Showing posts with label saints. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Who Will Go to Hell?

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Hell. This follows this post about Jeroboam. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.

Who Will Go to Hell?

by Gary Antion 3 comments Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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It’s a word that few really understand, yet most people will go there. It is usually considered the location for the incorrigibly wicked. It might be used to express anger or frustration. It may be used as a destination to assign to those you do not like. However, the hell that is described in the pages of the Bible is a very real place. You may be surprised to learn who goes to that location!
Some Christians believe hell is the place for the souls of the wicked. Others think hell is a state of mind. Some don’t believe hell exists at all. As we’ll see, there are three hells described in the Bible. One of these is hot enough to consume the “soul.” We’ll also see that there is a hell for the fallen angels or demons.
Have you ever attended a funeral and been unsure of where the deceased was headed? Most preachers, out of kindness, do not assign a deceased person to hell. However, many in the audience may wonder about the deceased’s future considering his or her lack of genuine spirituality while alive.
What is hell? In the Bible the word hell is mentioned 54 times. It is translated from four different words. The only one in the Old Testament— sheol in the Hebrew—and one in the New Testament— hades in Greek—have the meaning of the grave, a pit or the abode of the dead. Sheol is the only word in the Old Testament from which hell is translated in the King James Version of the Bible. It is translated “hell” 31 times. Hades is translated “hell” 10 times in the New Testament.
In Psalms 6:5 and 30:3 the psalmist speaks of sheol as the grave. Amos the prophet uses sheol to state that one may dig into “hell”—indicating the grave that was in the earth (Amos 9:2, King James Version throughout). When Jonah was in the belly of the great fish (or whale as wrongly translated), he was said to be in “hell” (Jonah 2:2). All of those words for hell are translated from the Hebrew word sheol .
We see in 1 Corinthians 15:55 the word grave translated from hades . In the book of Acts, King David is said to have been in “hell.” Since David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14) and will rule with God in His Kingdom (Jeremiah 30:9), he would not have gone to the hell that is traditionally pictured for the incorrigibly wicked. Notice Acts 2:27, 29 where David is in “hell” or the grave, but with the promise that he will not remain there forever. He will be resurrected from “hell” (hades) or the grave.
So, the first “hell” we’ve looked at is simply the grave—the place of the dead, both good and evil!
Another “hell” of the Bible is far hotter than the traditional view of hell. The second “hell” is translated from the Greek word gehenna and literally means the Valley of Hinnom, a place outside Jerusalem where trash was burned. Gehenna is also associated with fire and is called hell fire (Matthew 5:22) or the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).
This second “hell” is a place where the incorrigible will be sent as a final punishment after the last judgment. If they have deliberately turned from God, they will be resurrected and cast into gehenna (hell) and burned completely (see Revelation 20:14 and Malachi 4:1-3, which describes the wicked as ashes under the feet of the righteous). God will destroy all those who deliberately refuse to submit to Him once they know Him.
The third “hell” refers to the restraint of the demons. Tartaroo is used in only one place in the Bible (2 Peter 2:4) and is used only in reference to the demons being chained or restrained until the time of their judgment by God.
The concept of heaven and hell in traditional Christianity heavily depends on the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. Yet, in the Bible, the phrase immortal soul is nowhere to be found.
On the contrary, the word soul is translated from the Hebrew and Greek words nephesh and psuche , which mean “life.” Animals are called nephesh , and nephesh (whether human or animal) can die (see Genesis 1:20, 24, where nephesh is translated “creature”; Ezekiel 18:4, 20; 22:27; Psalms 33:19). The psuche can also die as shown in Matthew 10:28 and Revelation 16:3.
So, we see that human beings will go to hell (the grave) when they die, but they will be resurrected from the grave. Some will be resurrected to eternal life and others to judgment. Those who have deliberately rejected God and His ways will be burned up in gehenna (hell) fire (Revelation 20:14). The demons await the time of final judgment in yet another “hell”—tartaroo —their condition of imprisonment here on earth, restrained from venting their full fury on mankind and reserved to judgment at the end (Jude 6).
Thank God the day is coming when there will be no more death or sorrow (Revelation 21:4-5). At that time, there will no longer be a hell—the grave—for human beings.

God's plan Kingdom of God Heaven and Hell Difficult Scriptures Doctrinal Beliefs

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Wednesday, July 2, 2014

What is idolatry?

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about idolatry. This follows this post about Kosovo. This follows this post about smuggling across borders. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632. You can follow me at blogspot here and at twitter here https://twitter.com/brianleesblog. Please consider following both in case one goes down!

What is idolatry?

What exactly constitutes idolatry, and how does God's command against idolatry apply to Christians today?

Answer: Most people today who have any concept of idolatry probably think of pagans bowing down and worshipping a strange-looking idol—a carved image or statue. That's part of what idolatry means, but since most of us today don't do that, how do God's commands against idolatry apply to Christians now?

In the King James Version of the Bible, there are three different words translated as "idolatry." Each one ( teraphiym , kateidolos and eidololatria ) has at its core the concept of serving or worshipping something other than the one true God.

The apostle Paul provides us with a modern application of idolatry in the middle of a sentence in his letter to the Colossians. He mentions "covetousness [greed, New International Version], which is idolatry" (Colossians:3:5).

So idolatry is not just venerating a statue, carving or painting. Idolatry occurs when we begin to value anything more than we value God. If we spend more time thinking about our hero than God, that's idolatry. If our every thought is about the latest gadget or our personal appearance, that's idolatry. If the first priority in our lives is our family, even that's idolatry.

When God said, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus:20:3), He wasn't just talking about the imaginary deities that seem so ridiculous to us today. He was talking about anything that usurps His place as number one in our hearts. The solution to this problem is as simple (and as difficult) as Christ's admonition in Matthew:6:33: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."

Everything else must come after.

For more understanding, please read our booklet What is Your Destiny?

Friday, November 1, 2013

Should we pray to saints?

BLOGGERS NOTE: I WILL BE MOVING FROM FACEBOOK TO TWITTER AND BLOGSPOT SOON!

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about communication with the dead. This follows this post about the culture of Halloween. This follows this post about changes after the Berlin Wall came down. For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.

Should we pray to saints?

Some churches have a historic practice of praying to dead saints. Does the Bible teach that we should pray to the saints?

Answer:

Jesus Christ taught His followers to pray to "our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

See All...), and the example throughout Scripture is that prayer is communication with God and part of our worship of Him.

What else does the Bible say about where prayers should be directed? Paul wanted the Roman church's "prayers to God" (Romans 15:30Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

See All...). Moses was to "pray to the Lord" (Numbers 21:7Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

See All...), and David sang to God that "to You I will pray" (Psalm 5:2Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

See All...). Christians can come directly to God's throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

See All...), and the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:25Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

See All...). We don't need saints to do that.

Scripture shows saints (true believers) refusing to accept the worship of people (Acts 10:26But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.

See All...; 14:8-18). The Bible also tells us not to worship angels (Colossians 2:18Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

See All...), and it shows that angels refuse adoration and worship by humans (Revelation 19:10And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

See All...).

Notice also Revelation 22:9Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

See All..., where the apostle John saw in vision the time after the resurrection and fell down in awe at the feet of the being talking to him. "Then he said to me, 'See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.'"

Righteous created beings, whether human or angelic, refuse to be worshipped and they point us to worship the Creator. Only Satan and his followers seek others' adoration and worship (Matthew 4:9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

See All...; Acts 8:9-11 [9] But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

[10] To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

[11] And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

See All...; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 [3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

See All...).

In addition to all this, praying to dead saints today assumes the doctrine of the immortal soul, which many people are surprised to find is not taught in the Bible. The Bible teaches that death is like sleep that lasts until the resurrection at Jesus Christ's second coming (1 Thessalonians 4:13-16 [13] But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

[14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

[15] For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

[16] For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

See All...).

For more information, please read our booklet Who Is God?

.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Twitter, Purgatory and the Pope

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about purgatory. This follows this post about Marriage in God’s view. For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Twitter, Purgatory and the Pope

Is purgatory a biblical teaching?

[Steve Myers] A news item on the internet caught my attention. The title of the article was, "Get Time off in Purgatory by Following the Pope on Twitter." Now the reason for the article was in regard to the Catholics celebrating World Youth Day down in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. And the idea behind this article was saying that if you follow events on Twitter that you could spend less time in purgatory after you die , hopefully on your way to heaven.

Now the interesting part of this is this whole idea that somehow indulgences could be granted to make it to heaven a little bit easier. Now that's something that came up in the Catholic church during the 1300's. Hundreds of years ago the popes began to teach that the church had the power to forgive sin.

Now that's really not a biblical concept. You won't find that in your Bible. And the interesting part as well is this whole concept of purgatory to begin with. You know when you die the Bible says you go to the grave, and you await the resurrection. You're not somewhere else, but that you await the return of Christ. You await the resurrection of the dead. That's what comes next, not some state where you're wafting away in purgatory or some other place.

Here's what the interest part about the whole story is: one of the things that the Catholics site to justify belief in purgatory is this scripture that's found in Matthew chapter 5. Now I noticed this on a website called aboutcatholics.com .

And on that site the first New Testament reference is made to purgatory was found in Matthew 5:26Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

See All.... And here's what that passage says, it says, and it quotes Christ, "Assuredly I say to you, you will by no means get out of there until you pay the last penny." And so they interpret this to mean you won't get out of purgatory until every last little sin is accounted for. And so this idea that somehow by following the Pope on Twitter you could get out of there faster and those pennies would be paid is what the implication is all about.

Yet, you look up this passage in Matthew chapter 5 and what is it talking about? It's talking about relationships. It's talking about getting along with your brother. It's talking about having relationships that if you owe someone something, if someone takes you to court, that you better settle those things quickly because ultimately God's the judge. So this section of scripture, if you look it up, you look at the background, you look at the context, it has nothing to do with an afterlife.

So I hope you'll take the time to notice what exactly it says here, that it really has nothing to do with what happens after death.

Well, that's BT Daily . We'll see you next time.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Did Roman Gods Morph Into "Christian" Saints?

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Christian Saints. This follows this post about Hurricane Sandy. This follows this post about a "ghost" scene in the Bible. For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Did Roman Gods Morph Into "Christian" Saints?

article by United News Editor

Why would people observe a day that honors pagan gods by associating it with Christian saints?

Why would people observe a day that honors pagan gods by associating it with Christian saints?

The ancient Romans worshipped gods and goddesses involved with every aspect of life. Jupiter, the chief of the gods, was the deity of rain and storms, while his wife, Juno, was the goddess of womanhood. Minerva was the goddess of handicrafts and wisdom; Venus, of sexual love and birth; Vesta, of the hearth and sacred fires; Ceres, of farming and harvests.

The Greeks considered Mercury to be the messenger of the gods, but the Romans worshipped him as the god of trade, and businessmen celebrated his feast day to increase profits. Others included Mars, god of war; Castor and Pollux, gods of sea travelers; Cronos, the guardian of time; and Cupid, god of love, whose magic arrows encouraged humans and immortals to fall in love. The list goes on and on.

Romans would generically call on "the gods," but each deity had its own cult, and worshippers would pray and conduct religious ceremonies to a specific god or goddess to ask for help. Christianity, with its emphasis on one God, was viewed by many Romans as a strange superstition or even a kind of atheism that denied the existence of the gods.

Members of the early Christian Church considered themselves "saints," meaning holy or separated to God. Paul greets the church at Philippi as "all the saints in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:1). However, it wasn't long before "saints," in the Roman tradition, began to take on the meaning of a special class of martyrs or performers of heroic virtue.

In the second and third centuries it became common for congregations to honor the death of a martyr by celebrating the anniversary of his or her demise. The local cult would offer prayers to the dead for intercession with God. A "saint" could eventually receive universal recognition by declaration of the bishop of Rome .

The Catholic Encyclopedia explains: "As was taught by St. Augustine ... Catholics, while giving to God alone adoration strictly so-called, honor the saints because of the Divine supernatural gifts which have earned them eternal life, and through which they reign with God in the heavenly fatherland as His chosen friends and faithful servants.

"In other words, Catholics honor God in His saints as the loving distributor of supernatural gifts. The worship of latria ...or strict adoration is given to God alone; the worship, or dulia ...or honor and humble reverence, is paid the saints; the worship of hyperdulia ...on account of her greater excellence, [is directed] to the Blessed Virgin Mary" (Vol. II, "Saints," 1907, Online Edition, 1999, Kevin Knight).

The evolution from the early Church's recognition of all members being saints to the veneration and worship of the dead is rooted in the early mixture of paganism with Christianity. The populace throughout the Roman Empire was accustomed not only to the worship of the Greek and Roman pantheon, but to cultic worship of local deities. It was an easy step for Christian congregations rooted in paganism to replace the customs of local cults with the worship of dead martyrs.

Over the centuries the Catholic Church canonized saints for many events, problems, illnesses and occupations, each celebrated with his or her own feast day. St. Stephen is the patron saint of stonemasons; doctors can pray to St. Luke, fishermen to St. Andrew and carpenters to St. Joseph. Patron saints are there for farmers, hunters, shoemakers and even comedians. The primary saint in Catholic theology is Mary, the mother of Jesus.

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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Should we pray to saints?

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about prayers to saints. This follows this post about Japan's possible nuclear plans. For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632

Should we pray to saints?

Some churches have a historic practice of praying to dead saints. Does the Bible teach that we should pray to the saints?

Answer:

Jesus Christ taught His followers to pray to "our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

See All...), and the example throughout Scripture is that prayer is communication with God and part of our worship of Him.

What else does the Bible say about where prayers should be directed? Paul wanted the Roman church's "prayers to God" (Romans 15:30Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

See All...). Moses was to "pray to the Lord" (Numbers 21:7Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

See All...), and David sang to God that "to You I will pray" (Psalm 5:2Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

See All...). Christians can come directly to God's throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

See All...), and the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:25Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

See All...). We don't need saints to do that.

Scripture shows saints (true believers) refusing to accept the worship of people (Acts 10:26But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.

See All...; 14:8-18). The Bible also tells us not to worship angels (Colossians 2:18Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

See All...), and it shows that angels refuse adoration and worship by humans (Revelation 19:10And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

See All...).

Notice also Revelation 22:9Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

See All..., where the apostle John saw in vision the time after the resurrection and fell down in awe at the feet of the being talking to him. "Then he said to me, 'See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.'"

Righteous created beings, whether human or angelic, refuse to be worshipped and they point us to worship the Creator. Only Satan and his followers seek others' adoration and worship (Matthew 4:9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

See All...; Acts 8:9-11 [9] But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

[10] To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

[11] And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

See All...; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 [3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

See All...).

In addition to all this, praying to dead saints today assumes the doctrine of the immortal soul, which many people are surprised to find is not taught in the Bible. The Bible teaches that death is like sleep that lasts until the resurrection at Jesus Christ's second coming (1 Thessalonians 4:13-16 [13] But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

[14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

[15] For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

[16] For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

See All...).

For more information, please read our booklet Who Is God?

.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Are There Saved Human Beings in Heaven?

An interesting article from www.ucg.org about dead good people. This follows this post analyzing Halloween from a Christian perspective. For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Are There Saved Human Beings in Heaven?

Have any human beings ever ascended to heaven?

In Revelation:19:1, relaying what he experienced in a spiritual vision, the apostle John states, "After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, 'Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!'"

Must the great multitude praising God here be throngs of saved human beings now living in heaven? Have any human beings ever ascended to heaven?

The popular teaching is that when Christians die they immediately go to heaven, where they take up residence in their permanent abode. But can we find such a teaching in the Bible?

To understand the truth on any biblical teaching, we must consider all the passages on a subject. When we do, the truth then usually becomes clear. We must also look at plain biblical statements and passages first, and from them come to understand the meaning of those that are less clear.

Notice one such clear statement in John:3:13And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.: "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] who is in heaven."

John wrote these words decades after Jesus died and ascended to heaven—and well after many of Christ's followers had died—but he still affirmed that no one other than Jesus had gone to heaven.

Whose voices, then, could John have been hearing when he recorded in the book of Revelation what he heard and saw? He refers to voices many times in the book. Let's notice one example in particular:

"Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!'" (Revelation:5:11-12). So there are at least hundreds of millions of angels, and the voices in Revelation 19 could well be theirs.

Moreover, we should remember that John in the book of Revelation was receiving a vision of the future—with Revelation 19 concerning events at the time of Christ's return and the resurrection of His followers. Even if verse 1 were referring to saved human beings appearing briefly before God in heaven and praising Him at that time (just after their resurrection), this would not mean that they are doing so today.

Indeed, those who have died are still dead and in the grave—unconscious and unable to praise God (Psalm:6:5For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?; 30:9; Isaiah:38:18For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.). Scripture, as we have seen, shows that no human being except Jesus Christ has ever entered heaven, and that remains so today. The voices referred to in Revelation 19, then, cannot be those of saved human beings now in heaven.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Halloween: Treat or Trick?

A very interesting video from http://www.beyondtoday.tv/ giving an in-depth analyis of Halloween.

Click here to view it.

Also you can request free literature to read more about it here

Friday, September 25, 2009

Can Halloween Be Christianized?

An interesting post from www.gnmagazine.com about this holiday. For more information click here for a more thorough book which covers this topic in depth.

Can Halloween Be Christianized?

Finding the shadows of the evil customs of Halloween abhorrent, many Christians have sought to sanitize the holiday by integrating religious symbols with which they are more familiar and comfortable (this process is called syncretism). Some, for example, carve the name Jesus onto pumpkins and add religious phrases in the hopes of evangelizing those who go trick-or-treating.
Others have undertaken a more elaborate revision of the holiday, attempting to turn it into a harvest festival interwoven with Christian themes and devoid of its more obvious pagan overtones. Church basements are turned into carnivals featuring games, contests and, of course, candy.
What should you do in deciding how you will approach this hotly debated issue?
The fundamental argument in favor of mixing ancient pagan customs and practices with the worship of God is that some believe it is an effective way to gradually win people over to Christian understanding. (Of course, in the present world we should ask ourselves why people who already see themselves as Christian would find any need to continue associations with pagan religious customs.)

This is sometimes a hotly disputed subject, and sincere people have concluded it indeed is useful to integrate the practices of ancient religious customs with the worship of God.
But perhaps we should address a fundamental question: What does God advise?
There is a scriptural precedent that offers guidance and direction for those who accept the Bible's instruction. The Israelites were confronted with these issues as they settled and built a new nation in the Promised Land. They encountered many worshipers of pagan deities as they entered the land and for centuries faced the problem as they dealt with neighboring peoples.
Even before they entered the land, God revealed His thinking and told them how to handle this challenge. His directions were explicit: "When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed that you are not ensnared to follow them ... Do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods ... Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:29-32).

God's instructions are crystal clear. He refuses to accept worship that is compromised and tainted by customs used in the worship of fraudulent religion. He expects His worshipers to revere Him in accordance with His commands, not their own imaginings.

Many centuries later the apostle Paul expressed a similar thought when correcting some in the church in Corinth for their poor judgment. "What partnership can righteousness have with wickedness?" he asked. "Can light associate with darkness? Can Christ agree with [the devil] ...? Can there be a compact between the temple of God and idols? And the temple of the living God is what we are" (2 Corinthians 6:14-16, Revised English Bible).

The modern debate over Christianizing pagan worship customs could be resolved simply by reading and heeding God's plainly expressed will. GN

http://www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn30/halloween_christian.htm

brianlee

Wednesday, November 2, 2016