Saturday, April 27, 2024
Eternal Life or God’s Wrath? – John 3:36
A Clay Jar
Encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (1 Thess. 2:12 NIV)
The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath remains on him.
John 3:36 NET
John has made it clear that Jesus is the incarnate Son of God (John 1:14). And God sent him so that whoever believes in him would have eternal life (John 3:16). This divides humanity into two groups. Those who believe in the Son. And those who reject the Son. There is no middle ground.
John tells us here that the one who rejects the Son remains under God’s wrath. While this has a future component, remaining under God’s wrath also describes a current condition.
The third chapter of Genesis describes humanity’s fall. Exile from the garden of God was the result. Living apart from the life we were created for. And humanity remains in exile today, separated from the life of God and under his wrath. It is our default condition. And it remains our condition unless we believe in the Son.
The One Who Believes
But the one who believes returns from exile and is brought back into life in the garden, eternal life. But this eternal life is not just something for the future. The one who believes has it now. We have been delivered from God’s wrath and are even now experiencing eternal life.
Believing in the Son is what divides those who have eternal life from those who are under God’s wrath. So, what does it mean to believe? This is the Greek word pisteuĊ, “to believe, put one’s faith in, trust, with an implication that actions based on that trust may follow.”
To believe is more than intellectual ascent. To believe in the Son is to put your faith and trust in him. It involves the way one lives one’s life. As James says, it is a faith that results in actions (Jam. 2:14-26). Believing in the Son leads to a transformed life.
Believing about Jesus, even believing everything that the Bible says about him, is not enough (Jam. 2:19). If one does not believe in the Son, committing their life to him as Lord and doing the will of the Father (Matt. 7:21-23), then they have rejected him and remain under God’s wrath.
Don’t be satisfied with believing about Jesus. Believe in him and experience eternal life.
Friday, April 26, 2024
UK Lawyers Argue Employing Christians May Lead LGBT People To Suicide
(London, United Kingdom) — Over the last week, the Christian Concern community has thrown its weight behind Christian social worker Felix Ngole. I know that he and the whole team are hugely grateful for all the prayer support received.
Felix’s hearing at an employment tribunal in Leeds started this week. On Wednesday, we again witnessed a panel member having to step down for possible bias.
But it’s easy to miss amidst the drama just how important Felix’s case is.
Felix is a kind, Christian man; exactly the sort of person you would want as a Mental Health Support Worker. Touchstone Support Leeds initially recognised this, offering Felix the role.
But the charity withdrew the offer after discovering his Christian beliefs about marriage and saying Felix must promise to embrace and promote ‘homosexual rights’.
Most people would immediately see that this is barefaced discrimination.
However, the charity’s lawyers are relying on a dangerous argument that, if accepted, might not just keep Felix out of a job. It could spell disaster for the freedoms of Biblical Christians to hold jobs.
Minority Stress Theory
The organisation’s lawyers argue that they can’t employ someone like Felix because his views on sex and gender might ‘damage’ the mental health of people identifying as LGBTQ+. They take their argument to the extreme when they assert that those identifying as LGBTQ+ might kill themselves if they discover Felix is a Christian.
According to the argument, called Minority Stress Theory, people who define themselves as LGBTQ+ suffer more stress, anxiety and depression than others because they are a minority. Anyone who holds views that disagree with their identity, like the Christian view on sex and gender, is considered a ‘risk’ to their mental health and worse, may lead to their suicide.
Because of this, the organisation claims that it was right to discriminate against Felix. It claims that if a service user discovered Felix’s views – perhaps from searching the internet – it would cause them distress and possible death.
You can see how, if the claims of Minority Stress Theory are accepted, it would be a green light for all kinds of employers to discriminate against Christians because of their beliefs.
Manipulative and dangerous tactic
Giving evidence this week, Felix reminded the panel of the story of the Good Samaritan and that Christians are to go out of their way to care for people who may not be exactly like them.
On the other side, one of the charity’s staff members claimed that John 3:16 or expressing the belief that there are only two genders could be triggering and potentially lead to death.
This is deeply manipulative. It’s akin to the tactic used by trans campaign groups of asking parents of a young boy “would you prefer a dead son or a living daughter?”
It’s easy to see how this logic could be used against any Christian, with perfectly ordinary (true) beliefs, who encounters vulnerable members of the public. If this argument can be used to deny Felix a job, it will likely be wielded against all sorts of other Christians, including NHS workers and teachers.
Love the sinner, hate the sin?
In truth, one of the best things that someone identifying as LGBTQ+ could receive is a Christian – whom they know doesn’t agree with their actions – showing them love and compassion.
For so long, people have been brainwashed into thinking that the only reason people oppose LGBTQ+ ideology is because they are nasty, hateful bigots. This is a slur used against Christians and others with conservative views to force ordinary people into supporting same-sex ‘marriage’, gay pride and transgender ideology. If you oppose these things, you are by definition a hateful person.
But Christians often say “love the sinner, hate the sin”. The phrase may be overused but it captures the reality succinctly: Christians act out of love when they refuse to compromise on sexuality and gender. They hate the sin because they love the sinner.
The world increasingly has no concept of this. Despite Christians making this clear for decades, there is little to no understanding in the public imagination. It is only when people see the uncompromising but compassionate witness of Christians with their neighbours, family and friends that this barrier can be overcome.
That’s why it’s so essential for Christians like Felix to be able to take roles like the one he applied for. Felix could have led by example, demonstrating deep compassion for everyone he came across. And if they found out his beliefs, they might just have come to realise that they are not hated by Bible-believing Christians.
Please continue praying for Felix and our legal team as the expert opinions are tested and the legal arguments made. Pray that the claims about Minority Stress Theory would not be used to justify discrimination and for the many Christians serving around the world in similar roles to continue showing the love of Christ to all sorts of people.
These States Are Making It Illegal for Illegal Immigrants to Enter
Conservative states across the country—Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, and Oklahoma—are taking border security matters into their own hands, proposing or passing legislation targeting illegal immigration.
The Oklahoma legislature just passed a bill designed to prohibit illegal immigrants from entering or living in the state.
HB 4156 states: “A person commits an impermissible occupation if the person is an alien and willfully and without permission enters and remains in the State of Oklahoma without having first obtained legal authorization to enter the United States.”
The bill passed the state House and Senate by wide margins and Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, is expected to sign it into law.
The legislature declared the issue a crisis in the state and stated in the bill: “Throughout the state, law enforcement comes into daily and increasingly frequent contact with foreign nationals who entered the country illegally or who remain here illegally.
“Often, these persons are involved with organized crime such as drug cartels, they have no regard for Oklahoma’s laws or public safety, and they produce or are involved with fentanyl distribution, sex trafficking, and labor trafficking.”
Under the new law, a conviction related to “impermissible occupation” would be considered a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in a county jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.
Subsequent offenses are felonies, punishable by up to two years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
Illegal immigrants who are barred from the country or have been issued a removal order by an immigration judge, and then enter Oklahoma will face a felony charge carrying a possible sentence of up to two years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
In all instances, those found guilty must leave Oklahoma within 72 hours of being convicted or released from custody. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
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