How do most fires start? Usually because of a small spark. In James, it is written that our tongues are fire, a word of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
The tongue is small but has the power to control everything.
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships for example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. (James 3:3-5)
I wonder if your tongue is tamed or is it ready to start a fire? Taming the tongue is so incredibly hard and I am not even that good at having a tamed tongue. Way better than I used to be that is for sure. I believe one of the best ways to tame your tongue is when you spend time with the Lord on a daily basis. That time leads to feeling and being more aware of the Holy Spirit's presence. When I feel the Holy Spirit's presence, it is more easy to recognize when I should or shouldn't say something.
What we say and what we don't say are both important. Proper speech is not only saying the right thing at the right time, but it is also controlling your desire to say what you shouldn't. An untamed tongue is one that gossips, puts others down, complains, flatters, and lies. Before we speak we should ask ourselves, "Is what I want to say true? It is necessary? Is it kind?"
I encourage you to write those three questions down and try to remember them all of the time. If we are able to remember those questions before we speak, imagine how much better we could control what we say.
An uncontrolled tongue can do terrible things. Satan uses the tongue to divide people and pit them against one another. Hateful words are damaging because they spread destruction quickly, and no one can stop the results once they are spoken. We can't be tricked into thinking that we can apologize later about what we say, because even if we do, the scars remain.
but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:8)
If no human can tame the tongue, why even bother trying? That is a fair question to ask. Even though we may never be able to achieve perfect control of our tongues, we can still learn enough to reduce the damage our words can do. It is better to fight a fire than to let the fire take its course and destroy everything.
Fighting the tongue's fire is something that we cannot do on our own strength. The Holy Spirit will give us increasing power to monitor and control what say, so that when we are offended, the Spirit reminds us of God's love, and we won't react in a hateful manner. If you have relied on the Holy Spirit before in this context and know what it's like to be able to control your tongue it is one of the best feeling. It's so real.
I encourage you to all the remember those three questions before you say anything:
Is what I want to say true?
It is necessary?
It is kind?
We can never tame the tongue on our own, we have to rely on the Holy Spirit. Words are powerful, be carful to how you use them.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Even the demons believe
I want you to know something, we have something in common with demons. Much like we believe in Jesus so did the demons. Now I bet that you didn't know that and are wondering how we can be different becauseI don't want to be like demons and you probably don't want to be either. Lucky for you and for me, there is a way that we are and can be different. Believing in something is having faith, so I have faith, you have faith, and demons have faith that Jesus is real.
So what can make us different? Our deeds and our actions.
What good is it, my brothers and sister, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? (James 2:14)
When someone claims to have faith, what he or she may have is intellectual assent-agreement with a set of Christian teachings-and as such it would be incomplete faith. We say all that we want, but without doing anything our faith isn't complete. True faith transforms our conduct as well as our thoughts. If our lives remain unchanged, we don't truly believe the truths we claim to believe.
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:17)
We cannot earn our salvation by the things we do. Serving the homeless or volunteering your time at a charity aren't things that solidify our spot in heaven. But such actions show that our commitment to God is real. Deeds of loving service are not a substitute for, but rather a verification of, our faith in Christ.
I hope that by now you are seeing that faith without deeds is dead and our true faith is going to be shown by our deeds and actions. It's not about claiming you have faith, but actually doing something about it.
Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Issac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not be faith alone. (James 2:21-24)
James writes that Abraham was righteous because of what he did and Paul says that he was justified because he believed. Paul and James are completing each other here. We are not justified by what he do in any way. True faith always results in deeds, but the deeds do not justify us. Faith brings us salvation; active obedience demonstrates that our faith is genuine.
Another person who demonstrated faith with deeds was Rehab. When Israel's spies came to the city, she hid them and helped them escape. In this way she demonstrated faith in God's purpose for Israel. As a result, she and her family were saved when the city was destroyed.
Fatih -> Deeds -> Righteous -> God's Friend
When we have faith, and our actions show that our faith is genuine, we are considered righteous, and when we are righteous, we are called God's friend. I want to be God's friend every day and I hope that you do too.
I hope this post was an impactful for you as it was for me. I know after writing it, I want to show that I have genuine faith because of my actions and deeds.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
True character
True character...I am curious to what you think that looks like. I know that it seems like this work is filled with a lot of people who have true character and an almost equal or greater amount that has fake character. It's easy to spot fake people sometimes. I am not judging others by saying that. Everyday I have an interaction with someone I know and I see how they act and then I will see them around other people and their actions are totally different. Their actions are different, the words they are saying are different, and they are probably thinking about things in a different way.
Having a true character has been something that has taken me a long time to develop. We are so much different than people and to fit in sometimes you have to act a little different than you might normally act. I've made it a goal and priority of mine to be the same person both on and off the court. Along with being the same person both inside church and outside of church. I am who I am and I want people to know that they are getting the same me 100% of the time.
It's difficult because certain activities require different character traits and skills that you have. Here is the thing, skills and character traits are two different things. You could have all the skills in the world and no character and not get anywhere or you could have very little skills and have a great deal of character and have the sky by the limit. I've been told that businesses nowadays want people with high character over those who are just very skilled. Character is almost everything.
One of the things that has taken me awhile to learn is how to have the same character at the highest of highs as I do at the lowest of lows. That has taken me longer than anything else. When things don't go our way it is so easy to get frustrated about the situation that we are in. We let those frustrations lead to sin and when we sin we aren't showing our true character.
To me this is something you just to have to practice over and over again. You have to keep a level head and remember one thing. Christ Jesus is what is most important in this life and believing in him means more to me than anything else does. When things start to get out of hand you just have to remember what is truly important. Getting mad and being angry won't get you anywhere. When you get tempted to get angry, just sit back, take a deep breath and lets thing fizzle out.
Another thing that I have learned is that people notice your character more than anything else. It's easy to think you have to do something really cool for people to notice you but that's not what catches people's attention. When you get caught up in thinking that all of the skills or things you accomplish based on pure skill are what is most important the only eyes you're going to attract are the eyes of people who don't have true character either.
I've learned that people with true character don't shy away from telling you that you have true character. There is value in that. That means you have relationships with people who have true character which is something that we all need. You know what? God knows when you have true character as well and I believe the Holy Spirit encourages others to say things to people with true character.
I also wonder what matters to you. Does it mean more for you to be affirmed about having good character? Or does it mean more for you to be affirmed based on skills or a performance. For me, the answer is obvious. I could have my best game of the season and to be complemented on my character means more to me than anything else.
I have also learned that people notice things that you would never think they would notice. I don't want to make it sound creepy, but somebody is always watching. People notice every little thing about you. So how are you acting?
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)
God wants to make us mature and complete, not to keep us all from pain. Thank God for promising to be with you in rough times. Ask him to solve your problems or to give you the strength to endure them. Then be patient. God will not leave you alone with your problems; he will always still close to you and help you grow.
Have true character at all times. It's not easy and every step of the process is meant for your learning.
Having a true character has been something that has taken me a long time to develop. We are so much different than people and to fit in sometimes you have to act a little different than you might normally act. I've made it a goal and priority of mine to be the same person both on and off the court. Along with being the same person both inside church and outside of church. I am who I am and I want people to know that they are getting the same me 100% of the time.
It's difficult because certain activities require different character traits and skills that you have. Here is the thing, skills and character traits are two different things. You could have all the skills in the world and no character and not get anywhere or you could have very little skills and have a great deal of character and have the sky by the limit. I've been told that businesses nowadays want people with high character over those who are just very skilled. Character is almost everything.
One of the things that has taken me awhile to learn is how to have the same character at the highest of highs as I do at the lowest of lows. That has taken me longer than anything else. When things don't go our way it is so easy to get frustrated about the situation that we are in. We let those frustrations lead to sin and when we sin we aren't showing our true character.
To me this is something you just to have to practice over and over again. You have to keep a level head and remember one thing. Christ Jesus is what is most important in this life and believing in him means more to me than anything else does. When things start to get out of hand you just have to remember what is truly important. Getting mad and being angry won't get you anywhere. When you get tempted to get angry, just sit back, take a deep breath and lets thing fizzle out.
Another thing that I have learned is that people notice your character more than anything else. It's easy to think you have to do something really cool for people to notice you but that's not what catches people's attention. When you get caught up in thinking that all of the skills or things you accomplish based on pure skill are what is most important the only eyes you're going to attract are the eyes of people who don't have true character either.
I've learned that people with true character don't shy away from telling you that you have true character. There is value in that. That means you have relationships with people who have true character which is something that we all need. You know what? God knows when you have true character as well and I believe the Holy Spirit encourages others to say things to people with true character.
I also wonder what matters to you. Does it mean more for you to be affirmed about having good character? Or does it mean more for you to be affirmed based on skills or a performance. For me, the answer is obvious. I could have my best game of the season and to be complemented on my character means more to me than anything else.
I have also learned that people notice things that you would never think they would notice. I don't want to make it sound creepy, but somebody is always watching. People notice every little thing about you. So how are you acting?
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)
God wants to make us mature and complete, not to keep us all from pain. Thank God for promising to be with you in rough times. Ask him to solve your problems or to give you the strength to endure them. Then be patient. God will not leave you alone with your problems; he will always still close to you and help you grow.
Have true character at all times. It's not easy and every step of the process is meant for your learning.
Monday, February 25, 2019
Continual sacrifice of praise
Do you ever sit and wonder how you can give God continual praise throughout the day? That is what God wants, but something we often don't do. It can be easy to give God some of your time throughout the day but imagine doing it more than just once throughout the day.
I hope to give you two easy ways to offer a continual sacrifice to God on a daily basis.
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of the lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Hebrews 13:15-16)
We can continually offer God a sacrifice of praise through our lips professing his name. When we talk about God we are bringing him praise. Our lips should confess God's name in praise everyday. Yet, how often to do hear God's name used profanely? Probably more times than when you hear it used as praise. That is sad to think about. I experience it at a Christian college every day, I can't imagine what it might be like elsewhere. Christians should turn their frequency toward praise. Praise God early in the day before the rush, then again in the hurried middle, and at the end as business winds down. By doing that you are offering God a continual sacrifice of praise.
Praising God with our lips is one way, so what is the other? It is doing good and sharing with others. We have the capability to offer acts of service anywhere and anytime. A sacrifice of praise. What does that look like? A "sacrifice of praise" today would include thanking Christ for his sacrifice on the cross and telling others about it. Acts of kindness and sharing are particularly pleasing to God, even when they go unnoticed by others.
After reading this I hope that you better know how to offer God a continual sacrifice of praise every day. It's not as difficult as we make it. It's actually quite easy, it just starts with us making a decision to do it on a daily basis.
I hope to give you two easy ways to offer a continual sacrifice to God on a daily basis.
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of the lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Hebrews 13:15-16)
We can continually offer God a sacrifice of praise through our lips professing his name. When we talk about God we are bringing him praise. Our lips should confess God's name in praise everyday. Yet, how often to do hear God's name used profanely? Probably more times than when you hear it used as praise. That is sad to think about. I experience it at a Christian college every day, I can't imagine what it might be like elsewhere. Christians should turn their frequency toward praise. Praise God early in the day before the rush, then again in the hurried middle, and at the end as business winds down. By doing that you are offering God a continual sacrifice of praise.
Praising God with our lips is one way, so what is the other? It is doing good and sharing with others. We have the capability to offer acts of service anywhere and anytime. A sacrifice of praise. What does that look like? A "sacrifice of praise" today would include thanking Christ for his sacrifice on the cross and telling others about it. Acts of kindness and sharing are particularly pleasing to God, even when they go unnoticed by others.
After reading this I hope that you better know how to offer God a continual sacrifice of praise every day. It's not as difficult as we make it. It's actually quite easy, it just starts with us making a decision to do it on a daily basis.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Unshakable Kingdom
Eventually the world will crumble. This earth that you and I live in and have been living on will be gone someday. There will be nothing left. How often are you putting your trust in things of this world? It seems like it's easier to do sometimes, but why put your faith in something that is eventually going to crumble?
With this post I hope to encourage you that as believers in Christ, we are part of something that is unshakable. It's hard to remember that sometimes so I hope that by reading this post you can remember it more easily often.
The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken-that is, created things-so that what cannot be shaken remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:27-29)
Only God's kingdom will last. Those who follow Christ are part of the unshakable kingdom, and they will withstand the shaking, sifting, and boring. When we feel unsure about the future, we can take our confidence from these verses. No matter what happens here, our future is built on a solid foundation that cannot be destroyed. Don't put your confidence in what will be destroyed; instead build your life on Christ and his unshakable kingdom.
With this post I hope to encourage you that as believers in Christ, we are part of something that is unshakable. It's hard to remember that sometimes so I hope that by reading this post you can remember it more easily often.
The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken-that is, created things-so that what cannot be shaken remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:27-29)
Only God's kingdom will last. Those who follow Christ are part of the unshakable kingdom, and they will withstand the shaking, sifting, and boring. When we feel unsure about the future, we can take our confidence from these verses. No matter what happens here, our future is built on a solid foundation that cannot be destroyed. Don't put your confidence in what will be destroyed; instead build your life on Christ and his unshakable kingdom.
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Faith's Hall of Fame
Hebrews 11 is a book that is referred to as faith's hall of fame. It is an incredible book that features story after story about people in the bible who had faith.
What is faith? Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Two words describe faith: confidence and assurance. These two words need a secure beginning and ending point. The beginning point of faith is believing in God's character - he is who he says he is. The end point is believing in God's promises - he will do what he says. When we believe that God is going to fulfill his promises without actually seeming then being fulfilled, that is true faith.
I hope this post allows you to take a look at your faith. I really just plan on sharing a lot of the examples that were written about in Hebrews. These characters had faith like many others didn't. They trusted in God no matter how badly things looked for them or out of this world. These are true heroes of faith.
One thing that is surprising is that these people of faith did without receiving all that God has promised, but they never lost their vision of heaven. It is fair to say that many Christians become frustrated when their needs, wants, expectations and demands are no immediately met when they believe in Christ. We become impatient and want to quit. Are you discouraged because the achievement of your goals seem so far away? The heroes of faith died without seeing the fruit of their faith on earth and yet they continued to believe.
So who are these heroes of faith?
1. The first hero is actually us believe it or not. God called the universe into existence out of nothing; he declared that it was to be, and it was. Our faith is in the God who created the entire universe by his word. God's word also has awesome power. When he speaks do you listen and respond? We are heroes of faith when we put our trust and faith in God that he created the entire universe.
2. By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commanded as righteous, when God spoke of his offerings. And by faith, Able still speaks, even though he is dead.
3. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death. This is the crazy one to me. I am pretty positive that Enoch was the only person ever to never experience death. God literally decided to just take him away. Before he was taken he was commended as one who pleased God. Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
4. By faith Noah, when warned about things unseen, in fear, built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. Noah's faith saved humanity. When everybody thought he was crazy, he wasn't concerned with what others had to think about him. His concern was building the ark.
5. By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Abraham left everything he was used to. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country.
6.. By faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made his promise. Imagine a super old lady having faith that she could still bear a child.
7. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Issac as a sacrifice. He was set to sacrifice is one and only son.
Those were some of the biggest heroes of faith and a really brief description of how they had faith. Now sit and think about your faith. Do you have faith like these heroes of faith did? God used these heroes of faith to have faith in some pretty big issues. You might look at some of the things these people were going through and think that you could never have faith like they did, but God isn't asking us to have faith exactly like they did. God wants you to have your faith in him and your life and the things that you go through on a daily basis.
Have faith is something that is bigger than yourself. You have to have faith in God. Remember to persevere as well. We aren't going to get what we are promised until the day that we die and go to heaven. That is when we will receive what God has promised, it's not going to happen in this world. This world is not our home, never forget that.
Have some faith and step into faith's hall of fame today. It starts with you.
What is faith? Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Two words describe faith: confidence and assurance. These two words need a secure beginning and ending point. The beginning point of faith is believing in God's character - he is who he says he is. The end point is believing in God's promises - he will do what he says. When we believe that God is going to fulfill his promises without actually seeming then being fulfilled, that is true faith.
I hope this post allows you to take a look at your faith. I really just plan on sharing a lot of the examples that were written about in Hebrews. These characters had faith like many others didn't. They trusted in God no matter how badly things looked for them or out of this world. These are true heroes of faith.
One thing that is surprising is that these people of faith did without receiving all that God has promised, but they never lost their vision of heaven. It is fair to say that many Christians become frustrated when their needs, wants, expectations and demands are no immediately met when they believe in Christ. We become impatient and want to quit. Are you discouraged because the achievement of your goals seem so far away? The heroes of faith died without seeing the fruit of their faith on earth and yet they continued to believe.
So who are these heroes of faith?
1. The first hero is actually us believe it or not. God called the universe into existence out of nothing; he declared that it was to be, and it was. Our faith is in the God who created the entire universe by his word. God's word also has awesome power. When he speaks do you listen and respond? We are heroes of faith when we put our trust and faith in God that he created the entire universe.
2. By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commanded as righteous, when God spoke of his offerings. And by faith, Able still speaks, even though he is dead.
3. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death. This is the crazy one to me. I am pretty positive that Enoch was the only person ever to never experience death. God literally decided to just take him away. Before he was taken he was commended as one who pleased God. Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
4. By faith Noah, when warned about things unseen, in fear, built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. Noah's faith saved humanity. When everybody thought he was crazy, he wasn't concerned with what others had to think about him. His concern was building the ark.
5. By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Abraham left everything he was used to. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country.
6.. By faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made his promise. Imagine a super old lady having faith that she could still bear a child.
7. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Issac as a sacrifice. He was set to sacrifice is one and only son.
Those were some of the biggest heroes of faith and a really brief description of how they had faith. Now sit and think about your faith. Do you have faith like these heroes of faith did? God used these heroes of faith to have faith in some pretty big issues. You might look at some of the things these people were going through and think that you could never have faith like they did, but God isn't asking us to have faith exactly like they did. God wants you to have your faith in him and your life and the things that you go through on a daily basis.
Have faith is something that is bigger than yourself. You have to have faith in God. Remember to persevere as well. We aren't going to get what we are promised until the day that we die and go to heaven. That is when we will receive what God has promised, it's not going to happen in this world. This world is not our home, never forget that.
Have some faith and step into faith's hall of fame today. It starts with you.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
You can't reject it
What is God's most precious gift to us? God's most precious gift to us is when Christ Jesus died on the cross for ALL of our sins. Now remember, this was a one time thing. Jesus wasn't killed over and over again. Christ Jesus died on the cross one time.
Because of his one sacrifice, he has made perfect those who are being made holy.
For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. (Hebrews 10:14)
What does that mean? We have been made perfect, yet we are "being made holy." Through his death and resurrection, Christ, once for all, made his believers perfect in God's sight. At the same time, he is making us holy. (progressively cleansed and set apart for his special use) We all need to grow. Let's face it. We can't ever be ashamed that we have areas that we must grow in. God is not finished with us. We can encourage their growth process by applying scripture to all areas of our lives, by accepting the disciple and guidance Christ provides, and by giving him control of our desires and goals.
We hear about the death and resurrection over and over again. We learn about it, talk about it, read about, etc. As Christians we believe it. There should never be any denial of our beliefs.
If we deliberately keep on sining after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Hebrews 10:26)
There was only one sacrifice. If we keep on sinning, over and over again then there is no other sacrifice for our sins. This was a one time deal. When people reject Christ's offer of salvation, they reject God's most precious gift. This happens when we ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit, the one who communicates to us God's saving love.
The point this verse is making is that there is no other acceptable sacrifice for sin than the death of Christ on the cross and that is something that we cannot reject or deny. If somebody deliberately rejects the sacrifice of Christ after clearly understanding the gospel teaching about it, then there is no way for that person to be saved, because God has not provided any other name under heaven by which we can be saved.
Remember this too, I am not saying that if we keep sinning that we won't go to heaven. We are humans and we sin. No matter how hard we try, over and over again we sin. God loves us so much that he sent his one and only son to die on the cross for us, so that if we believe in him we will have eternal life. Our God is a forgiving God. We are forgiven. But when we reject the sacrifice and keep deliberately sinning that is when we are to fear the day of judgment.
We can't reject it.
Because of his one sacrifice, he has made perfect those who are being made holy.
For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. (Hebrews 10:14)
What does that mean? We have been made perfect, yet we are "being made holy." Through his death and resurrection, Christ, once for all, made his believers perfect in God's sight. At the same time, he is making us holy. (progressively cleansed and set apart for his special use) We all need to grow. Let's face it. We can't ever be ashamed that we have areas that we must grow in. God is not finished with us. We can encourage their growth process by applying scripture to all areas of our lives, by accepting the disciple and guidance Christ provides, and by giving him control of our desires and goals.
We hear about the death and resurrection over and over again. We learn about it, talk about it, read about, etc. As Christians we believe it. There should never be any denial of our beliefs.
If we deliberately keep on sining after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Hebrews 10:26)
There was only one sacrifice. If we keep on sinning, over and over again then there is no other sacrifice for our sins. This was a one time deal. When people reject Christ's offer of salvation, they reject God's most precious gift. This happens when we ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit, the one who communicates to us God's saving love.
The point this verse is making is that there is no other acceptable sacrifice for sin than the death of Christ on the cross and that is something that we cannot reject or deny. If somebody deliberately rejects the sacrifice of Christ after clearly understanding the gospel teaching about it, then there is no way for that person to be saved, because God has not provided any other name under heaven by which we can be saved.
Remember this too, I am not saying that if we keep sinning that we won't go to heaven. We are humans and we sin. No matter how hard we try, over and over again we sin. God loves us so much that he sent his one and only son to die on the cross for us, so that if we believe in him we will have eternal life. Our God is a forgiving God. We are forgiven. But when we reject the sacrifice and keep deliberately sinning that is when we are to fear the day of judgment.
We can't reject it.
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