The phrase that I continually hear in Christian circles revolves around “I really should read the Bible more.” Well, here’s your chance! And unlike a membership at the gym, you don’t have to get all sweaty to do it (unless stepping into the presence of the creator of the universe who knows everything about you is something that will make you sweat!)

Maybe you’ve never read the Bible before… Maybe you’ve never read a single book of the Bible from start to finish. I’ve written an earlier article which discusses the different translations, but any Bible will do, just pick it up and read!

I’ve posted a yearly Bible reading plan on my churchs’ website that should take about 10-15 minutes/day and it’s crazy-simple… Just cut out the four bookmarks, and read the four suggested passages for each day. If you want to only take only half the time every day and read the Bible through in two years instead of one just use two bookmarks instead of four, and then use the second pair next year! There’s no wrong way to do it, so just do it!

Reading the Bible is God’s talking to you. Your daily prayer life is your talking to God. Done together, you begin to have a dialog. If you only talk to God but don’t listen, you’re lecturing. If you do nothing by listen but don’t respond you’re being lectured to. Neither is conducive to a healthy relationship, in human or divine relationships.

Don’t know what to pray for or about? Pray about that! Don’t know what a particular passage of Scripture says or means? Look it up on one of the popular Bible commentary sites, Google the passage, or hey, ask it here! Someone reading this blog will have the answer or at least point you in the right direction.

Let me know if you are going to commit to read the Bible in a year. You can start any time – it doesn’t have to be January. Just read, learn, and listen what God has to say to you. God Himself tells you why you should:

Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

So, let’s get started, shall we? I have 3 hours left to read my 4 passages… God Bless, keep in touch, and I’ll see you on the road ahead…

-Anthony

I’ll say right off the bat that no, it’s not a sin to say that you know you are going to go to heaven. This is not just my opinion but is written in the infallible pages of the Bible, God’s Word to us, and Christ has many statements to back that up as well! (We’ll review this in a moment.) I will add, however, that you can certainly be mistaken about the assurance of salvation, that you may think you are saved when really you are not, but an error of judgment or fact isn’t necessarily a sin. (Which I will certainly extrapolate upon in this discussion!)

Interestingly, the Catholic Church teaches that it is a sin to assume you are saved. They call this the sin of presumption, but it is in direct contradiction to the words of the Bible, and the words and assurances of Jesus Christ, the very person in whom we presume to even have this assurance.

The Catholic Church makes the following statement in their catechism:

“There are two kinds of presumption. Either man presumes upon his own capacities, (hoping to be able to save himself without help from on high), or he presumes upon God’s almighty power or his mercy (hoping to obtain his forgiveness without conversion and glory without merit.” Pg. 507, #2092

What?!?!?! Interestingly, this statement is found under the subheading titled “Hope.” I have to admit, I can’t find a lot of hope in this statement. The Catholic Church implies a perpetual works-based earning of merit that in the end, you “hope” you will be allowed into heaven.

Can you imagine a loving God that would tease you all your life, up until your dying breath, when at your last gasp as the world dims you still carry the fear and uncertainty of tottering over the brink of hell and eternal separation from God because of some unconfessed sin or not knowing if you had gained enough of God’s favor, or that you didn’t say the Lord’s prayer enough times or didn’t pray the Rosary on a regular basis? What’s up with that?

Do you think a God of love would act in that manner towards his children? Is that a God you would want to worship in love and thankfulness and gratitude or like the pagans of old are you constantly running up the volcano, throwing your sacrifice into the pit, and then running down the mountain before He has a chance to spit up a lava bomb on you?

That’s not our God. Our God wants you to know that you are His child; that you will be with him forever; that nothing can take you from His grasp.

Let’s open the Bible… Let’s listen to the Words of Jesus:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
(John 5:24 ESV)

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
(John 6:40 ESV)

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.
(John 6:47-48 ESV)

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
(John 8:12 ESV)

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
(John 10:9 ESV)

And most assuredly:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
(John 10:27-30 ESV)

Jesus, the man who lived a sinless life, told us these things. Therefore, it is not a sin to have this assurance of our salvation.

The Apostle John tells us this as well

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
(1 John 5:13 ESV)

The Apostle Paul displayed this confidence… Does that mean that he was wrong or presumptuous to make such an assumption? Faced with the threat of death Paul looks forward to being with Christ but also knows he still has work to do here on earth:

I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
(Philippians 1:23 ESV)

How can you have this confidence? Listen to the words of Jesus above: have faith in Him that he took on your burden of guilt and sin; that he paid the price to get us into heaven. Then you will have the confidence of your salvation and not a blind hope.

When you put your hope in Christ, there’s nothing keeping you out of heaven. As he said, he is the door. And opening that door is to walk the road less traveled. But the way is narrow. If you put your faith and hope in earning your way to heaven as the Muslims and Buddhists and Mennonites and countless other false doctrines do, you may have confidence in your salvation, but it will be a false one.

It’s too easy. We have a hard time accepting it. That salvation is free; and all we have to do is believe on Jesus Christ’s work on our behalf. But God’s ways are not our ways, and Glory be to God for that!

In closing, I’ll ask you to reflect on the popular Hymn, Blessed Assurance, which celebrates the assurance we have in the work of Jesus Christ for our salvation and eternal security in heaven with God our Father.

Don’t just listen to these verses… read them, comprehend them, and be assured… when you accept Christ and His work on the cross, you inherit the righteousness you need to be assured you will spend eternity with God.

May the peace and blessed assurance of our salvation given by God be with you.

He wants you to have that assurance, and to praise Him all day long!

May God Bless you, and may your light shine among men in the darkness.

-Anthony

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Refrain: This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. (Refrain)

Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love. (Refrain)

It may sound harsh, but most good Catholics have as much a sense of surety of their heaven – boundedness as any good Muslim, Mennonite, or Orthodox Jew: They think they have to “be good” or “do good things” and “go to church” and pray such-and-such a prayer ‘x’ number of times in order to, as Weird Al puts it, in his song Amish Paradise, “Score points for the Afterlife”

You can now ask the question, dear reader, “Is it possible to know that you’re going to heaven?” The answer, is written all throughout the Bible. I encourage you, of course, to check for yourself. We’ll discuss a few examples:

In Acts chapter 16 Paul and Silas were in prison for telling the people of Israel the Good News of Jesus: that the Christ, their Messiah had come. After a minor miracle (a major earthquake) the prison guard realized the people in his care were telling the truth. In desperation for the confidence and security of his soul he asked

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” -Acts 16:30-31

That’s it… Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Saved from what? do you ask: From the wrath of God. God, being a just God, has to punish sin: any transgression from the ten commandments. To avoid this punishment we have to live a perfect life, but have we? Can we? Our works do not redeem us… they can’t un-do a sin… You can’t un-ring a bell… Once you tell your first lie, steal your first piece of bubble gum or covet someone else’s something-or-other there’s no taking it back. You’re stained. And no stain of sin will ever enter heaven, much less be allowed in God’s presence.

At least the Israelites of old had the sacrificial system: you tell a lie, sacrifice a few doves. Steal a neighbor’s donkey, pay him back and sacrifice an ox, a lamb, or something to that accord. But the sacrifices never end because you’ll never stop sinning. And its important to note that we’re not considered sinners because we sin all the time… we sin all the time, because we are sinners. That’s our root problem. (Thanks a lot Adam… I appreciate that!)

The Good news was that Jesus’ sacrifice was the final sacrifice. That’s why he was called the Lamb of God: the final sacrifice necessary for our sin to be covered. That’s why he said “It is finished” before he died on the cross. The price was paid and not only do we get our sin’s paid for, but we inherit His perfection: his righteousness, so when we face God in heaven (we believers, that is) God will see us in the same manner He sees Jesus: He’ll see us perfect, sinless, and like His son. And like any father to His son, he will welcome and embrace him.

How do we know that salvation is that easy? That’s hard to believe! But Jesus told us numerous times. In John 14:6 Jesus said

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” -John 14:6

Did you get that? No one. Nobody… NOBODY goes to heaven except by believing in the single sufficient work of Jesus: He did a work we could not do. He paid a price he did not owe so we will get something we could never have gotten on our own.

Let’s not just look a the New Testament: God made this clear in the Old Testament as well. In Jeremiah 17 the young prophet passes on the message to rebellious Israel:

Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” -Jeremiah 17:5-8

If you make your flesh your strength: if you think you will get to heaven by praying to saints, praying the rosary, doing your good deeds, showing up to church like good little boys and girls and giving to charity and joining the local civic group; if you think you will earn you way to heaven, God says “curses” on that person: you are relying on your strength and not God’s grace.

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord: the one who gave you His son: who gave you the way to salvation. Your faith is rock solid and when the heat or drought comes in your life, be it physical, financial or spiritual hard times, when you rely on the Lord he will keep you fresh and vibrant.

What should you think about a teacher, leader, priest, or pastor that tells you otherwise? That there’s more to salvation than faith in Christ? Well, once again, Scripture has an answer in Galatians Chapter 1. Note here that The apostle Paul was rebuking the church in Galatia who were listening to people who were leading them away from Christ. He says

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel–not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. -Galatians 1:6-9

Pretty harsh words… Anyone who proclaims another way to avoid God’s wrath and to spend eternity in heaven other than belief in Jesus: That man will be accursed. In fact, in three of the four Gospels it was recorded that Jesus said that it would have been better that a millstone were hung around that blasphemers neck and he be thrown into the sea rather than leading God’s children astray. (I’ll leave it as an exercise for you to find those passages in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.)

See for yourself … if the Bible truly is the inspired Word of God as it claims to be, and as the Church affirms, check the facts for yourself. Nothing will help you understand the Bible better than reading the Bible for yourself. In Second Timothy we are told that

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

So you see, Scripture is good for teaching, so you will learn the ways and thoughts and plans of God. It is good for reproof and correction, so you can admonish and correct someone who may have an incorrect belief about something God is purported to say or you may have to point out sin in their (or your) life. Ultimately, it’s good for our training in righteousness, giving us the information, tools, and wisdom for every good work.

Get excited. Learn what God has to say. Pickup the Bible and read. It’s not hard. Steer clear of Numbers and Deuteronomy for a while but God’s really got something to say to you. And he wants you to know him better, and that he’s got the plan all figured out. The ball is in His court… He took care of it.

He wanted me make sure that you’re sure, that you are sure you’re going to see Him.

-Anthony

Why do Christians get together every Sunday for Worship? Why do they get together on Easter Sunday? It’s your day off, right? Why blow a good Sunday when you can catch a football game or grab a couple extra hours sleep or catch up on some honeydo’s in the back yard?

They don’t gather together on Sunday because they have to… because they will score points and be a good little Catholic girl and boy, and be a good citizen. We gather together together because of the Gospel. They have the opportunity to worship our great God. They worship their God because of the Good News. It is the Good news that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead; That he was taken off the cross, put into a tomb where he rotted for three days then rose again in triumph, defeating sin and death, never again to suffer humiliation or defeat, never again to be nailed to the cross for the sin of the world. In his words: it is done! It is accomplished! It is finished! We celebrate, we worship, and we’re grateful for this glorious accomplishment.

Jesus Christ defeated death in no uncertain terms. We do not worship an empty tomb. We do not kneel to or revere a rock that was rolled away. Each Sunday we celebrate the fact that a three-day-old corpse, the unrecognizably beaten, bloodied, and hammered body of the final Passover sacrifice, our sacrifice, the sacrificial lamb of God who provided our access to eternity, to the Father, was raised from the dead, and walked out of there on his own two feet, shrugging off his burial clothes as if to say once again like he did on the cross, “it is done.” That’s why we worship on Sunday.

I’d like us to analyze First Corinthians Chapter 15. That’s in the New Testament, a little ways after the four Gospels. If you have a Bible or are on our website, www.thereformedcatholic.com, you can read along in the blog entry for this Podcast.

I want us to put on our thinking caps on for a few moments. And I know I’m asking a big thing of us because in this day and age we live in the world of media where we are instructed not to think. We are constantly amused. You know the root of amuse is ‘muse’ and to muse is to think: put an ‘a’ in front of it and it means ‘not’. Kinda like being “moral” means to have an internal compass telling you right from wrong and “Amoral” means not having a guide to right and wrong, to muse is to think, and to be amused is not to think. And right now, we need to muse over this: we need to think long and hard for just a few minutes on the foundation of what it means to be a Christian, how we can have confidence in our salvation: that we have the confidence that we’ll go to heaven should you get hit by a truck today, and the reason by which we can defend our faith and tell people why it is we believe what we believe.

Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthian church, who at the time was having a bit of a problem with false prophets: false teachers that were teaching that Christ was not way, or he was only part of the way; or that you had to do a few other things, like get circumcised or participate in secret rituals or get some secret knowledge in order to go to heaven but regardless of what the false teaching was, they were taking the Corinthian’s eyes off the simplicity and surety of the Gospel. That Christ, and only Christ, and nothing but your faith in Christ, will get you into heaven. Those were Christ’s words in John 14:6: He said:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Before we read, though, Paul, using the vernacular of the day, and “vernacular” is just a big word that means ‘words’, using the words of the day Paul speaks to his Greek audience using Aristotelian logic, the logic of the local superhero of civilized thought: Aristotle, one of the great philosophers who developed the higher form of reasoning, argument, and debate of the day.

In other words, Paul talks to his audience in a way that they would respect and understand. Christ used examples such as shepherds, lambs, fish, seeds, and harvests, because the general professions at the time that he spoke to were fisherman, farmers, and shepherds. Paul is also preaching to a people who practically, as well as theologically, did not believe that it’s possible that people can be raised from the dead.

Before we go to the Scripture, it’s important to note that many of today’s skeptics include those who think that we are so sophisticated in our learning, we are so up to date in our understanding of science and technology, that with our God-like power we can create life in a test tube and destroy it with a vacuum tube; that we are so smart, that we in our sophisticated 21st-century know-how know we can’t take something that is dead and bring it to life… This is a news flash for some: Bringing the dead to life was just as “impossible” back then as it is today.

Today’s non-believers or scoffers think the faith of those that came before us was full of myths and superstition and ignorance, but these are the same people who built the Coliseum, the great aqueducts, and before that, the Pyramids, and the Great Wall. They were not ignorant fools who believed what you spoon-fed them.

Though they did not have Game-Boys, the Internet, nor the iPod (how’d they ever survive?) they did have high-technology and common sense, or as one of my wife’s MBA professors put it, ‘practical wisdom’. For we all know that ‘common sense’ is not all that common. Even this first century Jewish and pagan community knew it was impossible for the dead to rise. Even the apostle Thomas said “Get Real… I’ll believe it when I see Him with my own eyes and touch Him with my own hands.”

Now let’s get to Paul’s argument.

1 Corinthians 15:12-22 NASB (w. some paraphrase according to Anthony) Now if the Good News of Jesus Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there can be no resurrection of the dead? (13) If there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; (14) and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is useless, your faith also is worthless. (15) Moreover it would mean we are lying about God, because we proclaim that He raised Christ, … whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead cannot be raised. (16) For if the dead cannot be raised, not even Christ has conquered the grave; (17) and if Christ did not rise, his purpose: to save us from our sins and reconcile us to God was not accomplished and your faith is worthless; you are still accountable for your sins. (18) Then those also who have died believing in Christ have simply died with a false hope. (19) If our hope in Christ is just for this life only, a ‘feel good’ for today, we are men who ought most to be pitied.

Paul’s argument to the Corinthian skeptics of the early church are just as useful to us today. His argument in one sentence is “How can you have Christianity without the resurrection?” Paul reasons in verse 13 that if the dead cannot be raised, then Christ has not been raised. Then, if Christ has not been raised, all our work is an exercise in futility; we’re spinning our wheels; we’re wasting our time; and worse than that: your faith is worthless. You’re not going to heaven. You don’t have a redeemer. You, o sinful man, cannot face your Holy God. You do not have… atonement. You do not have… hope.

Like in many parts of the world today, it was dangerous to be a Christian back then, much less a preacher and teacher. Paul lived in continual danger every day, in the form of shipwrecks, riots, stonings, scourging. He died to himself every day in order that he live for Christ.

If there was no resurrection, we may as well follow the advice he gives us in verse 32: “If I fought these many dangers and there is no afterlife and resurrection, what have I gained?” I can imagine Paul saying, “Do you think I’m having fun?!?” He then quotes the prophet Isaiah: “If the dead will not be raised, then let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” If we are to have a short life, then let it be a merry one. In fact, that is the very thing the people in Noah’s time were doing as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew:

Matthew 24:38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;

They had no idea what was coming.

Our faith, and our hope, relies on the fact that Christ rose, defeating death, paving the way for us to have everlasting life in communion with Him and God.

The world hates this message. The world abhors this message, it’s a noise in their ears and an affront to their sensibilities.

Not long ago James Cameron, filmmaker-turned-archaeologist claimed to have dug up the bones of Jesus. You know, a Muslim’s faith would not be threatened by the discovery of the bones of Mohammed. I do wonder, however, what the followers of “the religion of peace” would do if Mr. Cameron tried to take that on as a sequel. Buddhism was not shaken when the bones of the Buddha, were discovered in 1985. But, if we’ve invested our faith, our beliefs, our life’s purpose and eternal future, in a man whose bones were dug up by a Science Fiction filmmaker under an apartment in Jewish suburbia along with the bones of his Mother, his live-in girlfriend and his illegitimate child, the world needs to hear: “Please, don’t hate us Christians. Pity us. Pity us.”

If Christ was not raised, you’re still trapped in your sin. You’re in jail without bail. On Death Row! Our justification, our ability to stand before our Holy God, to Glorify Him by enjoying Him forever, righteous; sanctified; lies not in the cross, but in the Resurrection. The Resurrection is the acceptance of the atonement made on the cross; the atonement, the at-one-ment, the ability to be at one with God, to be reconciled to God, is a result of the Resurrection. The wages of sin: death; Our debt: paid in full.

Look at the rest of the world religions: none of them have atonement. There is no need for a resurrection. They hope in a future based on human works that we as sinful people cannot perform. Buddah is dead. Mohammed is dead. Joseph Smith is dead. But Christ lives!

Another news flash for some, is that the Bible, that collection of Scripture that is made up of sixty-six books written by forty-some people under the inspiration of our One God telling his one plan of redemption over a four-thousand some-odd year period is the most historically accurate piece of literature on the planet.

Now the Bible is not a science book. You’re not going to find in Scripture the design of the human eye, or how volcanoes work, or why the sky is blue or how birds and whales know how to migrate back and forth every year.

However, the Bible does display broad and accurate knowledge in every scientific field from cosmology, to biology, as well as scientific principles from the hydrologic cycle to the circulatory system.

The Bible, for all the controversy surrounding its authenticity and its veracity, its truth, is as I said an accurate recollection of History. We have the history of the creation of the universe. The universe was created when “God Said…” Did you ever notice the word universe? Uni-Verse, ‘one phrase’… “In the beginning God Said…” BANG!!!. That’s my big-bang theory!

The Bible then documents the history of early man: their fall from grace, their destruction save for a single family, the re-population of the world after the flood; the selection of the least significant of these people groups, Israel, from all the world’s peoples, the history of Israel, including all the good, the bad, and the very ugly. How that ugliness led to their downfall and captivity and destruction as well as the many nations, kingdoms and rulers, great and small, involved in all that conflict. This is historical record.

Then, after 400 years of silence God returns to complete history, His-story, with the birth of a baby that marks the beginning of the end of this wonderful tale of a God who would make himself known to his people and call them to Himself.

In the Gospels we have recorded for us under the influence of God the Holy Spirit the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have accounts of the Herods and their kings. We have accounts of Census’ taking by the Romans. We have accounts of their leaders, such as Pontius Pilate, whose existence was questioned by critics until 1961 when records with his name began to surface on ancient inscriptions.

In the book of Acts we have what is regarded as the earliest recorded detailed accounts of maritime life penned by Luke, the physician, who was present on many of the Apostle Paul’s journeys. In fact, the anchors that were cut from Paul’s shipwrecked prison boat in Acts 27:29 are believed to have been found off the coast Malta in 2003, precisely where they would have been based on Luke’s detailed recordings. We have dozens of examples of this: The more we look: the more we find the Bible contains stunningly accurate historical records.

We also have historical record of the Resurrection of our Lord. Not a story; not a myth; but an eyewitness account. One that cannot be denied, and one that has never been repeated.

Critics forget, or intentionally omit, that Christ’s resurrection is not the first or only verifiable recording of the dead brought to life.

It is recorded in John 11 that Christ brought Lazarus from the grave, dead for four days, rotten, and stinking according to his sister, by simply uttering, “Lazarus, come forth”.

According to extra-Biblical narratives, Lazarus was thirty years old when this happened; and he lived another thirty years on Cyprus before he died. …Again… His grave in the city of Kition, has the inscription: “Lazarus the four days dead and friend of Christ.” Historical events… Historical record.

Mark tells us in Chapter 5 that Christ went to the home of a synagogue official to heal his at the time sick daughter. Apparently the people mocked him when he said the child had not died, but was asleep. “He’s dead you idiot… what are you going to do now? It’s too late… you had your chance and you blew it.” Again: Christ utters two words two words: Talitha kum: “Little girl, get up!”

In Matthew 10, we see Christ delegate his power and authority in verse eight to his apostles: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” How many were raised from the dead is not recorded but it created enough of a ruckus that …

John the Baptist heard of Jesus’ ministry while in prison and sent disciples to ask if he (Jesus) was the one that John had been preaching about. They reported back what they heard and what they saw: Matthew 11:5: “The blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

As Christ and the disciples are approaching the gates of the city of Nain Luke tells in chapter 7 of a funeral procession: a widow had lost her only son. That’s a dark day for a woman in those times. She was basically putting her retirement plan in a box in a hole in the ground; the only hope of a somewhat comfortable ‘golden years’ lie in your male children, and here she is, her future lost.

Luke records in chapter seven:

Luk 7:13-15 When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.” (14) And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” (15) The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Can you imagine that happening here today? In your local cemetery? The local paper would have something to write about that week, wouldn’t they?

Eyewitness accounts of the impossible.

Now. Those were recorded in Jesus’ life. What about His death? What about his resurrection? On one side we have an empty tomb. After the Sabbath, several women went to the tomb to care for Christ’s corpse, to anoint it with spices. They got there, and nobody was there… nobody… no body. But it’s not the absence of a body that rocked the world and reset its calendar to April the eighth of … zero. It was the eyewitness of nearly 500 people over 40 days.

Even before that, at Christ’s death, Matthew tells us:

Matthew 27:51-54 NIV – At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. (52) The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. (53) They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. (54) When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

I’m sure the Pharisees and Sadducees had a tough time trying to explain that one away during the following Sabbath sermon! Note the scripture says that “holy people who had died were raised to life.” It’s unclear whether these people are “the saints”, regular believers like you or me, or people in authority, like the Lord’s prophets.

It tickles me to think of the prophets of old who foresaw the coming of Christ, themselves martyred by the ancestors of those who killed their Christ all walking out of the cemetery, entering the city of Jerusalem, and ganging up on the crooked leadership at the temple, that “brood of vipers” as Christ called them, shaking their fingers at them saying “do you believe us now?!?!?”

Imagine walking through your local cemetery to visit a loved one that had passed away, and you see that there’s a hole in the ground and the body is gone! Like the women at Christ’s tomb you may first suspect foul play: “Oh no… someone’s taken Uncle Bill’s body… someone took Uncle Bill!!!” Then you get a tap on the shoulder, turn around and shout: “Uncle Bill!”

Undeniable evidence; documented evidence, enough proof to come to the conclusion in a court of law that resurrection is possible, and that only through one source: God in Flesh: our Jesus the Christ. We have numerous examples of this in the New Testament:

• Jesus appears to the women at the tomb as they cry thinking someone stole His body.
• Jesus appears incognito to two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus and disappears into thin air once they figure out who he is through his exposition of scripture and the sharing of a meal together. Jesus wasn’t a ghost: He physically ate with them.
• Jesus appears to the eleven disciples behind closed doors where they interacted with Him and ate a meal with Him.
• Jesus ate with the disciples on the beach at the Sea of Tiberius
• Jesus spoke to a crowd of five hundred (and that’s just the men!) on a mountain in Galilee where he preaches and gives the Great Commission. Paul describes in 1Cor 15:6 that “if you don’t believe me, go ask one of those who was there! Most of them are still alive and they’ll tell you what they saw!
• Finally, Christ appears to the Jewish terrorist and persecutor of His church: Saul, renaming him the Apostle Paul, to spread the Good News to the Gentile world, those not born into the Jewish bloodline – you and me.

John opens his Gospel account with:

1 John 1:1-4 NASB What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life– (2) and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us– (3) what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (4) These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

For those who doubt the Resurrection of Christ, they need to take into account that the evidence compiled documenting Christ’s life, death, and resurrection is greater than that proving the Greeks Plato or Homer ever lived. Those trying to take the Bible out of our children’s hands should first petition the removal of The Illiad and the Odyssey and The Republic from our libraries. Can’t prove they ever lived; why should we read a book that nobody wrote?

As I mentioned earlier Thomas needed proof: he said he needed to see it with his own eyes and touch Him with his own hands. You know, the Bible never says that Thomas touched him:

John 20:26-31 NASB Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” (29) Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” (30) Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; (31) but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Our faith is not a leap in the dark. It is a response to the revelation of light. Jesus, the true light, by coming into the world, enlightens every believer, and tells us that through Him we are the light of the world, and we are to let our light shine among men so they will not stumble in the darkness. That is the purpose of the Website and Podcast, TheReformedCatholic.com. That is your purpose, Dear Reader and Listener, if you have eyes to see and ears to hear

For those who believe in Jesus, the Christ; the Messiah; the savior that came to take away our sin and allow us to enter the holy presence of a glorious God, we, through the power of His Resurrection, shall not taste death. For believers, those in Christ, this broken and fallen world is the closest thing to Hell we will ever experience. For the unbeliever, the one who tries to work out their own salvation through their own works and not rely on the atonement of Christ: this world will be the closest thing to heaven they will ever taste.

We’re Christians. We have a simple message. We have a solid witness. Paul tells the Thessalonians

“Our appeal does not spring from error or impure motives. Nor are we trying to trick you. We are not looking for praise from men. But we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our lives as well, because you have become so dear to us. And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”

The message we proclaim is precious: we have this treasure in clay jars. God uses us; imperfect people; ordinary people; to proclaim his extraordinary message and His insurmountable grace. And we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Christ is not on the cross; Christ is not in a tomb; Christ is not in the ground. Christ is Risen… Hallelujah!

He wanted me to make sure I told you that!

Amen, and amen!

-Anthony

It’s a little early, but I wanted to get the word out… The teaching and resources at Ligonier Ministries has been instrumental in my research and study of the Bible and by looking at what the Bible teaches us (or more accurately, what God teaches us) it has helped me see the flaws in what I was raised to believe as a Catholic and steered me toward my faith in Christ, and Christ alone.

I wanted to encourage you to take your own walk of faith. It’s one thing to listen to a podcast; It’s another to read this blog or another book (aside from the Bible of course) but it’s a wonderful thing when you can study under the guidance of some of the greatest minds and teachers who have devoted their lives and loves to exposing the truths of the Bible.

This year’s national conference (this will be my fourth) looks incredible and it’s theme is Evangelism According To Jesus. I would encourage you to take this walk with me in growing your faith, learning what Christ Himself told us about Himself, and how he wants to let others know about Him.

Below is an excerpt from the conference bulletin that you can read below or at the link above. One word of Scripture I will leave you with (emphasis mine):

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. -Romans 5:1-2

He wanted you to know that…

God bless you, and let your light shine!

-Anthony

2008 National Conference:

Does our evangelism introduce people to the wrong Jesus?

Nearly half the population of the United States claims to be “born-again.” Self-identified “evangelicals” are a voting bloc courted by our major political parties, and a large percentage of citizens attend church services at least once a week. Yet, as we look at the culture around us, an unmistakable erosion of the Judeo-Christian ethic has taken place. God is regularly blasphemed, professing believers often live no differently from non-Christians, and many churches are captive to the trends of this present age.

Two factors explain this set of contradictory realities. First, the church has failed to preach the biblical Gospel. Instead of preaching about mankind’s depravity and the truth that citizenship in the kingdom of God comes only by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, we hear about a powerless and insipid Creator and the cheap grace He lavishes upon all. Secondly, because the church has failed to preach the biblical Gospel, our evangelism has too often introduced people to the wrong Jesus. We are told that “Jesus can give us our best life now” or that “He wants to be our best friend,” and not that He is our Savior from enslavement to sin and the righteous judgment of God. As such, He demands a life of costly discipleship (Luke 14:25-33).

This spring we invite you to join us as we seek to help the church address these critical issues. On March 13-15, 2008, Ligonier Ministries will hold its 21st annual national conference, “Evangelism According to Jesus,” in Orlando, Fla. During three days of worship, fellowship, encouragement, study, and prayer, we will proclaim the different aspects of the Gospel and explain how they must impact our evangelism. Joining us will be respected pastors, theologians, and leaders Sinclair Ferguson, Steven J. Lawson, John MacArthur, C.J. Mahaney, R.C. Sproul Jr., and Joni Eareckson Tada, all of whom will remind us of the great truths of the Gospel and help us evangelize more effectively.

It is imperative that we preach no other Gospel than the one delivered by our Lord and His apostles. I hope you will join us in March as we explore and apply the faith once delivered to the saints.

R.C. Sproul,
President and Founder

Well, the Bible does say that faith comes by hearing and you certainly can buy yourself an audio version of the Bible but nothing compares to reading God’s word and reflecting on His wisdom and plan for your life in His own words direct to you.

The one thing you don’t want to be is a pew potato: As a Catholic, all my life I had let other people tell me what the Bible had said. Once I started visiting churches that were Bible-centered and Christ-centered a whole new world had opened as I was challenged to read the Scripture for myself, both during the worship service and on my own time at home. As I started to understand more and more of the Biblical truths and someone actually presented me with a Christ-centered plan of salvation backed up by the words of Scripture, I asked “Why had I never heard any of this before?” Christ had always been “hidden in plain sight!”

Now, reading the Bible can sometimes seem daunting, or even scary, but here’s the good news right off the bat: you will never know it all! You can be born into a Christian household and read the Bible every day your whole life and when you’re a hair’s breath away from heaven at the age of 92 you will think you’ve only scratched the surface. That’s how rich, powerful, and living God’s Word is. Just like when you get married, the longer you are with your spouse the more and more you learn about them… you never stop learning. So it is with God, and God gives us this relationship through His Book.

Choosing a Translation:

First things first: If you are going to read a Bible, it’s gotta be a Bible you can read. If you open up and see words like “thy, thee, sitteth, saith, thou” that’s not the Bible you want to start with.

There are two basic types of Bible translations: word for word and thought-for thought. The word-for-word translations attempt to take each individual word in Greek and Hebrew and translate them into the native tongue (i.e. English) literally. Sometimes you run into some grammar problems like you would say, translating Spanish: In Spanish you would say “I’m going to the house of John” where in English you would say “I’m going to John’s house.” This is where translation shows itself as an art and not a science.

Some good modern word-for-word translations are the English Standard Version (ESV) and the New American Standard Bible (NASB). King James does have a more up-to-date translation but it’s accepted by many (myself included) that the ESV is the best and most readable modern word-for-word translation in print today. You can follow this link and watch a great video about its history, purpose, and acceptance by many churches today, and you can purchase your own ESV through their site or at the Online Resource Center at www.TheReformedCatholic.com

Thought-for-thought translations take the general idea of what the writer of scripture is trying to say and re-word it into a contemporary or more readable form. Sometimes nuances and underlying meanings can be lost but in general the Scripture is more readable. One of today’s most popular translations has been the NIV, or New International Version. More recently, a version called The Message has been written by a pastor originally for his young nephews, and is extremely contemporary and very readable but there is a lot to be said for the “dumbing down” of Scripture to make it more readable. I myself, when I first came to faith and decided to read the Bible in its entirety read the Contemporary English Version, or CEV. It’s very readable and holds a treasured place on my bookshelf as it was the first Bible I had ever read cover to cover.

What Type of Bible Will You Read?

Once you get past the translation, or version, of the Bible, you then have your choice of what additional information, if any, you want to have in your Bible. First, there’s just the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible. This type of Bible contains only the Scripture and maybe some footnotes or cross references in the center or at the bottom of each page, but in general, is nothing but the Scripture. You can then choose to get a Bible with study notes of one kind or another. There’s the Life Application Study Bible that has notes on how you can take each verse of scripture and see how it can affect the way you live or how you can apply it in your life. There’s a Devotional Bible that can walk you through the Bible in a year or may have man or women-specific notes. There are Soldier’s Bibles, Firefighter’s Bibles, a Boys’ Bible and the list goes on. Each one gives helpful instruction for each type of application in your life, wherever you are.

I have a confession to make here… I used to tease my wife as to the number of Bibles she had when we met… I asked “Isn’t one enough?” Now I have more Bibles than she does (though right now I pretty much stick to my ESV Reformation Study Bible when I’m at home and I have a small travel NIV when I’m going out!)

A Quick Walk Through – From Genesis to Maps!

If you have a Bible, go get it and turn to the Table of Contents. The Bible, as you probably already know, is divided into two main parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. All together there are sixty-six books in the Bible and they are divided up into the following sections:

Old Testament

• The Pentateuch: Genesis through Deuteronomy
• The History Books: Joshua through Esther
• Poetry and Wisdom: Job through Song of Solomon
• Major and Minor Prophets: Isaiah through Malachi

New Testament

• The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
• Early Church History: The Book of Acts
• The Epistles, or letters to the local Christian churches: Romans through Jude
• The Book of Revelation: God’s ultimate plan (we win!)

Understanding what you should understand…

Though the writings of the Bible are intrinsically simple (that is, even a child can understand the major messages, like the teachings of Jesus, the story of Adam and Eve and Noah, etc.) there are parts that you definitely won’t understand in the beginning. Don’t worry about it… you’ll deal with that later.
If you are going to read the Bible straight through for the first time, I have one word of advice: after reading Exodus skip on through to Joshua… Your first read through should be like getting familiar with a new friend: in this case, you are going to see God’s historical plan for his people in a 10,000-foot overview. Many people get to the book of Numbers and quit, so don’t lose your momentum.

Also, pick a time to read every day for 90 days. The Bible, as big as it seems, like an elephant, can be consumed one spoonful at a time. Some days you will sit at a banquet, and other days you will just have a snack, but consistent, daily reading of Scripture is a great way to start and end your day. You know what they say about building a habit: it takes 14 days to build a solid habit, and then it’ll be hard to break. (Speaking of which, tomorrow is day 2 of my new daily exercise habit (ouch!).

Finally, don’t hesitate to use a pen and either underline passages that are especially meaningful to you or that you may not understand and want to go back to later to get more information. Many Bibles have generous space in the margins or blank pages in the back for just this purpose. Think of the Bible as an instruction manual for your life. Someone once made an acronym for the Bible that reads Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth. The Bible is your life’s workbook. If you came and saw my first Bible, that CEV I was telling you about, it’s got a bunch of underlines. If you look at my current Bible, my ESV Reformation Study Bible, you’ll find underlines, stars, sermon notes, personal notes, references to other books and pages, and more. The evidence of a Bible that is worn out is a life that is not.

Going from milk to meat…

Once you get the 10,000 foot overview, it’s time to dig in. Either join a Bible Study, participate in one online, or get a book about a book of the Bible… Romans or one of the Gospels would be a great place to start. Check the Resource Center at www.TheReformedCatholic.com for some introductory study aids on the books of the Bible to get you started. Also, I’ll be going through the book of Romans on this podcast so stay tuned for that!

If you were a parent of a young child, would you be happy if they never matured and stayed on the floor in diapers drinking milk and eating applesauce all day? No… I don’t think so. As you are His children, neither is God satisfied with a ‘milky’ Christian. He wants you to understand the depths of the knowledge of his love, his grace, and the gift He gave us in the salvation offered to us through the sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ. You will only get this through the daily feeding on the meat of His Word, the Bible.
So now you have a good idea how the Bible works. Pick up a version you can read, with notes that are meaningful to you, and start your relationship with Him today.

“Hey God? I’d like you to meet my friend <insert your name here>…”

He asked me to tell you that…

-Anthony