John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Let’s think a moment about what JESUS said here. “…No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” Another way to state that is… “No one can come to God… EXCEPT THROUGH ME!” This puts a lie to the notion that “there are many ways to God.” I didn’t say that. Jesus said that. Take it up with Him, if you dare! I wouldn’t, if I were you. Jesus knows what He is talking about… if anyone knows He does!

Bottom line is… from a national perspective, you CAN believe ANYTHING that you want to. But, from God’s perspective, you MUST believe certain things. For instance, you MUST believe that Jesus Christ is your personal Lord and Saviour… you MUST believe that God raised Jesus from the dead LITERALLY!

Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:11 For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

So what of the fact that Barack Obama said this past week, right here in Greensboro, that you can get to God through many ways? Sorry, Barack… it just isn’t so.

Obama Suggests Jesus Christ Not the Only Way to Heaven

“Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama suggested Wednesday that Jesus Christ is not the only way to heaven during a campaign event in North Carolina. While answering a question about his Christian faith, Obama said he believes that Jesus Christ died for his sins and through God’s grace and mercy he could have ‘everlasting life,’ according to the Los Angeles Times. But he also believes Jews and Muslims and non-believers who live moral lives are as much ‘children of God’ as he is, according to The Associated Press. As an example, he spoke about his late mother who was ‘not a believer.’ ‘[S]he was the kindest, most decent, generous person that I have ever known,’ Obama said, according to the Times. ‘I’m sure she is in heaven, even though she may not have subscribed to everything that I subscribe to.’ Obama’s response came amid the recent controversy surrounding his former Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who made inflammatory remarks about race and America in sermons he delivered many years ago.”

I hope that Obama’s mother received Jesus before she died… but, if she didn’t… no amount of wishful thinking will get her there. It is not for no reason that Jesus said, “Ye must be born again!” (John 3:7)

Not that you wouldn’t expect that… but, needless-to-say the “theology” of this film is highly skewed! The Bible is very clear about the circumstances of Jesus’ birth, life on earth, death, burial, and resurrection… but a new Muslim created film about Jesus re-writes the Biblical account.

Muslim’s Cross-Less Jesus Film Draws Mixed Reactions

“A new film on Jesus, told from an Islamic perspective, has drawn mixed reactions from the Christian community over its claim that Jesus did not die on the cross but was replaced by Judas Iscariot. ‘The Messiah’ – written, produced and directed by Iranian filmmaker Nader Talebzadeh - was filmed in the Islamic Republic of Iran with Iranian actors to portray how Muslims understand the life of Jesus based on the teachings of the Qur’an and the Gospel of Barnabas – a book not included in the Christian Bible and in which the Prophet Mohammed appears. The movie features two endings – the Muslim and Christian version of Jesus and the cross – and has won an award at Rome’s Religion Today Film Festival for generating interfaith dialogue. Dr. Emir Caner, dean of the College at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a former devout Muslim, recommends Christians to view both versions of the crucifixion account and ask themselves several questions:

• When was Jesus replaced, according to the Qur’an?
• Why did the disciples not recognize that the man they were following was replaced before the cross
• Why did the mother of Christ not recognize that her son was not present on the Cross
• What was the alleged purpose of Allah in deceiving the crowd, including the disciples and Mary, into thinking Christ was being crucified

Or, in my opinion, you could just skip the whole thing, and go read what happened for yourself in God’s Holy Word directly… say, in Matthew, Mark, Luke or the Book of John! The Bible is not just AN account of what happened, it is THE account of what happened… you can not pick and choose, and re-write history. The account in the Bible of Jesus is not a “cunningly devised fable” that you can re-tell anyway that you like.

2 Peter 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2 Peter 1:17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
2 Peter 1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
2 Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.
2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Today we celebrate Jesus’ literal resurrection bodily from the dead. He did not “swoon” on the cross (in other words, not really die.) He was not replaced by Judas (as the Muslims teach,) His body wasn’t stolen by His disciples… no, Jesus was supernaturally raised from the dead! He now lives eternally at the right hand of the Father God, making intercession for us! (Romans 8:34)

You may say, “Aw come on, Dr. Bill! You don’t REALLY believe that do you?” If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be a Christian! Check out these scriptures:

Romans 10:8 “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;”
Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Romans 10:10 “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Romans 10:11 “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

Note verse 9, “…and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” So, we could say it this way, without changing any meaning… if you don’t believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, then you aren’t saved! I didn’t say this… a simple reading of the above verses indicate this!

So, don’t let liberal theologians steal your faith! Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, receive and confess Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour! And then testify of your doing so… write me, and let me know that you have done so!

1 John 4:16 says, “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.  God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”  In fact, God loved us before we had accepted Jesus as our Savior; that is what is so amazing about the Love that God had for us, even when we were sinners… He loved us!

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Note that God so loved THE WORLD that He sent Jesus. And, Romans 5:8 says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Now, if God can love us THAT much, even while we were yet sinners… then we have to learn to love ourselves enough to forgive ourselves and let go of the past. In fact, we can�t adequately love others until we learn to love ourselves. This means letting go of what we were.

Paul said that he had to forget his past and look only forward. Philippians 3:13, 14 tells us, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

He said, “…this one thing I do, FORGETTING those things which are behind,” and then he pressed “toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” We are to be “heaven minded” and not “past minded.” There is an old Christian saying, “He’s so heavenly minded that he�s no earthly good.” I understand the sentiment, but I prefer to see it as “SO heavenly minded that they ARE some earthly good!” Once we look at the mark (goal) that God has set for us, and strive toward that, we become less US centered, and get more GOD centered! Then, what we have done in the past is not what is constantly before us, but rather, what God has for us in the now and the future. THAT is what we dwell on, and think about, NOT the past.

Another key point is that we HAVE BEEN MADE the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We are NEW creatures. 2 Corinth. 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Everything has passed away, ALL THINGS are become new. A “new creature” here in the Greek literally means, “a new species of being.” That is, a new type of creature that never existed before. We are not the old type of man, we are a NEW type of man, one that is alive unto God. In fact, we ARE a spirit, we POSSESS a soul (mind, will and emotions) and we live IN a physical body. We are what is referred to as a “tripartite man” in Theological terms. Paul speaks of this in 1Thess. 5:23, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Note that he prayed that God sanctify us WHOLLY (completely) spirit, and soul, and body. Before being born again, our spirit man was dead unto God, but now, we ARE living SPIRITS (Greek, “pneuma“) that possess a SOUL (Greek: “psuche“) (mind, will, and emotions) and live in a BODY (Greek: “soma”). By recognizing that we aren’t as we were, that all the old has passed away, and that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus… we know that our “right standing” (which is what “righteousness” means) with God is of Jesus, not of us. This is very “freeing,” because my “right standing” (my position) before God is not dependent at all on my past, or even my current, actions. It is WHOLLY dependent on God’s work in me, which was done when I received Jesus… thus becoming a new creation man. 2 Corinth. 5:21 says, “For He (God) hath made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we (believers) might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Since HE made me the righteousness of God in Him, I don’t have to worry about any actions on my part being necessary to be that righteousness! In fact, He says plainly that that is NOT the case.

Gal 2:16: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

Eph 2:8-10: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk.”

So, we are saved by faith (and even that is not of us, but a gift from Him!) And, we are justified by faith, we are HIS workmanship… meaning He has “re-made” us as new creatures… so the old has, indeed, passed away. That old man is gone. Since we were saved by faith, we also have to live by faith, and not look at what our lives look like, or feel like. I may not “feel too saved” on a given day… but I still am… because it isn’t dependent on me… it is only defendant on HIM! That is such a freeing thing to trust in… and that is what faith is… simple trust in God!

2 Corinth. 4:18 says, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

The things that we see in the natural are temporal (the Greek meaning here is “subject to change, temporary”) but the things of God, the things of heaven, spiritual things… THEY are eternal. They are not subject to change, time, or circumstance. THEY are solid and dependable! As are we, IN HIM!

The article I have linked to below is interesting. It posits that there is a bias in the mainstream media toward reporting about atheism in America. We certainly don’t see favorable mainstream media stories about Christianity. What is going on? Do they have an agenda? You decide.

Media Spreading ‘Gospel of Godlessness,’ says Watchdog

A media watchdog says that from broadcast to print, the news media seems to be spreading a ‘gospel of godlessness’ to the American public through its imbalanced coverage of atheism. Only eight percent of Americans are atheist, according The National Cultural Values Survey conducted for the Culture and Media Institute in December 2006. But after noticing the ascendancy of atheism in stories on religion, Media Research Center’s Culture and Media Institute sought to answer whether the news media gave atheism the same degree of scrutiny as Christianity and other faiths. After reviewing stories in 2007 that featured atheism or presented atheist viewpoints, the group found that the media not only gave atheism a more prominent voice in its coverage but also a favorable and even positive report. ‘Whether deliberately or not, the news media did not subject atheism or atheists to the same skepticism to which they subject Christians and Christianity,’ concluded CMI, according to a recent report compiled for Christian Broadcasting Network. ‘By airing unchallenged interviews and predominantly reporting positive-toned features, the news media effectively promoted atheism.’ From the 105 atheist-themed stories that CMI reviewed, eighty percent had a positive tone while 20 percent were neutral. Surprisingly, no feature stories were negative. The report also showed that only 54 percent of atheist-themed stories included a religious counterpoint compared to the 71 percent of the Christian-themed stories that included atheist counterpoints. Of the three leading news magazines – Newsweek, Time, and U.S. News and World Report - reviewed for the report, Newsweek gave the most coverage on atheists, with a little over half of its issues featuring atheism stories or commentaries by atheists.”

I have noticed that some of the social networking news sites that I read occasionally, seem to be emphasizing stories about rejection of God in the culture. These are the last days, and we should expect more of this… but it is sad to see people rejecting the things of God. Mark 7:9 says, “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”

In the People’s Republic of California… the answer is… the state! According to the Court of Appeals in California… parents DO NOT have the right to educate their own children, and can be arrested if they do home school their kids. Despite the fact that, for years, we have know that homeschooled children are BETTER educated than the largely sub-standard public schools, the key to them is that, as Hillary Clinton once said, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Read that as, “You are NOT qualified to determine what your child learns, you MUST turn to the state.” Check out this statement: “Parents can be criminally prosecuted for failing to comply, Croskey said. ‘A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare,’ the judge wrote, quoting from a 1961 case on a similar issue.”

By the way, I learned that home schooling offers better education than public schools, not at church, not in homeschooling promoting Christian books… NO, I learned this in Education class in my Sophomore year at UNCG (in 1976.) The professor was quoting a mainstream study that indicated unequivocally that homeschooled children are orders of magnitude better educated than their public schooled peers. We then debated the “whys” of that fact. That, and many other reasons, are why my wife, Belinda and I. home school our son Benjamin, now 15 years old, who is reading and testing at second year college levels. And now, this news… the state has an agenda, the teacher’s unions have an agenda, and it is NOT the best education for children. It is indoctrination into their world view…. period.

Homeschoolers’ setback sends shock waves through state

“A California appeals court ruling clamping down on homeschooling by parents without teaching credentials sent shock waves across the state this week, leaving an estimated 166,000 children as possible truants and their parents at risk of prosecution. The homeschooling movement never saw the case coming. ‘At first, there was a sense of, No way,’ said homeschool parent Loren Mavromati, a resident of Redondo Beach (Los Angeles County) who is active with a homeschool association. ‘Then there was a little bit of fear. I think it has moved now into indignation.’ The ruling arose from a child welfare dispute between the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and Philip and Mary Long of Lynwood, who have been homeschooling their eight children. Mary Long is their teacher, but holds no teaching credential. The parents said they also enrolled their children in Sunland Christian School, a private religious academy in Sylmar (Los Angeles County), which considers the Long children part of its independent study program and visits the home about four times a year. The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that California law requires parents to send their children to full-time public or private schools or have them taught by credentialed tutors at home. Some homeschoolers are affiliated with private or charter schools, like the Longs, but others fly under the radar completely. Many homeschooling families avoid truancy laws by registering with the state as a private school and then enroll only their own children. Yet the appeals court said state law has been clear since at least 1953, when another appellate court rejected a challenge by homeschooling parents to California’s compulsory education statutes. Those statutes require children ages 6 to 18 to attend a full-time day school, either public or private, or to be instructed by a tutor who holds a state credential for the child’s grade level. ‘California courts have held that … parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children,’ Justice H. Walter Croskey said in the 3-0 ruling issued on Feb. 28. ‘Parents have a legal duty to see to their children’s schooling under the provisions of these laws.’”

Dobson: Homeschool Ruling Strikes at Heart, Soul of Families

“Conservative Christian leaders are outraged at the California appeals court decision last week rejecting a parent’s right to educate their children at home. ‘What has occurred is another egregious decision handed down by a California appeals court that strikes at the very heart and soul of families and their children,’ said Focus on the Family founder and chairman Dr. James Dobson, in a broadcast Friday. ‘How dare these judges have the audacity to label tens of thousands of parents criminals – the equivalent to drug dealers or pickpockets – because they want to raise and educate their children according to their deeply held values?’ The state appellate court ruled that parents must have a teaching credential to homeschool their children. Otherwise, children ages 6 to 18 must attend public or private school full-time until graduation from high school. ‘Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children,’ Justice H. Walter Croskey wrote in a Feb. 28 opinion for the 2nd District Court of Appeal. Those words ‘are nothing less than explosive,’ said Rev. Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The Pacific Justice Institute estimates there are 166,000 California students who are homeschooled. ‘This is an all-out assault on the family, and it must be met with a concerted effort to defend parents and their children,’ said Dobson whose prominent family organization will do whatever it can to get the ruling overturned. ‘We will team with key allies and use every means at our disposal to make sure that not just every Californian, but every American, is aware of this miscarriage of justice. We will encourage them, by the hundreds of thousands, to make their voices heard on this matter.’ California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also denounced the ruling and promised on Friday to ensure that parents have the rights to homeschool their children.”