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

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

“He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.” -Jesus, Luke 6:48

One of my most influential teachers, Dear Reader, explained that there are four philosophical elements that every worldview or belief system must answer: Origin, Meaning, Morality, and Destiny. In other words, “upon what foundation will you build the house of your faith?” The worldview given to to us in the Bible revolves around the essence of Jesus Christ: the person of God who came to Earth to save His people so they may follow Him.

Take the first four verses of the Gospel of John where Christ is described as the Word of God and take note of the underlined parts:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)

Christ’s origin, like God’s, is in Eternity. There was never a time that Jesus was not. There was never a time that God was not. That is why the Name of God is I AM. When Moses asked God in the wilderness who he should say had sent him to free the Israelites, God said “Tell them that I AM sent you.” When the temple guards came to arrest Jesus in the garden (John 18:5) and said they were looking for Jesus, he responded “I AM he” upon which the power of His name repulsed them all backwards and caused them to fall to the ground. Christ is, was, and ever shall be and His name, the name above all names, is eternal.

What was Christ’s meaning, or purpose? He came to save sinners, for “there is no one righteous: not one!” -Romans 3:10. Without Christ, no one goes to heaven. He came to do something that we could not do on our own. Jesus did not come to Earth to heal the healthy: he came to heal the sick: the sin-sick souls of His chosen people so they may glorify Him for all eternity. In one fell swoop by paying the penalty of sin on the cross (as the wages of sin are death) and the evidence of His resurrection (Jesus conquered death to open the doorway of salvation to all of us) He allows us access to eternity and fellowship with the Father.

This sacrifice was a one time redemption. Think of it as getting a letter from a creditor saying “paid in full.” Your debt is over… done with. Similarly, once you accept Christ as your redeemer, you never have to approach to God as a wretched human being ever again, but as a chosen son. When Christ rose, it was, as he said in His final words “accomplished” and Christ reigns in heaven at this moment triumphant over death and hell. The Catholic Church, sadly, shows a wretched, battered Christ on the Cross, still suffering for our sins. That, Dear Reader, is not Biblical (dare I say heresy?) Christ has risen, Christ has conquered, and it is finished! The cross, as is the tomb, is empty. Take Him down from there!

Jesus came to give meaning to our morality as well. Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit that God gives us, we have no moral compass. Who is to say what is right or wrong or what is lawful unless you have a law giver? How do we stand on issues such as racism and abortion and murder unless you have a standard to go by?

If you say that morality is relative, then can you say that racism is wrong? If I feel, in my opinion, that one race of people is better than another, do you have any moral ground to tell me I’m wrong to feel that way? Atheism has no moral compass. (When they say they do, they have to borrow it from the Christians.) Stalin, an atheist, was responsible for the death of forty three million people with an estimated total of one hundred thirty million killed under various atheistic regimes. Is a philosophy responsible for that many lives morally wrong? If so, by whose standard? God is the source of all truth and morality, as His law is written on our hearts. (Romans 2:15, Jeremiah 31:33) We know what’s right and what’s wrong. We try to defend our own morality, but there is a higher standard we all will be held accountable to one day.

Finally there is the Christian’s destiny promised through Jesus Christ: Jesus proclaimed, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In July of 2007 the patriarch of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI essentially said that “no one goes to heaven except through the Catholic Church.” My question to him, Dear Reader, is: “From what fortune cookie did you pull that little nugget of doctrine from? Where in your Bible does it say that? … I haven’t been able to find it!”

If what the pope said were true, where does that leave the faithful Old Testament Israelite? (Is Moses in Heaven?) Where does that leave the church in China, India, Iran, and other countries hostile to the Gospel where thousands die each year in His name? Are they in hell because they weren’t Catholic? More importantly, how could Christ say to the thief on the Cross with a straight face that “today you will be with me in paradise?” That man on His left never went to Church or was baptized or received communion: it was simple faith in who Christ was, and nothing else, that saved Him.

What the pope and other officials in the Catholic Church are saying with this, however, is that what they say is true overrides what the Bible says is true, (because they think they’re the ones with the authority to interpret it, not you) and if the Bible is the Word of God, I’m going to stand as far away from any Catholic Church building in fear of getting struck by lightning or swallowed by earthquake. If I have to make a choice between who I’m more scared of offending: God or Mr. Benedict, I’ll side with God.

There is freedom in the Gospel, not servitude. There is hope in Christ’s absolute power, without which there would be no hope of salvation.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. -Romans 1:16

If God is for us, who can be against us? -Romans 8:31

He wanted me to tell you that.

-Anthony

So, I hope you like today’s inaugural podcast. I have to decide on a schedule of writing and podcasting. I still plan on making daily updates, but whether it’s a 50/50 or a weekly podcast and 4 days writing, time will tell.

Please post some comments and check to see when the podcast will be available on iTunes!

Ephesians 4:11-14

The apostle Paul gives a brief job description to every Christian believer in chapter 4 of his letter to the Ephesian Church. I say brief, as in there are few words mentioned, but it’s an enormous responsibility.

Dear Reader, there are two distinct people groups he has charged with this task:

• Those in authority: the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers
• Those in the pews: the ‘saints’ (you and me)

The task given to those in authority (the men in the pulpit, the Sunday School rooms, the seminaries) are charged to equip the ones in the pews (us) for the work of ministry. You don’t need a divinity degree to minister, whether it is to one or to a crowd.

It is the job of the minister to preach and teach. It is the job of the people to minister. We are to minister to each other within the church, to our immediate sphere of influence be it your family, or neighbor, and to the world around us (kinda like what this website does!).

How are those in authority going to equip the people for ministry? It ought to be primarily through the reading, exhortation, and teachings of the things of God and Christ through His Word: the Bible. Reading, studying, and understanding God’s Word will help us apply it to our lives so they will be building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.

Likewise, it is the task of the people in the pew to listen, meditate on, and figure out how they can apply God’s Word in their lives, and to call upon the gifts they have to also spread the light of the Gospel.

If you’re a pew-potato, doing nothing but coming to Church on Sunday, letting the sermon go in one ear and out the other, woe to you. (Not my words… again, I’m only a messenger!)

Christ has a special warning to those types of ‘Christians’ in the book of Revelation:

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

Revelation 3:15-16

“Christian” is not a title, putting a label on yourself to make you feel good or proclaim to the world that you’re something special. The term Christian is a Job Description. Christian means “Like Christ” or “Follower of Christ” or more accurately, “Little Christ”. If I go out and print up business cards that have my title as “Custom Home Designer” and I sit at home and surf the web all day I’m either (1:) deliberately lying to those around me, or (2:) deluding myself, making myself ‘feel good’ by making others believe I design custom homes. Well, one day I’ll be called on the carpet to meet with someone about a house and the truth will be out that I’m a deluded liar.

Well, one day we will be called to report in on what work we have been doing. Do we claim the title “Christian” but never show up for work? Do we even put a flyer in the paper or have we even filled out the job application by reaching to the heavens and cry “Lord, show thyself! I want to know you and be known by your name!”?

And why are we to be built up to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ? Paul gives three reasons:

So that we may no longer be children; Growing in faith, taking in Spiritual truths is often compared to drinking milk (as an infant) and eating meat (as an adult). If you ate nothing but soft foods and drank milk all day and sat around letting others tend to your beck and call as an infant, would you ever grow strong? Will you ever be able to fend for yourself? Until a child learns to crawl, walk, stand strong, eat and fend for itself, they are at the mercy of those around them. Don’t be weak.

…tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine; Children are sweet, aren’t they? They are also gullible little creatures. One of my (six!) nephews once asked me how weight limits for bridges are measured. I told him “They drive bigger and bigger trucks over the bridge until it breaks. Then they weigh the last truck and rebuild the bridge.” I’ll admit I got that one from Calvin and Hobbes, but I’ve done this several times and they always seem to get wide-eyed at first and then accept it.

Likewise, you: Dear Reader, must be able to know the truth from a lie. Do you know how bank tellers are taught how to spot counterfeit money? They aren’t taught what 100 fake bills look like: They are taught what real money looks like. Then, when a fake bill comes their way, they will know it’s fake. You, by knowing true doctrine, from the words penned by God, will then know false teachings when they come your way.

…by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Sometimes people teach false gospels or doctrine through ignorance: They cannot detect fake from real, either. Other people directly use deceit to advance their own wicked schemes.

Again, educate yourself using Scripture as your guide, and when someone comes to you and says “God teaches this or that” or “This is what the Bible says…” you can identity true teaching or not.

He asked me to warn you.

In His Care,

-Anthony

The Bible Is Not a Book

The first misnomer is that the Bible is a single book. More accurately, it is a compendium or a volume composed of sixty-six smaller works. Some are historical works, like Genesis, Exodus, Judges, and Acts. Some are letters, such as the letters from Paul to the Ephesians, Galatians, and Romans. Some are Poetry, like Psalms and the Song of Solomon. Some are known as Wisdom literature, which include Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Then the prophetical or apocalyptic books, including Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the Revelation. Finally, the Gospels, which include the biographical accounts of the life of Christ and this three year ministry on Earth.

The Bible has two main volumes: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is sometimes known as “The Jewish Bible” because it contains all the books that Moses and the Prophets and their kings wrote. The New Testament contains the books written after the life of Christ which documents his life and the life and communications of the apostles and the new churches.

Together, the 66 books of the Bible are what’s known as the ‘canon’ of scripture. Each book can certainly be read independently, but as you learn to read the Bible, the beauty inherent in Scripture is that it tells one single story: How a loving God provided a way to redeem a rebellious and fallen people to himself. From the Creation account to the Gospels to Revelation we see a gracious and kind God providing a way for His people to be with Him for eternity.

We also believe that the Bible is the actual word of God: That through the writings of men, inspired by the Holy Spirit, God gave us history – His story - and it has been preserved throughout the ages no matter what people have tried to do to supress it.

Finding Things in the Bible

As the Bible was written and copied throughout the ages it was one continuous letter or book. Today we see the Bible as individual books, but within those books we have chapters and verses. It is believed that this system was first initiated in 1240 by Cardinal Hugo of St. Cher and his team of scholars as a reference aid when writing one of the first concordances. The exact numbering system of chapters and verses have gone through some variance over the next few hundred years until it reached the system we recognize today.

A Bible reference takes the following form: Book Chapter:Verse(s). For example:

Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

This reference is in the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, and encompasses two verses: 8 and 9. When referencing more than one verse, hyphens are used between the verse numbers (8-9 in this example) and when showing the test after the reference as above, it is sometimes common to include the verse number within the text as seen where verse 9 starts.

Knowing Your Bible

First, as a child of God you are to study His Word. You can’t know what God wants for your life unless you talk with Him, and he talks through His Word.

Second, The Bible is handed to us as a physical book. Though the Bible is the perfect Word of God there is nothing sacred or Holy about the physical book itself: It’s okay if you spill coffee on it, if the pages get wrinkled, if the cover gets worn or pages begin to fall out because the spine is losing its glue.

The Bible is meant to be read; and a well-worn Bible is a sign of a strong faith and well-spent spiritual walk.

My challenge to you: Read your Bible, cover-to-cover if you never had. Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything at first, because you won’t. But it’s important to get a quick cursory understanding of the full story. Once you have a 10,000-foot view, then you can fly into one of the runways and study a particular book. You can study Romans to get a detailed view of Theology. You can read Genesis to account for God’s creation and redemptive plan through the ages (we win, by the way!!!).

It will take about 70 hours to read the Bible straight through. One hour per day, five days per week, that’s 14 weeks. I’ve read books by Stephen King larger than that in less time. That’s my challenge.

Then we’ll really get to talk some about Christianity and Catholicism.

He told me we need to do that.

In His Service,

-Anthony