Was Jesus a Sith Lord?

I am sorry I have not had a post everyday lately. I have not had any time for the blog. I noticed we have had a bunch of new hits. I am not sure where all you visitors are coming from but it sure is nice to have you drop by. I know many of you have emailed and said you would tell your friends about the site. Thank you.

I did see the latest Star Wars movie. It was the biggest movie opening in history. As many of you know, I am a big fan. I really thought it was one of the better Star Wars films. There was only one spot I didn’t care for. I was sorry to see the characterization of "relativism" as good and moral absolutes as evil at one small part of the movie. Obiwan says something like "only sith believe in absolutes" or something stupid like that. Without absolutes there is no truth. Without absolutes there is no right or wrong. Without absolutes there is no light or dark side. It's such a philosophical contradiction, but it is the dominant philosophical dogma of the day. I guess I could go back to being a Buck Rodgers fan like the 2nd grade..... Naaaaa!

John 8:31-32 says, "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Jesus believed in absolutes. Does that make him a Sith?

By George Lucas's definition, anyone who speaks in absolutes is a Sith Lord, Jesus must be Sith Lord. And so am I. Moral relativism never lasts as a pervading philosophy of a culture for long because the people either see the internal philosophical contradiction and repent or they self-destruct in lawless chaos. I am sad that George Lucas had to put that empty philosophy in an otherwise good fantasy film.

What to do with a false teacher?

Romans 14:1 says, “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.” We should not condemn people whose faith is weak. There are disputable non-essential matters of which Christians should maintain fellowship despite their disagreement. But that does not mean that we are to accept another faith. Many things taught as Christianity are not Christianity at all. We are to fight for the true faith. Jude 1:3 says, “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” Contend means to struggle or fight. Christians should strive for unity but not at the price of compromsing the one faith that has been entrusted to us.

Just because someone claims to be a Christian does not mean they are. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

Many claim to be teachers of the truth but are not. 2 Corinthians 11: 13 -15 warns us, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

1 Timothy 6: 3-5 says “If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.”

2 Timothy 3:1 -8 says, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth— men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.”

So what should we do about false teachers?

Watch Out For Them
Matthew 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

Take Special Note of them.
2 Thessalonians 3:14 “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.”

Avoid them
Romans 16: 17-18 “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.”

Do Not Welcome Them
2 John 1:9-11 “Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.”

Warn Them
Titus 3:10 “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.”

Rebuke Them
1 Titus 1:3 “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer”
Titus 1:10-11 “For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach— and that for the sake of dishonest gain."

Label Them
Jesus called false teachers descriptive insulting names at least 20 times in the gospels. And yet he was without sin.
· Jesus called the false teachers of his day hypocrites 11 times
· Jesus called them snakes and vipers
· Jesus called them whitewashed tombs (which Paul does also in Acts 23:3)
· Jesus called them a wicked and adulterous generation
· Jesus called them sons of Hell
· Jesus called them blind fools
· Jesus called them blind guides
· Jesus called them ferocious wolves
· Jesus called them dogs
· Jesus called King Herod a female fox.

Anything I have ever said about a false teacher is soft and gentle compared to the example of Jesus Christ. False teachers are a real danger to people’s faith and should be watched out for, noted, avoided, warned, rebuked, not welcomed and labeled for what they are.

Pope Palpatine

Is it just me or is there some resemblance here?

1 Timothy 4:1-3 "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth."

What religion do you know that forbid priests to marry and has taught that you can't eat any meat but fish on Friday? Hmmmmmmm.....

Paul say's such teachers have abandoned the faith to follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

It Only Takes A Spark...

The smallest lie can spark terrible consequences. An exaggeration can blow up in your face. A rumor can kill people. A word unwisely spoken against others can lead to their demise. Newsweek magazine is a good example. (see news article below)

James 3:5-6 “Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

In The News...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Newsweek magazine said on Sunday it erred in a May 9 report that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay, and apologized to the victims of deadly Muslim protests sparked by the article.

Editor Mark Whitaker said the magazine inaccurately reported that U.S. military investigators had confirmed that personnel at the detention facility in Cuba had flushed the Muslim holy book down the toilet. "Our original source later said he couldn't be certain about reading of the alleged Koran incident in the report we cited," he wrote.

Meanwhile, the report sparked angry and violent protests across the Muslim world from Afghanistan, where 16 were killed and more than 100 injured, to Pakistan to Indonesia to Gaza. In the past week it was condemned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and by the Arab League. On Sunday, Afghan Muslim clerics threatened to call for a holy war against the United States.

"We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst," Whitaker wrote in the magazine's latest issue, due to appear on U.S. newsstands on Monday.

How many innocent Afghans, Pakistani’s and American soldiers will needlessly die due to Newsweek magazine’s haphazard reporting of falsehoods for the sake of sensationalism to sell magazines? How many terrorists will be recruited? What dastardly plots will they carry out inspired by false information from a liberal news media desperate to thwart the integrity of the Bush administration?

When Dan Rather lied, he almost cost Bush the election. Fortunately for Bush, he was found out. Similarly, Bush's credibility was damaged when he reported inteligence reports that said there were WMD's in Iraq. His source was evidently inacurate too. There was other justification for that war and it has brought about many good things, but still our main evidence for war was false. That is not good. The tongue is a fire.

When Newsweek lied, people died from their inaccurate reporting. The United States is rightfully at War with terrorists who would kill them. Who side is Newsweek on? They may be free to publish their garbage. However, we are also free not to purchase or support advertisers of a magazine that use bad reporting to falsely insight civil unrest in countries we are trying to bring peace to.

A lesson to the wise: Be careful what you say. Make sure it’s true and beneficial to those who hear it. Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

All That's Required to Enter Heaven Is Perfection

The Bible tells us the exact number of sins it takes before a person no longer deserves to go to heaven, but rather deserves its overheated alternative.

One.



That's right. Romans 6:23 teaches that the wages of sin, what one has earned for it, is death (separation from God). Just one sin, and a person is disqualified from deserving to go to heaven. This idea is offensive to many, so they don't believe it. They believe in heaven, but oddly enough they don't believe what the One who created it says about who deserves to enter and who doesn't.



Now the notion of perfection being a requirement to enter heaven is a disturbing truth, obviously. Last I checked, the number of perfect, sinless people worldwide was hovering somewhere around zero. And yet millions of them will go to heaven. (By now the logicians among the vast reading audience of The Scripturist are screaming, "But that doesn't make any sense!" Keep reading.)



Suppose you're checking out at the supermarket and your total comes to twenty bucks. You suddenly realize that you've left all your money at home and you haven't a red cent. Seeing your despair, the friendly and independently wealthy person behind you hands the cashier a twenty and you're on your way home with much-needed groceries. The cashier didn't argue that this wasn't fair. She didn't say, "No! It has to be your own money that pays for this!" Nope. The requirement of twenty dollars was satisfied and that's all she cared about.



The same principle will get people into heaven. It was not stated above that no one is going to heaven, but that no one deserves to. Those who enter into heaven will be those who received Jesus as Lord and Savior while on earth. Their admission price of perfection will be paid by Jesus himself.



Put another way, Jesus has traded places with us. We gave him our sin, and he clothed himself in it. While he was on the cross, God the Father looked upon him and saw the sins of mankind, and he let fall on his own Son the wrath and punishment that we deserved. Similarly, Jesus gives to believers his perfection and holiness. We clothe ourselves in it, and when we stand before the throne on the Day of Judgment, the Judge will not see our sinfulness, but will see the perfection of Jesus. He suffered a punishment he didn't deserve so we could enjoy an eternal life that we don't deserve.



Want to go to heaven? Be saved, and have the perfection of Jesus himself credited to you. The alternative is to reject him and be left to suffer your own everlasting punishment for sin.