looks at to judge us. Jeremiah 11:20 explains, “But, O LORD Almighty, you who judge righteously and test the heart and mind.” God looks into our hearts to see who we are. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." And Jesus teaches that our words flow from what is in our heart. If you will not or do not confess Jesus as Lord, that says something about your heart.

In Matthew 12: 34-37 Jesus said, “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

By your words you will deny Christ or by your words you will confess Him. By your mouth you will demonstrate your faith or by your speech you will demonstrate your lack of faith. Like repentance and emersion into Christ, your confession and subsequent speech will demonstrate where your heart is before Him. You show your faith by what you do (James 2:18). Your words will deliver you or damn you, as they show what is in your heart.

The essential nature of confessing Jesus before men is not up for debate. Jesus made it plain when in Luke 12:8-9 He warned us, "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men; the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.” Again Matthew 10:32-33 says, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” If you don’t acknowledge him before men, He will not acknowledge you to the Father or the angels. Confession is more than important, it is essential to salvation. 1 John 2:23 says, “No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”

Confession of Jesus is not a “work” of obedience to the Law. It is an act of faith along with repentance and baptism that make your faith complete. James 2: 20-24 says, “You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”

Faith is made complete by our actions. Confession was not a “work” of Old Testament law like the Apostle Paul refers to in Romans 3:28 when he says, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” Confession is not part of the Law of Moses. Again Paul writes in Romans 3:20 saying, “…because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” Confession is not one of these “works of the Law.” To apply the above verses about “works of the Law” to confession is to totally misuse and misapply those verses. Rather confession is an act of faith in Jesus’ promise found in Matthew 10:32-33.

Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Paul says here that your confession saves you. Notice your faith and actions are working together in this passage. James said your faith is made complete by what you do. Repentance, confession and baptism are all things we do to demonstrate our faith. They are not “works of the Law” that have nothing to do with salvation. Confession has everything to do with our being saved.

Confession is so important that Philip would not baptize the Ethiopian until he confessed his faith in Christ. Acts 8:36-38 says, “As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?’ And Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” We are not saved by works of the Old Law. We don’t earn salvation. We accept it through faith. We are not saved by being good and keeping the Ten Commandments. We are saved by a free gift given through our faith. And James 2:26 plainly says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” Confession, like repentance and baptism, is an act of faith by which we accept the free gift of salvation that could not be received by obeying the works of the Law.

Baptized for the Dead? Say What?

“Dear Scripturist, I would like for you to let me know, and explain what the verse in I Corinthians 15:29 is. My friend said that this verse means you pray for the dead.”

I Corinthians 15:29 is one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible. There are dozens of opinions on what this verse means. How do we know which is right?

One way to tell which of the interpretations of this verse are false is to find the ones that do not harmonize in meaning with the topic of the verses around it. Or secondly, if a particular interpretation of this verse is proven false by a clear teaching from elsewhere in scripture, then we know that interpretation is wrong. Therefore, to clear the air on this verse it would be good to go through and address what I Corinthians 15:29 is not teaching first.

I Corinthians 15:29 reads, “Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?”

First of all, it is NOT teaching that those who are dead and without Christ still have a chance of being saved. Once you die, your opportunity to accept Him is over. Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” There are no second chances after you die. Secondly, it is not encouraging prayer for the dead. Prayer is not even mentioned in this verse or its context.

II Corinthians 5:10 declares, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” When we are judged before God it will be based on the choices we made while “in the body.” Death is a separation of the spirit from the body (see James 2:26). Therefore, after your body and spirit are separated you will face judgment for what you did while “in the body” before you died.

Therefore, the erroneous teaching that you can be baptized in the place of someone who is dead to save them is proven utterly false. The idea that you can pray for the dead and take them from torment to paradise contradicts the teaching of II Corinthians 5:10 and Luke 16:26. Salvation is based upon your response of faith before your death not on anything anyone does for you after death. Therefore, the above interpretations cannot be what I Corinthians 15:29 means.

Who is Paul talking about in verse 29, when he refers to the “dead?” When we look at the context of this verse, the only dead mentioned are the dead “in Christ” in verse 18. The dead “in Christ” don’t need to be saved or prayed for because Romans 8:1, teaches, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The dead in verse 29 are the dead who are saved.

So what does verse 29 mean in the context? In I Corinthians 15 Paul is defending the Gospel and future hope of the resurrection of the dead. He is listing several ways our faith would be useless and pointless if the dead in Christ are not raised at Christ’s return (see verses 13-20, 23, & 29-32).

Paul’s arguments in this chapter can be paraphrased as: If there is no resurrection of the dead, why are we preaching Jesus arose? Why are we living for the next life not this one? Why do we endanger ourselves every hour by preaching Christ? Why do we suffer the hardships of the Christian life? Therefore, what ever verse 29 means it must be proving that the practice would be pointless if there were no resurrection of the Christian dead.

The word “for” in verse 29 could be translated as “on account of.” So why were they baptizing people for or on account of the dead Christians? I believe it’s to replenish church membership and sustain the church after the present believers have passed on. It’s to preserve a remnant who can proclaim the Gospel to the next generation.

All through the chapter Paul is questioning why they are doing the things Christians do if there is no resurrection. I think verse 29 could be paraphrased, why are we making new converts to replace those who have died in Christ if there is no resurrection? But the dead will be raised, so be ready for death by being saved today!

God has a Dream....

On the birthday of Dr. Marin Luther King Jr. I would like to talk about prejudice.

GOD IS NOT PREJUDICE
Romans 2:11 says, "For God does not show favoritism." God will not treat people with any prejudice. Colossians 3:25 says, "Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism." He will punish without favoritism and is an equal opportunity savior.
1 Timothy 2:4 says that God, "wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

GOD COMMANDS US NOT TO SHOW PREJUDICE EITHER.
1 Timothy 5:21 "I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism."

PREJUDICE IS A SIN
James 2:2-4 says, "Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here’s a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" If that wasn't enough the Holy Spirit make it plain as day when he speaks through James and writes in James 2:9 "But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."

RACIAL PREJUDICE
Jesus spoke and ate with non-jews. He broke every social expectation when ministered to the Samaritan women. John 4:9 "The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)" Jesus showed no prejudice toward the black race. In fact he claims that a black woman will rise in judment against the Jews of his day who would not listen to his preaching. In Matthew 12:42 he said, "The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here." Jesus showed no racial prejudice.

NATIONAL PREJUDICE
God had to show Peter that cultural prejudice was wrong. Peter said to the Jewish Christians in Acts 10:28 "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean." And again in Acts 10:34-35 Peter says, to the prejudice Jewish Christians, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right." Prejudice against someone because of their nationality is wrong.

DISABILITY PREJUDICE
In Jesus day most people believed that someone with a disability was cursed by God and a 2nd class citizen. A man who was born blind once tried to tell the Pharasees that Jesus was from God but they would not listen to him because of their prejudice toward him. In John 9:34 they replied to the man born blind, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out." They beleived that blindness was a curse on sin and all blind people were worse sinners than others. But Jesus didn't believe that. John 9:1-3 says, "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." Jesus was not prejudice against the disabled.


MORAL PREJUDICE
Some like to look down their nose at others because they have not commited some of the sins that others have. But they forget we ALL have sinned. We all need grace. We all are unworthy and should beg for mercy not be looking down our nose at someone else. Jesus taught in Luke 18:10-14 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men— robbers, evildoers, adulterers— or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God…" We shouldn't show moral prejudice and think we are better than anyone.

GENERATIONAL PREJUDICE
Some will show favoritism to to the adult over the child. Abortion is a prime example of putting the convenience of the adult before the very life of a child. Jesus taught in Luke 18:15-17 "People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Prejudice against children is wrong and dangerous. Jesus said "it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea" than to lead a child astray.

FINANCIAL PREJUDICE
Some show prejudice towards their fellow man due to money. In Jesus day, if you had a lot of money people assumed you were blessed by God and thus saved. They looked down on the poor as sinners who God wont bless. Jesus didn't teach that. In Matthew 19:23-25 Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus new that salvation is not based on money. In fact, money can be a distraction from what is important and leads to salvation. Our faith is in God not money. To favor someone because of money is sinful.

I hope you can see that prejudice for any reason is wrong and that we are to show the love of Christ to ALL people.

Click here to read the I HAVE A DREAM speech.

Click here to see a a video of the I HAVE A DREAM speech.

Click here to hear audio of the I HAVE A DREAM speech.

Read more about MLK by clicking here.

Stem Cells Discovered in Amniotic Fluid But They Still Want To Kill Babies

They have discovered STEM CELLS that are in amniotic fluid which can do just what stem cells from murdered babies (aborted fetus) do. So the debate over stem cells should be over... right? They are easier to get and more plentiful in amniotic fluid so it cost less and no baby (fetus) dies. So problem solved right?

NOOOOO! They still say we should keep researching the ones out of killed babies (aborted fetus) too. You see, this battle for stem cell research is not so much about finding cures for Michael J Fox and others as it is keeping the PROFIT in abortion. Follow the money.

Click here to read this qoute ""While they are fascinating subjects of study in their own right, they are not a substitute for human embryonic stem cells, which allow scientists to address a host of other interesting questions in early human development," said Daley, who began work last year to clone human embryos to produce stem cells."

Why? the stem cells in the fluid are just the same. They do just the same! OH... because you stand to make a lot of money cloning people and killing the cloned fetus (dead baby) to get stem cells to fix peoples health problems.

It's murder incorperated and it's not going out of business just yet.

Is Abortion Murder?

46 Million Babies Died. Learn how they did.

Dark Matter of Fact?

Measurements Support "Dark Energy" Theory

LOS ANGELES - The mysterious "dark energy" that is pushing apart the universe appears to be the constant force that Albert Einstein once predicted, according to measurements made by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The force is an unknown form of energy that behaves in an opposite manner from the pull of gravity. Dark energy causes the galaxies within the universe to move apart from one another at ever-increasing speeds.

Einstein called the force the "cosmological constant." He theorized its existence to balance the universe against normal gravity and keep it from collapsing on itself.
Scientists now know dark energy causes the universe to expand and accelerate. It makes up an estimated 70 percent of the universe.

What was unclear is whether dark energy is stable. If it grows stronger with time, the universe could end with galaxies, stars, planets and, ultimately, atoms coming unglued in a violent expansion that theorists call the "big rip."

In the alternative, dark energy could fade away to the point where it flipped in force, pulling the universe back together in what's called the "big crunch." The latest Hubble observations announced Friday suggest dark energy is unwavering, just as Einstein predicted.

"Right now, we're about twice as confident than before that Einstein's cosmological constant is real, or at least dark energy does not appear to be changing fast enough — if at all — to cause an end to the universe anytime soon," said Adam Riess, of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which looks at data sent from the Hubble.

The latest results come from the measurements of multiple supernovas that exploded when the universe was half its present age.

The apparent brightness of a certain type of supernova allows scientists to gauge the expansion rate of the universe at different times in the past. That in turn allows them to measure any change in the strength of the force exerted by dark energy.

Further research is needed to prove dark energy is indeed a constant force, scientists said. However, NASA's decision to no longer repair Hubble means the work will be interrupted until a replacement can be built and launched.

What is the uncaused cause?

What is this dark energy? Or should I say who is the cause?

Psalms 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

Job 9:8 "He alone stretches out the heavens..."

Isaiah 40:22 "He sits enthroned above the circle (sphere in Hebrew) of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in."

Isaiah 42:5 "...he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it"

Isaiah 45:12 " It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts."

Isaiah 48:13 "My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together."

Jeremiah 10:12 “But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.”

Jeremiah 51:15 "He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding."

Zecariah 12:1 "This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares"

Isaiah 40:26 "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."

He is the invisible God who uses invisible power to create, sustain and control the visible world.

Colossians 1:15-20 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."


SOMETHING UNSEEN FORMED AND HOLDS TOGETHER ALL THAT IS SEEN.

Hebrews 11:3 "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."

Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities— his eternal power and divine nature— have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

Read the latest about this topic by going here.