Feb. 1, 2017 |
BLOOMBERG
Donald Trump is casting his newly minted Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch into a bitterly divided Senate where frustrated Democrats vowed a vigorous review of the president’s choice, citing their concerns about his deeply conservative views and his willingness to check Trump’s aggressive use of executive power.
Federal Reserve officials convene this week amid expectations that they will take a break after their December interest-rate hike to assess whether the economy is shifting out of its low-inflation, 2 percent growth mode into a higher gear.
A top U.A.E. official defended the Trump administration against accusations that the U.S. travel ban on citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries is targeting Islam. “The vast majority of Muslims and Muslim countries have not been affected by this ban.”
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to discuss creating jobs and building infrastructure in the U.S. during a meeting with President Donald Trump next week, in a bid to defuse his concerns over trade.
House Republicans voiced frustrations Tuesday about slow-moving efforts to unwind Obamacare, urging their leaders to pick up the pace on a top campaign promise.
Saudi Arabia will award its first tender to build 700 megawatts of solar and wind energy in September, with the cost of power forecast to be the lowest in the world
After the U.S. president said Germany and Japan are gaming foreign-exchange markets to win favorable trade terms, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday in pushing back and leading a global counter-charge to the accusations.
The Boy Scouts of America announced Monday night that the organization would start accepting transgender boys for its Cub and Boy Scout programs. Groups like Scouts for Equality and GLAAD celebrated the announcement as another victory in their fight for inclusivity within the long-standing U.S. institution. In 2013, the Boy Scouts had famously lifted a ban on openly gay scouts.
AP Top Stories
Fires have been raging in central and southern Chile, fanned by strong winds, hot temperatures and a prolonged drought. Emergency services have battled the flames nonstop for days with thousands of firefighters on the ground and helicopters and airplanes in the air. The forest fires have displaced thousands, killed people and destroyed entire villages. The multiple blazes have ravaged 680,000 acres in just over a week.
US Special Forces who led a rare ground assault against Al-Qaeda in Yemen over the weekend killed women fighting alongside male troops, the Defense Department said Monday.
A Florida congressman is asking fellow lawmakers to support a bill he’s working on that would abolish the Environmental Protection Agency.
The United States raised alarm at the United Nations over Iran’s test-firing of a medium range missile, calling it “absolutely unacceptable,” after Tehran warned the United States against fueling tensions.
British MPs debated until midnight on Tuesday over the merits of a bill giving Prime Minister Theresa May the power to start the country’s departure from the European Union. The government is hoping to rush through the legislation in time to trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, which opens two years of divorce negotiations, by the end of March.
Austria’s coalition government promised on Monday to ban Muslim face-covering veils and to restrict eastern European workers’ access to the labor market, in a package of policies aimed at countering the rise of the far-right Freedom Party.
The rib of a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur that lived 195 million years ago has yielded what may be the oldest remains of soft tissue ever recovered, scientists said Tuesday.
BBC
A 23-year-old Afghan woman has described to the BBC how her husband tied her up and cut off both her ears in a domestic violence attack in the northern province of Balkh.
Olympic and Paralympic medals for the Tokyo 2020 Games will be made from recycled mobile phones. The Japanese public will be asked to donate old phones and small appliances to gather two tonnes of gold, silver and bronze for the 5,000 medals.
North Dakota Senator John Hoeven said the Army Corps of Engineers had been directed to allow work under Lake Oahe, a reservoir on the Missouri River. Native Americans, who have protested against the Dakota Access Pipeline for months, vowed legal action to stop it.
Austria’s coalition government promised on Monday to ban Muslim face-covering veils and to restrict eastern European workers’ access to the labor market, in a package of policies aimed at countering the rise of the far-right Freedom Party.
Former Brazilian oil and mining tycoon Eike Batista has been transferred to a high security prison in Rio de Janeiro after being arrested on arrival from New York.
The African Union has called for the mass withdrawal of member states from the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, the resolution is non-binding, with Nigeria and Senegal opposing a withdrawal.
WND
The United Nations’ refugee agency is claiming that asylum seekers do not represent any kind of national security risk to the U.S.
Eight months after taking office, the mayor of New Hope in Collin County TX, has become the first transgender elected official to come out publicly in the state’s history.
In an essay for the James G. Martin Center titled A Letter to Conservatives: You Need College and College Definitely Needs You, Routledge argues that conservative college students and their parents need not turn away from academia due to its liberal bias, but should embrace the opportunity to grow intellectually by having their ideas challenged.
The Briefing 02-01-2017
Trump nominates Neil Gorsuch, a textualist in the mold of Antonin Scalia, to the Supreme Court
What was behind Trump’s decision to fire acting Attorney General Sally Yates?
What, then, is a boy? Boy Scouts will now accept transgender “boys” into membership
- Chicago Tribune — Boy Scouts will allow transgender children who identify as boys into programs
- New York Times (Niraj Chokshi) — Boy Scouts, Reversing Century-Old Stance, Will Allow Transgender Boys
The post The Briefing 02-01-2017 appeared first on AlbertMohler.com.
Top News – 2/1/2017
Trump’s Wall Forces Mexican Corruptos To Come Clean
Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, is a puppet of the country’s deeply-embedded elites, known in Mexico as los Corruptos. Last week they shoved him out on stage to broadcast a message to Mexican illegals in the United States. The message was simple: FOR GOD’S SAKE, DON’T COME BACK! WE DON’T WANT YOU! Yes, Trump’s simple promise to enforce existing U.S. law has sent the Corruptos into chaos.
Chicago’s Violent Crime In January Matches Bloody Start Of 2016
It was a violent start to 2017 in Chicago, with the number of shootings nearly duplicating the tally from the start of last year, which ended up being the city’s bloodiest year in nearly two decades.
More Americans support Donald Trump’s immigration ban than oppose it, poll shows
New polling suggests that Donald Trump’s executive order to impose a temporary block on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries has the support of nearly one in two Americans.
Abbas, Jordanian king agree to fight against US embassy relocation to Jerusalem
Meeting in Amman, the heads of state agree to cooperate in an attempt to prevent a move that they believe would have ramifications on regional peace and security and cause other countries to follow suit.
Kremlin says Ukraine flare-up shows need for US-Russia talks
A recent flare-up of hostilities in eastern Ukraine shows the need for a swift resumption in dialogue between the United States and Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
The left’s ‘war on reality’ grows bizarre … and menacing
The scale of protests one week into a presidential administration is unlike anything in American history, but the rabid demonstrations also often appear unprecedented in their anger. And in their disconnect from reality.
Nancy Pelosi Caught On Hot Mic: ‘Tell Them You’re A Muslim’
A hot microphone picked up House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi instructing a Democratic congressman to tell a crowd of anti-Trump protesters that he is a Muslim. Pelosi’s slip-up took place in front of a group of protesters demonstrating outside the Supreme Court against Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration.
Researchers Experiment Creation of Human-Pig ‘Chimera Embryos’ to Address Shortage of Donor Organs
Calif. — A team of biologists at the Salk Institute in California has reportedly created the first-ever human-pig chimeras in an effort to test the idea of growing organs in animals that can later be used in human transplants.
California Lawmakers Want ‘Third Gender Option’ for Drivers’ Licenses
Legislation introduced in California would create a third gender option on drivers’ licenses and expedite the process for individuals to change their sex on their birth certificate without undergoing a sex change.
Clashes erupt as Israeli forces begin evacuating Amona outpost; several arrested
Several hundred Israeli security forces have begun the operation to evacuate 40 Jewish families from the Amona outpost in the West Bank on Wednesday morning following hours of delay, police said. Activists hurled rocks at reportedly unarmed security forces as they inched toward the Amona.
Russia: Invite for Israeli-Palestinian meeting in Moscow still open
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that an invitation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to meet in Moscow was still in force. Lavrov said at a conference in Abu Dhabi that Russia was grateful that the two sides had in principle accepted the invitation.
African Union backs mass withdrawal from ICC
The African Union has called for the mass withdrawal of member states from the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, the resolution is non-binding, with Nigeria and Senegal opposing a withdrawal. South Africa and Burundi have already decided to withdraw, accusing the ICC of undermining their sovereignty and unfairly targeting Africans.
Ukraine conflict: UN warns of dangerous deterioration
The UN Security Council has warned of a “dangerous deterioration” in eastern Ukraine and called on warring sides to halt the violence. The council said renewed fighting was having a “severe impact” on civilians. Fighting in the frontline town of Avdiivka has left thousands of residents without water or power in freezing conditions.
Israel approves 3,000 new settler homes as Amona evacuation begins
Israel says it will build 3,000 new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. The aim was to fulfil demands for housing and “return to normal life”, the defence ministry said. A Palestinian official condemned the move and warned that chances for peace were being destroyed.
Trump picks Neil Gorsuch as nominee for Supreme Court
President Donald Trump has nominated Colorado federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch for the US Supreme Court. If confirmed by the Senate, the 49-year-old would restore the court’s conservative majority, lost with the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The Senate Democratic leader has said he has “very serious doubts” about Judge Gorsuch’s nomination.
New ‘super yield’ GM wheat trial gets go-ahead
The planting of a new experimental crop of genetically modified (GM) wheat will take place this spring after the UK government gave the final go ahead. The GM wheat has been engineered to use sunlight more efficiently and has boosted greenhouse yields by up to 40%. Researchers in Hertfordshire now want to see if they can replicate these gains in the field.
‘Tuberculosis-resistant’ cattle developed in China
Scientists in China say they have produced cloned cattle with increased resistance to bovine tuberculosis. Twenty calves were born, of which 11 survived for more than three months. Bovine TB is a risk to cattle in many countries, including parts of the UK, Africa and Asia.
California To Consider Enacting Statewide Sanctuary
California may prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, creating a border-to-border sanctuary in the nation’s largest state as legislative Democrats ramp up their efforts to battle President Donald Trump’s migration policies. The legislation is scheduled for its first public hearing Tuesday…
UN Braces as Trump’s Detente With Russia Upsets Balance of Power
President Donald Trump’s outreach to Russia is reverberating through the United Nations, where U.S. allies worry that a partnership between Washington and Moscow could undermine a historic balance of power dating to the early days of the Cold War. For decades, the five veto-wielding members of the 15-nation Security Council have fallen into two camps — France, the U.K. and the U.S., referred to as the P3, on one side and Russia and China on the other.
Migrants at WAR: Tensions in Paris as children attacked with knives for being ‘too rich’
The streets of Paris have erupted into inter-migrant strife as North African youths have targeted ‘rich’ Chinese migrants amid growing tensions. Police in France recorded more than 200 attacks on Chinese immigrants last year, mostly from hostile migrant gangs. This comes amid a growing perception that recent migrants from North Africa have become “too demanding” and consider themselves “victims” who deserve pity.
Slow Pace of Obamacare Repeal Leaves House Conservatives Fuming
House Republicans voiced frustrations Tuesday about slow-moving efforts to unwind Obamacare, urging their leaders to pick up the pace on a top campaign promise. “Let’s get rid of it,” Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio told reporters at a forum for House conservatives. “That’s what we told the voters we’d do.”
Vile Revelations of ‘Sadistic Naked Sex Rituals’ at Elite German Military Base
German newspaper Der Spiegel has published a disturbing account of recruits and service personnel at an elite German military base in the city of Pfullendorf who have been subjected to sadistic practices, sexual abuse and violent rituals. The scandalous report was later confirmed by German military, and condemned by German officials.
New video shows Planned Parenthood staffers saying they only do ultrasounds for abortions
The pro-life group Live Action released two new investigative videos Tuesday that depict Planned Parenthood staffers saying that their clinics only offer ultrasounds to women seeking abortions — not women seeking prenatal care. The first video shows clinic workers telling undercover investigators that they don’t do any ultrasounds for prenatal care.
Prosecutors Weigh Child-Pornography Charges Against Anthony Weiner
Federal prosecutors are weighing bringing child-pornography charges against former Rep. Anthony Weiner over sexually explicit exchanges he allegedly had with a 15-year-old girl, according to people familiar with the matter.
Israel and Turkey to resume diplomatic dialogue after six years
Yuval Rotem, Director-General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, will travel to Turkey on Tuesday where he will hold a diplomatic dialogue with local officials, for the first time in over six years.
Israeli Home Front preparing for thousands of rockets
IDF believes Hezbollah can strike anywhere in country; electronic systems might also be targeted. The IDF Home Front Command is preparing for the thousands of rockets expected to strike Israel during the next war, investing hundreds of millions of shekels over the past two years on defensive measures and strengthening strategic capabilities.
Hit squad reportedly kills ISIS madman who beheaded hundreds
A notorious ISIS executioner who beheaded hundreds of innocent citizens has been stabbed to death by a hit squad in northwest Iraq. Abu Sayyaf was one of the terror group’s main executioners and appeared in many of the group’s propaganda videos showing brutal decapitations.
Leaked Executive Order Reveals Trump Crackdown On Immigrant Welfare
Seemingly following the proposals of Bill Clinton (and Ron Paul), The Washington Post reports that a leaked document shows the Trump administration is planning to crackdown on current, and would-be, immigrants who are likely to require public assistance.
This Won’t End Well – China Skyscraper Edition
China has been on a skyscraper-building boom for years, but, we suspect, 2016 may have seen the mal-investment boom jump the shark. As Goldman Sachs illustrates in the following chart, China was head, shoulders, knees, and toes above the aggregate of the rest of the world in terms of skyscraper completions in 2016…
Top Headlines – 2/1/2017
Lieberman and Netanyahu approve the construction of over 3,000 housing units in Judea and Samaria
Amona residents given 48 hours to leave outpost as evacuation looms
Amona residents stubbornly resist evacuation
Canadian school bans Israelis because of ‘settlements’
Israel allows Venezuelan Jewish converts to immigrate
Jewish Community Centers Face Third Wave of Bomb Threats Nationwide
Police: Israeli Arab went on killing spree after being called ‘Jew lover’
Hamas military capabilities said restored to pre-2014 war strength
Knesset speaker goes to Washington to push for embassy move
Replacing the UN with the Covenant of Democratic Nations
In DC, Jordan’s king discusses US embassy in Israel, ISIS, Syria
IS claims killing and wounding 20 Egyptian troops in Sinai
‘We want the same thing’ – Saudi oil minister welcomes Trump era
American oil companies face no ban by Iran
US raises alarm at UN over Iran missile test
US rips ‘irresponsible’ Iran after missile test
Iran launched another ballistic missile in secret last month, US officials say
Iran refuses to confirm conducting missile test
Iranian FM: No missiles produced in Iran will be used to attack other country
UN Braces as Trump’s Detente With Russia Upsets Balance of Power
Ukraine Civil War Heats Up as U.S. Seeks Thaw With Russia
Ukraine conflict: UN warns of dangerous deterioration
More than ten killed and dozens injured in surge of violence in east Ukraine
Ukraine Starts Moving Civilians Out of Town Where Fighting Rages
Philippines’ Duterte asks China to patrol piracy-plagued waters
Pentagon tracks China test of long-range missile with 10 warheads
Pentagon believes attack on Saudi frigate meant for US warship
Texas ‘Muslim Day’ beefs up security over political climate
Spicer says travel ban shouldn’t be called ‘ban’
Some nations affected by U.S. immigration order may stay on banned list
Trump administration to allow 872 refugees into U.S. this week: document
US travel ban leaves Iranian LGBT refugees in limbo
Green Card Holder Dies a Day After Being Prevented From Returning Home by Trump’s Order, Report Says
Soros Funding Airport Protests, Ban Lawsuits Against Trump’s Order
Trump supporters call for Starbucks boycott after pledge to hire 10,000 refugees
Celebrities shower American Civil Liberties Union with money after Trump travel ban
Tech companies come out swinging against immigration ban
Trump’s extreme vetting condemned by world leaders, Muslim nations
Many Muslims support ‘extreme vetting’
Why ISIS is celebrating Trump’s immigration ban
I’m a Democrat but there’s something great about Trump’s travel ban
Franklin Graham: Trump’s Refugee Vetting Should Apply to All Immigrants
For Netanyahu, Trump brings friendship – and risks
Israel apologizes to Mexico for Netanyahu’s tweet on US wall
Mexican president to Rivlin: ‘Ties with Israel damaged following tweet’
Mexico tells Israeli ambassador that diplomatic crisis is behind them
PM Netanyahu: ‘Crisis’ with Mexico manufactured by media
Trump’s ‘sanctuary’ order sets up showdown between cities and states
Calif. To Consider Enacting Statewide Sanctuary
San Francisco sues Trump over sanctuary city order
Abbott declares emergency to ban sanctuary cities in Texas
EU chair labels Trump a ‘threat’ as Europeans debate U.S. ties
Bridgewater’s Dalio says Trump’s populist policies could hurt world economy
Betting On Trump: Buffett Bought $12 Billion In Stocks Since The Election
U.S. Senate advances nomination of Tillerson as Secretary of State
Democrats boycott confirmation hearings for Price and Mnuchin, blocking votes
Why Betsy DeVos is the most polarizing education secretary nominee ever
Donald Trump ‘refuses to send White House officials on CNN’ after calling broadcaster ‘fake news’
Radio stations in several states hacked with anti-Trump rap
Twitter Says It’s Developing New Tools For Online Censorship
Child welfare workers in Facebook Live hanging threatened with contempt
Why livestreamed suicides are becoming a disturbing new norm
Children suffering second-degree burns in ‘salt and ice challenge’
Billionaire closer to mining the moon for trillions of dollars in riches
See Venus, Mars and Moon Crescent Form Cosmic Triangle Tonight
New Indonesia tsunami network could add crucial minutes
5.5 magnitude earthquake hits near Propicia, Ecuador
5.3 magnitude earthqauke hits near Dili, East Timor
5.2 magnitude earthquake hits near Talkeetna, Alaska
Sabancaya volcano in Peru erupts to 27,000ft
Bogoslof volcano in the Aleutian Islands erupts to 25,000ft
Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupts to 23,000ft
Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupts to 15,000ft
Sinabung volcano in Indonesia erupts to 11,000ft
‘Firehose’ of Lava Flows From Volcano
Scientists have released footage of a giant, 3-km crack that opened up in Arizona
UK weather: Britain set to be hit by 70mph winds as forecasters warn Storm Doris may be on the way
Chile’s worst wildfires destroy town as death toll rises to 11
Flint-area residents seek $700M from EPA over water crisis
Malaria drugs fail for first time on patients in UK
Beleaguered bees hit by ‘deformed wing virus’
Ice yoga in Swedish Lapland: Does this latest wellness fad make any sense?
Slow Pace of Obamacare Repeal Leaves House Conservatives Fuming
Trump’s Supreme Court Pick: Religious Freedom Defender Neil Gorsuch
In Judge Neil Gorsuch, an Echo of Scalia in Philosophy and Style
Conservatives, Republicans hail Trump’s Supreme Court pick
NYT: Neil Gorsuch, the Nominee for a Stolen Seat
Schumer seeks 60-vote bar for Trump’s court pick, as Dems brace for fight
Top Dem Bucks Schumer Plan: I Won’t Filibuster Anybody
Sen. McConnell: ‘We’re going to get the judge confirmed’
GOP lawmakers OK bill to defund Planned Parenthood in Iowa
Trump vows to continue LGBT workplace rights protection
Will Mormon church embrace Scouting’s new transgender policy? It’s assessing the issue
Britain pardons thousands of gay men convicted under defunct laws
Prosecutors Weigh Child-Pornography Charges Against Anthony Weiner
Sextortion becoming major problem with minor children
LAPD officers fatally shoot man after stabbing rampage near CNN Hollywood
Christian Rapper Lecrae Endorses The Shack, Calls The Movie “Dope”
Silence: movie promotes Contemplative Spirituality and sanctions apostasy
Archibald Brown: “Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats” – An Article From 1889 About Gimmicks in Worship
J.I. Packer’s Rare Puritan Library Now Digitized, Available Online For Free
Leaving the NAR Church: Malcolm’s story
Investigation Captures Planned Parenthoods Admitting: We Only Do Ultrasounds If You’re Aborting
Russell Moore Implies Southern Baptists Disagree With Trump’s Temporary Immigration Order
Trump’s Court Pick Gorsuch Will be The Only Protestant Christian Justice
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900 State Department officials sign protest memo Posted: 01 Feb 2017 07:19 AM PST About 900 U.S. State Department officials signed an internal dissent memo protesting a travel ban by U.S. President Donald Trump on refugees and travelers from…
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| Mexican Official Threatens United States With “Chaos”
Posted: 01 Feb 2017 07:13 AM PST A former Mexican government official says that in response to President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, his nation might stop cooperating with the United States…
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| Whoopi Goldberg doesn’t see the difference between Trump and the Taliban
Posted: 01 Feb 2017 07:09 AM PST Trump? Taliban? It’s all the same to Whoopi Goldberg. The 61-year-old said on “The View” Tuesday she doesn’t see the difference between the values of…
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| PETA Demands Toymaker to Remove Plastic ‘Fur’ From Plastic Figurines
Posted: 01 Feb 2017 07:05 AM PST When people hear a name like “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,” they may think it’s an organization of people who want animals to…
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| Netanyahu Warns That Iran’s aggression “Must not go Unanswered”
Posted: 01 Feb 2017 06:59 AM PST Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded on his Facebook page to the report that Iran had test-fired a ballistic missile in violation of a UN Security…
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Texas Mayor Comes Out as Transgender Posted: 01 Feb 2017 06:54 AM PST Eight months after taking office, the mayor of a small Texas town has become the first transgender elected official to come out publicly in the…
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| Trump picks conservative judge Gorsuch for Supreme Court
Posted: 01 Feb 2017 06:48 AM PST President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the U.S. Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to…
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| Florida Couple Told To Remove Cross From Front Yard
Posted: 01 Feb 2017 06:45 AM PST Larry and Rose Kehoe never thought the roughly 12-inch, white cross would cause controversy when they put it in their front yard. But someone in…
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| Billy Graham: Don’t Squander Your Life Away, God Has a Plan for You
Posted: 31 Jan 2017 02:45 PM PST World renowned evangelist Billy Graham says retirement is a gift from God and shouldn’t be squandered, but used according to His plan and purpose. In…
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| China Tests Missile With 10 Warheads…
Posted: 31 Jan 2017 02:39 PM PST China flight tested a new variant of a long-range missile with 10 warheads in what defense officials say represents a dramatic shift in Beijing’s strategic…
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| Texas Gov declares emergency to ban sanctuary cities…
Posted: 31 Jan 2017 02:34 PM PST Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday declared a ban on so-called sanctuary cities and sweeping reforms in the state’s troubled child-protection system as top priorities for…
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| Major Companies Speak Out Against Trump’s Exec. Order on Immigration
Posted: 31 Jan 2017 02:22 PM PST A number of high-profile companies have openly expressed their opposition to President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration. This past weekend, the top executives from…
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| Religious leaders condemn Trump’s immigration order
Posted: 31 Jan 2017 02:16 PM PST Few issues unite American religious leaders across the spiritual and political spectrum. Condemning President Donald Trump’s new executive order on immigration is now one of…
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| California Democrat Demands First Lady To Show Her Papers!
Posted: 31 Jan 2017 02:12 PM PST California State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) is renewing a demand to see First Lady Melania Trump’s immigration papers — an issue Democrats first raised during…
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| San Francisco Officials Warn They “Will Not Enforce Trump’s Order”
Posted: 31 Jan 2017 02:08 PM PST San Francisco’s police chief, sheriff, and mayor have announced that they will not enforce President Trump’s executive order on immigration. Police Chief William Scott, Sheriff…
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| Lutheran Church Votes in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage
Posted: 31 Jan 2017 02:00 PM PST Norway’s Lutheran Church voted on Monday in favor of new ceremonial language that will allow its pastors to conduct same-sex marriages, bringing it into line…
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Churches Must Sever Ties With Boy Scouts Posted: 31 Jan 2017 01:57 PM PST (By Todd Starnes) The Boy Scouts of America sacrificed its last vestige of integrity on the altar of political correctness. On Monday, the BSA announced…
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Microsoft working with Washington State on suit against Trump immigration order Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:43 AM PST Microsoft Corp said it has been cooperating with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, which is suing in federal court to stop President Donald Trump’s…
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| Iran to dump the US dollar in response to Trump’s travel ban
Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:36 AM PST Tehran plans to ditch the use of the American currency in financial reporting after US President Donald Trump issued a travel ban on seven countries,…
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| States to unleash barrage of lawsuits against Trump exec orders
Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:30 AM PST Washington is expected to become the first state in more than a dozen to file a lawsuit attempting to block President Donald Trump’s executive orders…
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| Attack on Saudi frigate meant for U.S. warship
Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:25 AM PST The Iranian-backed suicide attack targeting a Saudi frigate off the coast of Yemen on Monday may have been meant for an American warship, two defense…
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| Trump Administration to Keep Intact Obama Order on Homosexual, Transgender Protections
Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:17 AM PST The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it plans to retain Barack Obama’s 2014 order banning federal contractors from engaging in “discrimination” in employment matters…
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Our Time is Short
What is The Gospel?
God made everything out of nothing, including you and me. His main purpose in creation was to bring him pleasure.
The chief way in which we as humanity do this is through loving, obeying, and enjoying him perfectly.
Instead of this, we have sinned against our loving Creator and acted in high-handed rebellion.
God has vowed that he will righteously and lovingly judge sinners with eternal death.
But God, being merciful, loving, gracious, and just, sent his own son, Jesus Christ, in the likeness of man to live as a man; fulfilling his perfect requirements in the place of sinners; loving, obeying, and enjoying him perfectly.
And further, his son bore the eternal judgment of God upon the cross of Calvary, as he satisfied the eternal anger of God, standing in the place of sinners. God treated Jesus as a sinner, though he was perfectly sinless, that he might declare sinners as perfect.
This glorious transaction occurs as the sinner puts their faith (dependence, trust) in the Lord Jesus Christ as their substitute. God then charges Christ’s perfection to the sinner, and no longer views him as an enemy but instead an adopted son covered in the perfect righteousness of his son.
God furnished proof that this sacrifice was accepted by raising Jesus from the dead.
God will judge the world in righteousness and all of those who are not covered in the righteousness of Christ, depending on him for forgiveness, will be forced to stand on their own to bear the eternal anger of God.
Therefore, all must turn from sin and receive Christ Jesus as Lord.
What Is the Gospel?
There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the gospel. But as important as that is, it is often given to massive distortions or over simplifications. People think they’re preaching the gospel to you when they tell you, ‘you can have a purpose to your life’, or that ‘you can have meaning to your life’, or that ‘you can have a personal relationship with Jesus.’ All of those things are true, and they’re all important, but they don’t get to the heart of the gospel.
The gospel is called the ‘good news’ because it addresses the most serious problem that you and I have as human beings, and that problem is simply this: God is holy and He is just, and I’m not. And at the end of my life, I’m going to stand before a just and holy God, and I’ll be judged. And I’ll be judged either on the basis of my own righteousness–or lack of it –or the righteousness of another. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness, of perfect obedience to God, not for His own well being but for His people. He has done for me what I couldn’t possibly do for myself. But not only has He lived that life of perfect obedience, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of God.
The great misconception in our day is this: that God isn’t concerned to protect His own integrity. He’s a kind of wishy-washy deity, who just waves a wand of forgiveness over everybody. No. For God to forgive you is a very costly matter. It cost the sacrifice of His own Son. So valuable was that sacrifice that God pronounced it valuable by raising Him from the dead – so that Christ died for us, He was raised for our justification. So the gospel is something objective. It is the message of who Jesus is and what He did. And it also has a subjective dimension. How are the benefits of Jesus subjectively appropriated to us? How do I get it? The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith–and by faith alone. The only way you can receive the benefit of Christ’s life and death is by putting your trust in Him–and in Him alone. You do that, you’re declared just by God, you’re adopted into His family, you’re forgiven of all of your sins, and you have begun your pilgrimage for eternity.
The Gospel In A Nutshell
Now, with regard to this rule of faith—that we may from this point acknowledge what it is which we defend—it is, you must know, that which prescribes the belief that there is one only God, and that He is none other than the Creator of the world, who produced all things out of nothing through His own Word, first of all sent forth; that this Word is called His Son, and, under the name of God, was seen “in diverse manners” by the patriarchs, heard at all times in the prophets, at last brought down by the Spirit and Power of the Father into the Virgin Mary, was made flesh in her womb, and, being born of her, went forth as Jesus Christ; thenceforth He preached the new law and the new promise of the kingdom of heaven, worked miracles; having been crucified, He rose again the third day; (then) having ascended into the heavens, He sat at the right hand of the Father; sent instead of Himself the Power of the Holy Ghost to lead such as believe; will come with glory to take the saints to the enjoyment of everlasting life and of the heavenly promises, and to condemn the wicked to everlasting fire, after the resurrection of both these classes shall have happened, together with the restoration of their flesh. This rule, as it will be proved, was taught by Christ, and raises amongst ourselves no other questions than those which heresies introduce, and which make men heretics.
Tertullian, “On Prescription Against Heretics,” Chapter XIIl
What Is the Gospel?
This post is adapted from the tract “What Is the Gospel?” by Greg Gilbert.
A Message from God
What exactly do Christians mean when they talk about the “gospel of Jesus Christ”? Since the word “gospel” means “good news,” when Christians talk about the gospel, they’re simply telling the good news about Jesus! It’s a message from God saying, “Good news! Here is how you can be saved from my judgment!” That’s an announcement you can’t afford to ignore.
Why Is the Gospel Good News?
So, what is the good news about Jesus Christ?
Since the earliest Christians announced the good news about Jesus, it has been organized around these questions:
- Who made us, and to whom are we accountable?
- What is our problem?
- What is God’s solution to our problem?
- How can I be included in his solution?
Christians through the centuries since Christ have answered those questions with the same truth from the Bible.
- We are accountable to God.
- Our problem is our sin against him.
- God’s solution is salvation through Jesus Christ.
- We come to be included in that salvation by faith and repentance.
Let’s summarize those points like this: God, Mankind, Jesus Christ, and Our Response.
God
The first thing to know about the good news of Jesus is that “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Everything starts from that point, so if you get that point wrong then everything else that follows will be wrong. Because God created everything—including us—he has the right to tell us how to live. You have to understand that in order to understand the good news about Jesus. To understand just how glorious and life-giving the gospel of Jesus Christ is, we have to understand that God is also holy and righteous. He is determined never to ignore or tolerate sin. Including ours!
Mankind
When God created the first human beings, Adam and Eve, he intended for them to live under his righteous rule in perfect joy—obeying him and living in fellowship with him. When Adam disobeyed God, though, and ate the one fruit that God had told him not to eat, that fellowship with God was broken. Moreover, Adam and Eve had declared rebellion against God. They were denying his authority over their lives.
It’s not just Adam and Eve who are guilty of sin. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Sin is the rejection of God himself and his authority over those to whom he gives life.
Once you understand sin in that light, you begin to understand why “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). That’s not just physical death, but spiritual death, a forceful separating of our sinful, rebellious selves from the presence of God forever. The Bible teaches that the final destiny for unbelieving sinners is eternal, active judgment in a place called “hell.”
But . . .
Jesus Christ
The word “Christ” means “anointed one,” referring to anointing a king with oil when he is crowned. So, when we say “Jesus Christ,” we’re saying that Jesus is a King!
When Jesus began his public ministry, he told the people, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news!” As Jesus died on a cross, the awful weight of all our sins fell on his shoulders. The sentence of death God had pronounced against rebellious sinners struck. And Jesus died. For you and me!
But the story doesn’t end there. Jesus the Crucified is no longer dead. The Bible tells us that he rose from the grave. Jesus’s rising from the grave was God’s way of saying, “What Jesus claimed about who he is and what he came to do is true!”
Our Response
What does God expect us to do with the information that Jesus died in our place so we can be saved from God’s righteous wrath against our sins? He expects us to respond with repentance and faith.
To repent of our sins means to turn away from our rebellion against God. Repentance doesn’t mean we’ll bring an immediate end to our sinning. It does mean, though, that we’ll never again live at peace with our sins.
Not only that, but we also turn to God in faith. Faith is reliance. It’s a promise-founded trust in the risen Jesus to save you from your sins. If God is ever to count us righteous, he’ll have to do it on the basis of someone else’s record, someone who’s qualified to stand in as our substitute. And that’s what happens when a person is saved by Jesus: All our sins are credited to Jesus who took the punishment for them, and the perfect righteousness of Jesus is then credited to us when we place our trust in what he has done for us! That’s what faith means—to rely on Jesus, to trust in him alone to stand in our place and win a righteous verdict from God!
Ravi Zacharias explains the gospel in two minutes:
The Gospel on 5 Fingers
The five main components of the gospel can be remembered on 5 fingers of one hand. Here they are:
1) Jesus’ birth
2) Jesus’ life
3) Jesus’ death
4) Jesus’ resurrection
5) Jesus’ ascension
Obviously each point can be elaborated on depending on how much time you have. Here’s the short version:
1) Jesus’ birth – Jesus, God himself, the creator of the universe, the Messiah, became a human being – took on flesh, and was born of a virgin.
2) Jesus’ life – Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to his Father. Though he was tempted in every way as we are, he never once sinned.
3) Jesus’ death – on the cross, Jesus himself took all our sins and paid for them. God the father counted all our sins to Jesus as if he himself had personally committed them. Then Jesus bore God’s wrath towards sin – the punishment we deserved – as a substitute for us.
4) Jesus’ resurrection – within 3 days, Jesus rose physically from the dead, proving that his sacrifice for sins have been accepted by God, since the punishment for sin was death. Jesus was seen by numerous people after he rose including 500 at one time (1 Corinthians 15).
5) Jesus’ ascension – Jesus ascended physically into heaven where he reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. And someday he will return to the earth.
That’s the gospel, the good news, and if we believe in Jesus Christ and this good news and call upon him he will save us from our sins and give us eternal life.
That’s a simple way to remember the gospel – five fingers. Even a child can do it. So ask God to give you opportunities to share his good news today.
Please take the time to watch this clip, so that you might understand the authentic Gospel
This is the Gospel:
Friend, God is holy. There is a God in heaven who has created you and me, and He is the authority over both of us. He is perfectly holy. “In Him is Light, and there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). And the problem with that is that if we want to have fellowship with God, we have to be light and no darkness at all. And yet here’s the problem: we are darkness. We are sinful. We’ve all broken His law. We’ve all lied, stolen, we’ve all looked with lust, we’ve all been angry with our brothers in our hearts. We’ve all fallen short of the glorious standard of perfection that God requires (Rom 3:23). And there’s nothing we can do about it. No amount of works, no amount of contrition, no amount of bad feelings, no amount of church attendance, no amount of Bible reading, no amount of evangelism can earn forgiveness of our sins and the righteousness which God requires (Titus 3:5; cf. Isa 64:6).
And yet God is gracious, and He loves us, and as His creatures He wants to display His glory in us by rescuing us from that. And so He sent His Son—God in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ—to be born as a helpless little baby (John 1:14; 3:16; Col 2:9). God of the universe, Sustainer of the universe, Himself being sustained in the womb of a teenage Hebrew girl, and upholding the world by the word of His power (Heb 1:3) while He is upheld by the nutrients from her own body! Unspeakable! And in great humility, He grows up with the growing pains of life in a fallen world, though He Himself never being with any sin—without sin entirely (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 7:26). And He lives a perfectly righteous life. The way that you and I have failed to live before God—the way that we have failed in thought, word, and deed, and fallen short of God’s glory—Christ never did. Not even a thought. He loved God, His Father, perfectly. He always walked in perfect righteousness. He lived the life that you were commanded to live, that I was commanded to live, that we failed to live. He lived that perfect life that God is worthy of.
And not only did He live for us, He died for us. He went to the cross. Our sin demanded death. Our sin demanded eternal punishment. Our sin demanded wrath—just wrath exercised on us for eternity (Rom 6:23). But because of the infinite worth of Christ’s person, He was on that cross. And on that cross, God exercised upon Him the full fury of His own anger (Rom 3:24–26; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:10–14), that was rightly due to me and rightly due to you, and that you will experience if you don’t turn from your sin and trust in this Messiah. Christ was born, lived, died, and was raised (1 Cor 15:3–4). And He rose from the grave after being dead, demonstrating His victory over sin and death.
And now God promises that if you turn from your sin, if you repudiate all that you are and all that you were and all that you love, and you turn away from a life of pursuing sin—and if you repudiate not only your bad works but your good works, if you turn from trying to earn your salvation by all the good deeds that you might want to do as a moral person—if you turn away from all of that (Acts 17:30–31), and you trust in Christ alone for righteousness (Phil 3:7–8; cf. Rom 3:28; 10:4), God promises that He will forgive you. He will have treated Christ on the cross as if Christ lived your life. And He will then treat you, justly and legally and righteously, as if you lived Christ’s perfect life of righteousness (2 Cor 5:21). And you can be saved to know the God you were created to love and enjoy. You can have the fullness of joy, the eternal pleasures that are at the Father’s right hand in heaven (Ps 16:11), and begin even now, because eternal life is to know God (John 17:3).
Friend, would you repent? Would you turn from your sin and trust in this perfect Savior to avail for you before God, to pay for your sin and to provide your righteousness?
A Gospel Presentation
God is Holy
The Bible teaches that the entire universe was created by God. And that God who has created everything has spoken to humanity in the Bible. And the Bible tells us that a fundamental characteristic of God is that He is holy. 1 John 1:5
says, “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” That’s a way of saying that He’s entirely pure. God’s character is one of perfect moral uprightness. He is the essence of all that is good—so much so that, as the verse says, He can have absolutely no fellowship with “darkness”—no fellowship with that which is not perfectly holy, righteous, and pure.
God’s righteous character was expressed in the law He gave to Moses and the Israelites. You’ve heard of the Ten Commandments. They summarized the perfection of God’s character. These laws were directives for how people who were in a proper relationship with God must act.
We are Sinful
The problem is: all of us are sinful. We have all broken God’s law. All humanity has “gone astray like sheep, and each one of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). We’ve tried to live our lives without God, according to our own standards, in our own ways. Whether we’re drug addicts and murderers, or white collar, well-to-do, upstanding citizens, we do what we do because we want to do it, with no consideration for God and what He would have us to do. The Bible calls that sin. It is the missing of the mark, the falling short of God’s standard of righteousness.
And in your heart of hearts you know you’re a sinner. I don’t know anyone who would say that they are perfect, even by their own standards. Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, “There is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.” And if God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all, then in order to have fellowship with Him, we’d need to be perfectly holy like Him. But we’re not. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
We are stained by the “darkness” of our sin. And this is a problem, because if darkness can’t dwell with light, and we’re darkness and God is light, we’re cut off from a relationship with Him. We become absolutely incapable of doing the very thing we were created and designed to do: to enjoy a relationship with our Creator.
There is a Penalty for Sin
But it’s not just that we and God can’t be friends. There’s a penalty to be paid for sin. The Bible tells us that that penalty is death, Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death.” But the death that Paul talks about there isn’t just physical death. It’s not like we pay for our sins by going out of existence. The death talked about in that verse is a spiritual death. This is hell: eternal conscious torment. Jesus Himself calls it “a furnace of fire,” where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:50).
The idea of hell grates against the sensibilities of modern people, because nobody thinks they’re really bad enough to deserve something like eternal torment. They might admit that they’re not the greatest of people, but surely they don’t deserve that. But their reasoning is skewed. The punishment for sin isn’t merely measured by the sin itself. In other words, while there are qualitative differences in the experience of divine punishment, murder, lust, and lying all receive the sentence of an eternity in hell. That’s because punishment for sin is measured by the One sinned against. All sin is fundamentally a sin against God, and He is infinitely holy. Therefore, sin against an infinitely holy God demands an infinite punishment. That’s why the punishment is so serious: because God is actually that righteous.
And so the bad news is that we’re sinful, separated from God, and doomed to spend eternity in hell. There’s nothing we can do about it. We can’t simply tell God we’re sorry and we won’t do it again. What would you say about a judge who let a guilty, convicted criminal go free because he was sorry and said he wouldn’t do it again? You’d call him an unjust judge. But God is a perfectly just, perfectly righteous Judge. God’s justice demands that sin be punished, and the only payment is eternal spiritual death.
God Became Man
But the Good News is: God saw the miserable condition of humanity, and took pity on us. He knew that there was no way we could ever earn our way back to Him. We could never pay for our sins. But just when man was absolutely hopeless, when we were all doomed to spend eternity in hell with no way to pay our penalty, God the Father sent His Son to the earth on a mission. He was miraculously born to a virgin. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit miraculously conceived Jesus in Mary’s womb. And so being conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was God. And being born to a human being, He was human. This is the greatest mystery in the universe. As finite human beings, we can’t entirely wrap our minds around this, but it’s true: Jesus was fully God and fully man.
He lived for 33 years on the earth. He grew up just like every other child. He became a carpenter like Joseph, His earthly father. The great difference, though, between Jesus and every other human being, was that He never sinned. Never once did He ever break God’s law. He always loved God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength in everything He did. He never sought satisfaction outside of the Father Himself. He never disobeyed His parents, He was never selfish, He never spoke sinful words. In a word, He lived the life that you and I should have lived, but failed to live. He lived a life totally worthy of God, a life that was purely “Light,” like we said before, with no darkness at all.
Jesus Paid the Penalty
And because He was perfectly righteous, He was fit to be the substitute for sinners. The Bible records for us that the Jews plotted to kill Jesus because He preached a message that was very different to the religious establishment of His day. It was against the Jewish law to put people to death, so they sought help from the Romans, who were the governing body in Israel. Because the governor, Pontius Pilate, feared that the people would riot if he didn’t give them what they wanted, he agreed to crucify Jesus.
At the same time, Scripture also tells us that God sent His Son to die this way. It was all part of God’s plan. God used the sinful desires of the Jews and the Romans to accomplish something for His own good purpose. On the cross, Jesus suffered for sins. But He didn’t suffer for His own sins. He had no sins. He lived an entirely perfect life. No, on the cross, God “caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”
The verse right before that, Isaiah 53:5, says, “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.” What was happening on the cross was: God was carrying out the punishment against my sins—i.e., the pouring out of His wrath—on His innocent Son. Jesus voluntarily laid down His life in order to pay the penalty for sins. 
On the cross, God treated Jesus if He lived my life. And because I believe in Him, He treats me as if I lived Jesus’ life. See, because God is perfectly righteous, the only way to get to heaven is to be perfectly righteous. But because Jesus was perfectly righteous, and traded places with me on the cross, the perfect righteousness I need to go to heaven is His righteousness applied to my account.
After Jesus died, God miraculously raised Him from the dead three days later in order to show that He was satisfied with His sacrifice. Jesus was dead, but then He came back to life! It was a miracle. The Bible says God did this to “furnish proof to all men” that this message is true (Acts 17:30-31).
Law or Gospel — Which comes first?
Sometimes in life, the question is posed to us, “Which do you want first — the bad news or the good news?”
In response to this question, some choose to hear the good news first. It appears they desire to be thoroughly overwhelmed with the positive before getting their dose of the negative.
Others choose differently. They would rather hear the bad news first, get it out of the way, and put behind them their wonder and worry. Then, after processing the ramifications of the bad news, they hope to soothe the pain an end the conversation on a good note with positive vibes.
Well, Scripture does not offer us options. The Bible makes the choice for us, and it chooses to present the negative before the positive. The Bible declares bad news before declaring good news. It first presents the holy, wise, beneficial and condemning Law, then it publishes the “good tidings of great joy” or the Gospel. (Is. 60:1-2)
Understanding God’s Law
God’s Law was first presented in the opening chapters of Genesis. Some of it was stated; all of it was written upon man’s heart. Adam and Eve were to be entirely holy and obedient. They were to worship God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, all the time. Whether they ate, or drank, or whatsoever they did, they were do to it all for the glory of God. As image-bearers, they were to keep up God’s image. As men and women created in his likeness, they were to be like God. Vocationally, they were to enjoy and steward the garden and all God’s creatures. Relationally, they were to love one another and populate the planet. Ceremonially, they were to enjoy and glorify the Lord by walking with him in the cool of the day and never eating from the forbidden tree. These were some of their obligations, and as long as they performed perfectly they were guaranteed life in the family and kingdom of God.
However, things soon went from glorious to ghastly. Outside of them, they experienced the testing of God and the temptation of Satan. Within them they chose to question God’s truth, wisdom, and affection. Then, drawn away by their own lusts and enticed, they followed their internal sinful inclinations and externally ate of the forbidden fruit. Therefore, the holy, wise, and beneficial Law became a harsh taskmaster. It showed them the standard, showed them their guilt, and plagued their consciences. It encouraged them to hide, fear, and religiously self-medicate. It declared them wicked, separated from God, at enmity with God, and deserving of death, and it promised this for both them and their children. Yes, the Law of God promised to give them that which they deserved. It promised to pay them based upon performance, and this proved to be very, very bad news.
Understanding God’s Gospel
God, through the Law declared to Adam and Eve who they were, what they had done, and what they had justly earned — condemnation. Then God mercifully, graciously, and lovingly went to work. He performed on their behalf and promised them an eternity of undeserved blessings:
He predetermined to love his enemies.
He sought out his enemies while they hid from him in fear.
He called to the man and woman who vainly had self-medicated themselves.
He promised to rescue them and their children; they would be removed from Satan’s family.
He promised to do so by means of a special Son – one to come who would be fiercely bitten yet ultimately victorious.
He promised to damn the Evil One.
He then covered or clothed Adam and Eve by means of his ceremonial sacrifice.
He perfectly performed for and made promises to them who had performed so wickedly for him.
Friends, are we seeing the difference? The Law presents our duty to perfectly perform, and it only results in bad news. For there is none who keep all the Law, all the time, both internally and externally. However, the Gospel is not like the Law. The Gospel presents not our duty to perform for God, but it presents God’s performance and promise for us. Through the Law we lose our credentials to be a part of God’s family and enjoy his kingdom. Through the Gospel we gain credentials that cannot be earned or lost.
A Great Illustration
Perhaps nowhere is the distinction better seen between Law and Gospel than on Calvary’s cross. On that day, the Law had placed a criminal beside Jesus. There he was guilty, vile, dying, hopeless, and still hurling insults at the Son of God. He was getting that which he earned and deserved. He was being treated justly and fairly. His payment was based upon his performance, and he had hell to pay. The Law had nothing good to say to the thief on the cross. But then God went to work; Jesus granted the Law-breaking criminal complete pardon, intimate communion, and never-ending paradise. These blessings were not based upon any labors of his own, but only based upon the performance and promise of God. These blessings were not earned; they were a gift. A divine swap occurred. Jesus (The Law Keeping Man) received that which he did not deserve so that the thief (The Law Breaking Man) might also receive that which he did not deserve. And this is a fantastic picture of the Gospel. Communion with God that was lost by man seeking to keep the Law, was granted to man as a gift of God.
Responding to the Gospel
Therefore, how should we respond to the Gospel? While believing in divine sovereignty, what is our human responsibility?
Let us make the Gospel our Gospel. Along with the Apostle Paul let us call it “mine.” The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit offer this gift to you. They command you to receive it and enjoy it. If you find yourself with faith, willing to repent and receive, call out to Jesus in prayer right now. Call Jesus, “My Jesus.” Call Jesus’ righteousness, “My Righteousness.” Call Jesus’ Gospel, “My Gospel.” (Rom. 2:16; 2 Tim. 2:8) Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. As a matter of fact, if you draw near to God, it is only because he has already been drawing nearer to you.
Let us not water down the Gospel. This is always our tendency, to add human works to the sufficient work of Jesus Christ. Friends, re-read the letter to the Galatians. If we must perform, it is not Gospel. If we must labor, it is not Gospel. If it involves our works, it is not Gospel. If it is conditioned upon us in anyway, it is not Gospel. If it is a contract, it is not Gospel. If it can be lost, it is not Gospel. The Gospel represents the unilateral work of God on behalf of men. The Law ought never be divorced from the Gospel, but it must never be confused either.
Let us celebrate the Gospel. William Tyndall wrote of the Gospel, “It makes a man’s heart glad, and makes him sing, dance, and leap for joy.” It is the best of news. It means we can sabbath. It means we can boldly approach the throne of grace with confidence. It means we are seen as Christlike image-bearers. Give God the celebratory praise he deserves. He has labored perfectly on your behalf, give him reverent and radical praise and worship.
Let us not be ashamed of the Gospel. (Rom.1:16) Paul wrote, “Woe if I do not preach the Gospel. (1 Cor. 9:16) He wrote, “How beautiful are the feet of those who spread the Good News.” Friends, just as Adam and Eve were to physically reproduce, we are to spiritually reproduce around the world. This is our mission. This is our great mission. This is our Great Commission. Let us be humble, for we cannot make someone believe. Let us be zealous, for God has a tendency to honor those who labor hard. And let us become flexibly relevant in order to better spread the Gospel. (1 Cor. 9:22-23) As Gospel-lovers and Gospel-beneficiants, let us do that which is Lawful and bring in the Gospel-harvest.
Then, let us live Lawfully in accordance with the Gospel. Now that we have been saved from having to perform, let us perform. Yes, with Gospel-eyes, let us look at the Law and enjoy practicing that which is holy, wise, beneficial, and worshipful. Living in the power of the Gospel, let us enjoy becoming more and more like Jesus — the Author and Finisher of our Faith. And when we look at the Law, let us not get frustrated and despondent. Instead, let us glory in the Law, for there is the description of who we are in Christ today, and it also shows us all we will be in glory tomorrow when our old flesh is finally exterminated.
Bottom line, the Law shows us how to perform for God, but the Gospel shows us how God performs for us. This is radical. This is crazy. This is beautiful. This is truth.
Our Response
And now, God promises that…
- if you acknowledge that you are a sinner—that you have broken His law,
- and if you admit that there is no way that you could earn His favor and His forgiveness,
- and if you purpose to turn away from your life of sin and commit your life to Him,
- and if you trust in Jesus’ righteousness alone for your acceptance before this holy God,
…then He will have treated Jesus as if He lived your life, and will treat you as if you lived Jesus’ life. You will be saved from the penalty of your sin, and will be able to enjoy fellowship with God forever in heaven, and even fellowship with Him starting now.
In other words, if you believe that you’re a sinner and deserve God’s punishment because of your sin, but you also believe that God sent Jesus to endure that punishment in your place, and that His sacrifice is the only way you can be forgiven, then God promises that He will forgive you and you will be saved. You’ll know the God who created you.
Don’t Waste Your Life
God designed your soul. And He designed you so that, just as a car engine is designed to run on gasoline, you’re designed to run on Him. He is what life is about. All of the disappointments, discouragements, and uncertainties of your life find their resolution in Him. And all of the satisfactions, fun experiences, 
and joys of life find their consummation in Him. Everything good in our lives is like a trail of breadcrumbs that leads us to the feast of God Himself. And everything bad in our lives is a reminder that life lived apart from knowing God in Christ is not the way it was meant to be.
And I also don’t want to see you waste your life. God created us for the purpose of rightly knowing and worshiping Him. That’s the meaning of life. That’s where true happiness and satisfaction are found. When you don’t live your life for that purpose, you waste it. So many people go through life seeking that happiness, but never find it because they don’t know what life is really about. I don’t want that for you. I don’t want you to suffer God’s wrath eternally for your sin. I want to spend eternity in heaven worshiping God with you, praising Him for how gracious He was to forgive our sins because of Christ’s sacrifice.
Receive Forgiveness
So would you receive Christ? Would you acknowledge your sinfulness before God and admit you can’t do a thing about it? Would you turn from your sin, and seek to live your life in submission to Jesus Christ? Would you trust in Jesus alone for your righteousness before God? Would you join me in worshiping the God we were created to know?
Ready to start your new life with God?
Who do you think that I am?
With that brief question Jesus Christ confronted His followers with the most important issue they would ever face. He had spent much time with them and made some bold claims about His identity and authority. Now the time had come for them either to believe or deny His teachings.
Who do you say Jesus is? Your response to Him will determine not only your values and lifestyle, but your eternal destiny as well.
Consider what the Bible says about Him: Read more
Resource Links
CanIKnowGod.com is a website inspired by LifesGreatestQuestion.com, with new content, images, audio and video that will help you understand more about who God is and how to know Him. The site is mobile responsive and has an infinite scroll which makes for a very user-friendly experience. After you indicate a decision on CanIKnowGod.com, you are directed to a page that details what it means to have a new and transformed life through Jesus Christ. There’s even a Facebook page for daily updates, encouragement and scripture sharing.
Look to Jesus
Have you ever felt a little lost and wished there was a quick-start guide to your relationship with God? This is it!
30 Day Next Steps
John Beckett, a leading Christian businessman, has written a series to read over 30 days for new believers.
New Believers Guide
The New Believer’s Guide is a series of articles designed to show you how to walk in the new life Christ has given you— a life of faith and freedom.
Jesus Booklet
Jesus is the Savior of the world. Discover who Jesus is today in this series.
About Christianity
Know Jesus Christ and your life will be transformed
The Perseverance (Security) of the Saints
Notice all the Scripture references!
It is not just a handful of texts that teach the perseverance of the saints: the entire gospel sustains and confirms it. The Father has chosen them before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), ordained them to eternal life (Acts 13:48), to be conformed to the image of his Son (Rom. 8:29). This election stands (Rom. 9:11; Heb. 6:17) and in due time carries with it the calling and justification and glorification (Rom. 8:30). Christ, in whom all the promises of God are Yes and Amen (2 Cor. 1:20), died for those who were given him by the Father (John 17:6, 12) in order that he might give them eternal life and not lose a single one of them (6:40; 17:2); he therefore gives them eternal life and they will never be lost in all eternity; no one will snatch them out of his hand (6:39; 10:28).
The Holy Spirit who regenerates them remains eternally with them (14:16) and seals them for the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13; 4:30). The covenant of grace is firm and confirmed with an oath (Heb. 6:16–18; 13:20), unbreakable like a marriage (Eph. 5:31–32), like a testament (Heb. 9:17), and by virtue of that covenant, God calls his elect. He inscribes the law upon their inmost being, puts his fear in their heart (Heb. 8:10; 10:14ff.), will not let them be tempted beyond their strength (1 Cor. 10:13), confirms and completes the good work he has begun in them (1 Cor. 1:9; Phil. 1:6), and keeps them for the return of Christ to receive the heavenly inheritance (1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:4–5).
In his intercession before the Father, Christ acts in such a way that their faith may not fail (Luke 22:32), that in the world they may be kept from the evil one (John 17:11, 20), that they may be saved for all times (Heb. 7:20), that their sins will be forgiven them (1 John 2:1), and that they may all be where he is to behold his glory (John 17:24). The benefits of Christ, which the Holy Spirit imparts to them, are all irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). Those who are called are also glorified (8:30). Those who are adopted as children are heirs of eternal life (8:17; Gal. 4:7). Those who believe have eternal life already here and now (John 3:16). That life itself, being eternal, cannot be lost. It cannot die since it cannot sin (1 John 3:9). Faith is a firm ground (Heb. 11:1), hope is an anchor (6:19) and does not disappoint us (Rom. 5:5), and love never ends (1 Cor. 13:8).
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