HOW RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO BE?

To put it another way, how much truth do you need to satisfy God? When a crowd of people asked Jesus, "What shall we do that we may do the works of God," Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent." He said nothing about good citizenship, doing good works, or law-keeping. He made none of the important things above a requirement to be in a right relationship with God. (John 6:28, 29) Is trust in Him enough truth to satisfy God and give us an entrance into the presence of God and spend eternal bliss with Him? If that is all we need to be right at least from God's frame of reference, then the question that begs to be answered is why the Bible is filled with so many instructions and commands with no hint of any suggestions. It's do it or die; the Ten Commandments are not ten suggestions.

Adam had one chance to get one command right; his eating of the forbidden fruit plunged the human race into sin and death. (ROM 5: 12) Adam was not deceived; he knew the consequences and chose death. (I TIM 2: 14) Adam chose to not keep the command given him and died in spirit that same day. Even though he being dead in spirit lived in the flesh for 935 years, he was a dead man walking and producing spiritually dead offspring. Paul compares Adam's disobedience with the obedience of Christ to keep perfectly all that God commanded us. (ROM 5: 18) Paul put it this way in I COR 15: 22, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive." A reading of Romans chapter five is essential to understanding that there are only two races of people that populate the earth; one to everlasting life, the other to everlasting shame and contempt. (Daniel 12: 2)

To be in Christ is to have His righteousness imputed to us. Christ fulfilled the requirements of the law, so through faith in Him we have met the demands of the law. (Romans 10: 4)

MARTIN LUTHER
Luther held that all good works of man are sin. Those who are regenerate still sin constantly.

Faith in Christ is identical with entire devotion and renunciation of all self-righteousness and surrender of all self-will. From faith are the strength, impulse, and delight to do good.

WHO FIRES THE FIRST SHOT?
The real truth of who fires the first shot has long been and will forever be debated. Is it God who first seeks out His elect, or do we become elect upon an action our of free-will? The question remains, "Who is the chooser and who is the choosey?" The term elect is synonymous with "choose and chosen." These terms always imply differentiation whether the action is taken on God's part or granted as a privilege on the part of men. That God initiates a response (fires the first shot) through the presenting of the Gospel should not come into question. The mission of the church is to preach the gospel to all people in all parts of the world without prejudice to race or gender. Who fires the first shot in some portions of scripture is clear that God's sovereignty is absolute. Still we find in other portions of scripture that the preponderance of free-will is self evident.

The combination of divine intervention and the responsibility of all men to accept or reject Him are clearly seen in John 6: 37-44. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, it is clear that God's rule over all His creation is supreme. If God is supreme, then we must not limit Him in believing that He cannot grant "whosoever will may come." The last chapter in the last book of the Bible closes with, "whoever wishes let him take the free gift of the water of life." (Rev 22:17b)

HOW RIGHT DO WE HAVE TO BE ON THIS CONTROVERSY?
This is a centuries old debate that many great Bible scholars past and present have taken opposite positions on. The subject of God's sovereign choice and man's responsibility to respond to salvation through Jesus Christ is designed for study, debate, and discussion. It is through this process that we learn more about the sovereignty of God and His never-ending love for us. The Bible is filled with the knowledge of God's selection and His supreme authority over His creation. On the other hand, the Bible has lot of "whosoever" and" if anyone" in it. This points to free-will choice not to just some, but to all of God's creation. How right do we have to be on this controversy starts with the church obeying the command to take the gospel to all of God's creation and let God convict the hearts of the hearers of His Word.

The study of the sovereignty of God should never be entered into as a curiosity, but as a means of building a closer relationship with our Heavenly Father. Whatever you conclude on this subject starts with knowing where to begin. This subject requires a lot of time and study in both the Old and New Testament, so don't look for quick easy answers. Discovering the role that God has given us in His plan of redemption is what we need to be right about.

PSALM 119: 96, "I HAVE SEEN AN END OF ALL PERFECTION BUT THY COMMANDMENT IS EXCEEDINGLY BROAD."

I WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN THERE

Did you ever wish that you lived in a different time - in history past?  Did you ever think you would like to have been there when dinosaurs walked the earth?  Or have you wished you were part of the great reformation that took place in Europe?  Maybe you wish you could have been there when Jesus walked the earth.  Then this is just for you!

Matt 13:16, 17, “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many Prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Old Testament saints looked to the future, knowing that at some time in the future the Messiah would come. They wished they could have been there. I look back to the past and say, “I wish I could have been there.”

Acts 17: 26, 27, “From one man He made every nation of men, that should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out to Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”

GOD’S TIMING IS A MYSTERY (Rom 11: 33)
Why am I a twenty-first century man? I did not choose to be here at this time. I am not overly excited about living in the twenty-first century, even though I know God put me here for this time. Still I have a lot of “I wish I could have been theres.”

I love history! The past is my passion, even to the point of obsession. How did I end up in a century that is filled with gadgets, computers, television, along with a mile-long list of other idle distractions? Except for watching the Super Bowl, I have no interest in twenty-first century entertainment.

I am an unpublished writer, not by trade, but by passion. I began writing for a company paper at work with the offer of total autonomy. It was an offer I could not refuse. I write about the past, seldom about the present or the future. Writing requires a lot of time; you live in world of solitude, a lot of coffee, and spending time pacing the floor. My interest in the past is what happened, who made it happen, and how it affected the future. God determined the time and exact places for all generations, so I acquiesce to His wisdom.

One way or another in our appointed century, we all play a role that affects the future; therefore, no one should be considered meaningless. Still as I look back in history, I think "I wish I could have been there" when God brought Eve to Adam. He had never seen a woman before because there was no such thing. I would love to have seen his initial reaction; she was a gift from God. I wonder if he said what is it, or did he think she was the most beautiful woman in the world?

I wish I could have been there when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, just to see the shock and terror that left them speechless. (Genesis 45: 4) His brothers' treachery in selling him into slavery in the past caught up to them in the future.

Most of all, I wish I could have been there during the time Jesus walked the earth. Thank God, we have the New Testament to take us back in time; a journey back to the time of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us what happened, and who made it happen. The Bible, like no other book, puts us at the scene of history in the making. His crucifixion, His death, His burial and His resurrection were events that changed and shaped the future of the world.

Reading the Bible takes us from the twenty-first century on a journey back through the centuries to the time of what happened and who made it happen. We're all headed toward the future; the past keeps getting further away, while the future keeps getting closer and closer. The future is a race toward the end of our appointed time on earth.

The uniqueness of the Bible is that it was written to all generations, and therefore cannot be outdated or cast off as a relic of the past. (Ps 119:89, 90)
What Jesus Christ did in the past secures eternal life for all who put their trust in Him. For Old Testament believers, Messiah would come in the future. (Heb 11:13-16) For New Testament believers, that Messiah came in the past to save sinners past, present, and future. (I Tim 1: 15)

I was not there when God brought Eve to Adam, nor was I there when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. Walking and talking with Jesus during His earthly ministry was given to only one generation. True, I was not there, but reading the Gospel account of the life of Christ allows me to take a journey that goes back two thousand years to a place called, “I wish I could have been there.”

WHEN THE ROLL IS CALLED UP YONDER
Because of the saving grace of Jesus Christ that was extended to me, I can say with certainty that when the roll is called up yonder, I know I will be there.John 20: 29, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”