Will He Find Faith?

“When the Son of Man returns will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) This sounds like a pretty surprising question since there are currently about 2.5 billion believers in the world. Still, Jesus posed this question to His disciples so there must be something to it. What exactly did He mean? Was He wondering if anyone would still believe in Him when He returns? Did He wonder if people would eventually lose their ability to have any faith at all? Or was He wondering if the “faith that was once delivered to the saints” would still be around?

What Will Believers Choose to Believe?

We proclaim a simple Biblical faith in the God of Israel and His only begotten Son Jesus Christ the Messiah. This is assuredly the “faith that was once delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3) The issue before us today is this, “Who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1) What will believers choose to believe in the days before Jesus returns? We know there is One God and there is no other God beside Him. Jesus made it clear that this knowledge of God was the first and greatest commandment given to Israel. “Hear O Israel! The Lord your God is One Lord.” (Mark 12:29) This is emphatically and exclusively true in spite of the overwhelming influence of a theological tradition that insists otherwise. Many choose to believe the words of Jesus that God is One while others prefer an opposing vision that claims God is Three and One.

This is Eternal Life

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13) What is the strait gate and narrow way Jesus spoke of and what is the wide gate and the broad way He warned us about? Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” (John 17:3) The teaching of One God and His only begotten Son qualifies as a strait gate according to Jesus. Could it be that trinitarian theology is a wide gate and not at all the one God has ordained? Many believers think the words of Jesus hold the answer. You’ll have to decide this for yourself, what do you think?

PS: Perhaps God is leading you to a better understanding of Himself and His beloved Son. We sure hope so! If these thoughts help you see Him more clearly why not share this post with a friend? That way God can bless both of you.

The Anti-Biblical Trinity

Jesus’ identity and His relationship to God has gotten confusing thanks to the work of men we commonly call the “Church Fathers.” These philosopher/theologians left us a ruinous legacy of unscriptural language and ideas in the heady and high-minded nonsense they promoted. Here is something that will help you see things a little more clearly. Unbiblical teachings are essentially anti-biblical because they replace Biblical truths. There is nothing benign about unbiblical doctrines and understanding this is liberating! The Trinity is not only unbiblical, the trinity is anti-biblical and it does not deserve your allegiance.

The Words of Jesus Are Wonderfully Clear

Jesus declared that heaven and earth would pass away but His words would never pass away. The words of Jesus are wonderfully clear and understandable! They tell us that there is one God, the Father and that Jesus Himself is God’s only begotten Son, the Christ (Anointed One). This agrees completely with what Jesus said was the first and greatest commandment, “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord!”

The Fabric of Trinitarian Thought

The fabric of Trinitarian thought is woven together with the obscure vocabulary and impossibly confusing notions of Greek philosophy. The so-called “Church Fathers” used their mastery of Platonic philosophy to create a Trinitarian vision of God that the Church ultimately swallowed hook, line and sinker. It is a great tragedy that a Platonic vision of God has replaced the clear teachings of Jesus Christ. Declaring that God is One Essence in Three “Persons” stands in direct opposition to the teachings of Jesus Christ who stated emphatically that God is One.

The Trinity is Anti-Biblical

Look in the scriptures yourself. Can you find any support at all for ideas like an essence or substance of God… as if He is made of some eternal spiritual stuff? Do you see words like homouousious on the pages of God’s eternal word? Can you discover the words created for the Trinity like Triune, Co-equal Persons, Trinity, hypostasis or hypostatic union in the Bible? We can’t either. Yet these are the teachings that hold sway in the Body of Christ. These profoundly unbiblical notions have largely replaced the teachings of Jesus who once said “In vain they worship me, teaching the traditions of men” The verdict is in and the ruling is clear. Not only is the trinity un-biblical, the trinity is anti-biblical.

The Man Christ Jesus

If Jesus Isn’t God….

“If Jesus isn’t God…. is He just a man?” The Trinitarian view of God insists that Jesus is a divine “person” who has existed from all eternity. We think this idea rules out any chance of Him being truly human like the rest of us. (I haven’t existed from eternity and none of my friends have either). We are saying that “There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:5-6) Our mortal lives begin at birth and end at death. If Jesus was truly one of us He should have followed the same pattern… and He did! His mortal life began with His birth in Bethlehem and ended when He was crucified on Calvary. Jesus then created a gloriously new pattern of life and death when He rose from the dead. Now He invites us to share in His immortality!

Jesus Christ is Unique Among Men

Skeptics dismiss Christian belief by saying, “The Bible is just a book filled with myths and stories that aren’t really true.” Most Christians believe that although the Bible is indeed a book it is much more than “just a book”. Calling the Bible “just a book” implies that the Bible is simply one book among many and no different than all the rest. We affirm that the Bible is indeed a book, but not just a book! It is a unique book, in a class by itself and distinct from all others… and we can say the very same thing about our Savior. Jesus Christ is unique among men. He is in a class by Himself; sinless, perfect and distinct from all others… but he is still thoroughly and completely a man. He was most definitely one of us but He is not “just a man”.

Jesus is the Christ of God, the Anointed One

Jesus Christ is the miraculously begotten Son of God. The Father called Him “My Beloved Son”. He is the Lamb of God and the Light of the World. No other man “ever spake like this man!” Who else has raised the dead, walked on water and stilled a tempest with a spoken word? Jesus is the Bread of Life and He alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We know Him as the Good Shepherd, our High Priest and the Great Physician. Jesus Christ is our Savior, Kinsman Redeemer and Judge and yes… He was a man, a perfect man to be sure! But fortunately for us He was not “just a man”. Jesus is the Christ of God, the Anointed One, the Messiah and our Brother.

An Illusion for the Ages

Before You Pledge Allegiance

Beloved. I am your friend and fellow believer in Jesus Christ. We both believe He was born of a virgin and suffered and died a cruel death on the cross for our sake. We both believe he rose from the dead on the third day and now sits at the right hand of God. He is our Savior and Shepherd and High Priest. He is the only begotten Son of God and our Messiah! I suspect we both cherish these truths but there is something else to consider too. Before you pledge allegiance to the Trinity please consider this. Is it possible the Trinity is just an illusion? This is such an important question that it only makes sense to consider it carefully. You know… understand your options, pray and ask God for insight. Study. Take your time. Sleep on it.

Does Christianity Have A Sacred Cow?

Please forgive me for asking this question out loud but does Christianity have a sacred cow? Yes, dear one, I’m talking about the Trinity. We all know there are some things we should never question or think about, but let’s go ahead and do it anyway. This will take some bravery on your part but don’t worry! You are totally free to reject everything you are about to read. I just want to share a few thoughts with you that may help you see things in a new light.

You Owe it to Yourself

Most of us have spent much, if not all of our lives, believing that the only legitimate, safe and orthodox teaching about God and Jesus is the Trinity. I have some shocking and very good news for you though. There is a Biblically harmonious, comprehensible and wonderfully straightforward conception of God and Christ that you should at least learn about. It is a belief that was held by most believers in the first three centuries of our faith. You may be totally satisfied with the old wine of Trinitarian dogma, but perhaps not. Regardless, you owe it to yourself to at least see if there is a better alternative.

Ancient Christian Beliefs

There are ancient Christian beliefs that are much more Biblical than the Trinitarian dogma that holds sway over the Body of Christ today. Let’s take a look at what most “primitive” Christians believed long before the church fathers did their work and wrote their creeds. Before these philosopher/theologians assembled under the dubious auspices of a Roman emperor named Constantine there was a simplicity of faith that even unlearned and illiterate believers understood and loved. Many of them died for it.

Those Who Have Eyes to See

Jesus spoke about those “who have eyes to see but see not.” On the other hand some claim to see things that aren’t even there, teaching things that never appear in the Bible. Scripture speaks to this notion in the words of the prophet Ezekiel. “The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man… Say to those who prophecy out of their own imagination; Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!… Their visions are false.” (Ezekiel 13:1-3,7) No less a personage than Martin Luther himself freely admitted “It is indeed true that the name Trinity is nowhere to be found in the Holy scriptures, but has been conceived and invented by man.” Dr. Benjamin Warfield explains “The doctrine of the trinity lies in the New Testament rather in the form of allusions than in express teaching.” These “allusions” form the basis of the trinity.

Children See Things in the Clouds

Children see things in the clouds. “See! There’s a fish and that one over there looks just like a bird!” It is innocent fun for children to point out what they see in their own lively imaginations. Best of all is when your companions can also see what you see! This is just harmless child’s play and is great fun. Can you imagine sentencing people to death who don’t see what you see? Would you want to kill them? Does that sound even remotely Christian? Isn’t that a profoundly evil impulse? But that’s exactly what happened when church councils created creeds based on what theologians imagined seeing in the “allusions” of scripture. Paraphrasing now, “So, you want to be saved? You better see what we see.. or else!”

A Matter of Life and Death?

The Roman Empire (the same empire that crucified Jesus) began to enforce its newly written creeds with violence! Accepting or rejecting the Trinity became a matter of life and death. What would any sensible person do? The overwhelming response eventually became, “Well of course I see what you see! It’s perfectly clear!” Many said, “If our religious leaders claim to see that God is a trinity of three persons then I see it too!” The threat of death had a powerful effect on how well believers could see the new Trinitarian belief about God and Jesus! But, did they really see? There were many who paid an awful price to maintain their integrity. I’ve looked long and hard at the pages of the Bible and I can’t see three divine persons at all. All I see in scripture is One God the Father, and His only begotten Son, the man Christ Jesus. My heart is at peace with this and my mind is satisfied too. Now… what about you? What do you see?

PS: Yes… these are radical thoughts aren’t they? Then again, Jesus was pretty radical Himself. Imagine that! Now, shake up your friends! Encourage them to think about these things too. Share a link to wonderfultheology.com with someone today. You’ll be doing them a favor. God Bless.

The Revelation of God

Is God Trying to Reveal Himself to You?

We pray that God will bless our feeble efforts and reveal Himself to you. We confess though, that giving you a revelation of God and Christ is beyond our ability. It requires nothing less than a sovereign act of God. “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” (John 3:35) In another place Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) And again, “No one can come to me except the Father who sent me draws him.” (John 6:44) Our joy and hope is that you will discover for yourself what Christ has shown us and now wants to reveal to you.

The Revelation of God and Christ is Eternal Life

Does a revelation of the Father and the Son really matter? Well… Jesus gave the very keys to the kingdom of heaven to Peter just for declaring simply and plainly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God! (Matthew 16:13-20) This simple truth was so important to Jesus that He later went on to say, “This is eternal life, that they may know thee (the Father) the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3) The Apostle John even wrote that this was the very purpose of his Gospel! “And truly, Jesus did many things in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book; but these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life in His name.” (John 20:30-31)

Does God Believe in the Trinity?

Let’s be careful not to add anything, or take anything away from the revelation of the Father and His Son. If God wanted to endorse Trinitarian creeds and make them binding on believers He certainly would have told us! We proclaim a message that is indeed “foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews”! The message of God and His Son Jesus Christ lacks the heady intellectualism of Greek philosophy and may seem foolish to some. History reveals that the proclamation of Jesus as the long awaited Jewish Messiah has (so far anyway) been a stumbling block to Israel. We say, “The Biblical revelation of God and Christ pleases God… and it pleases us too!”

The Mystery of God is a Pearl of Great Price!

We realize that some are delighted to hear these things while others are offended. Some have ears to hear but don’t hear… while others hear clearly. Some have eyes to see but don’t see… while others see clearly and rejoice. The revelation of God and Christ is indeed a “pearl of great price” and a “treasure hid in a field” and now you have found it! Quickly now! Sell everything you have to buy this truth… and never let it go! May God bless you with “all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father and of Christ.” (Colossians 2:2) That would please us and we’re pretty sure it will please God too.

PS: If these things make good sense to you they’ll probably make good sense to your friends too. Why not send them a link to wonderfultheology.com and find out? Thanks and God Bless.