Grace versus Death Penalty

Someone recently wrote in a post in Facebook: "How can someone claim to be a grace preacher and still be in favor of the death penalty? It's a total contradiction. I believe it's time to make this very clear. If we preach grace, then we need to be consistent. Grace & death are poles apart. Grace and love will always protect, even if it means to distance oneself from the perpetrator or protect what is precious to us. Yes, there will be natural consequences to be accountable. South Africa is currently battling with violent crime. Whenever I hear about another rape or farm murder, it is human to be angry and upset. But there is grace for the criminals, even when they have to serve sentence as part of the consequences for their deeds. But there is no grace in an eye for an eye. I have especially targeted my statement to the so-called grace preaching pastors while simultaneously out of the same mouth they speak death. It does not make any sense."

I agree. Grace is not 'an eye for an eye'. Grace is forgiveness. Grace and love keeps no records of wrongs.

Grace and justice are perfectly compatible because justice is not law or legalism, nor is it about punishment or eternal torture. Justice is setting people free from the law and from condemnation. That's true justice.

Grace changes people from the inside out. Judgment or condemnation doesn't change anyone. It only inflicts guilt and creates more trouble in the society.

There are natural consequences for every action. People can learn from their own mistakes. No one will grow up if they are placed under do's and don'ts, or live under threats of punishment, such as the death penalty.

Grace teaches people to learn to take responsibility for their actions and not depend on outward laws. Under grace, all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial. People will learn to love their neighbour and do things that are beneficial because love does no harm to a neighbour.

Grace is also wisdom. Grace means taking measures to keep a distance from those who are abusive, so as to ensure one's own safety. Grace rules, not death penalty.

Those who receive ABUNDANCE of grace and gift of righteousness (or innocence) will reign in life over sin (or ignorance of God's love and of our true identity in Christ) and death (or condemnation).  

Thoughts on Troy Davis' case

I also agree with Troy Davis' view that true justice is about setting the innocent free from an unfair system. Even if a person has been guilty of a crime, the death penalty is not appropriate since it is equivalent to murder. At the most, imprisonment would prevent the person from carrying out further harm, and at the same time the person will have time to reflect and meditate on one's actions. Everyone deserves a second chance. Law and punishment never transform anyone, but only inflicts guilt and shame, which perpetuate problems in the society. I believe grace is the answer, for unconditional love transforms the heart. Hopefully, with the awareness of Troy Davis' case and his supporters' efforts, the death penalty can be removed from the judicial system one day.

Thoughts on commentary by Kevin Powell - "Troy Davis did not die"

I just read a heart-felt commentary by Kevin Powell, a fellow black man who is an activist, writer and public speaker based in New York. His writing resounded with me, especially the final part of his article, as he is also against death penalty. Like him, as much as I am aghast by the failure of justice in Georgia, I too believe Troy's death is not in vain but has created awareness in the world about the urgent need for reform in America's judicial system and change in people's mindset to overlook differences in skin colour. Love and justice shall prevail as we participate together in the movement with his supporters to end death penalty.

The issue of human dignity

It is about the value of human life, therefore death penalty in any form, whether lethal injection or other methods, can never be justified. I remember reading a news article recently which said that just by causing the person to wait for the lethal injection to be ministered would likely to have caused some psychological trauma. I once watched a movie "Dead Man Walking", which shows the actor Sean Penn who played the role of the condemned experiencing great fear and stress at the thought of dying before the execution. Death penalty is cruel and should be abolished for the sake of human dignity.

Update (24 October 2012)

I've been through my own seasons of disillusionment and cynicism about the lack of action and responsibility by the authorities to do something about the state of the world, and I am finding my own way to see what can be done. It is not easy to find hope, though I do see some small progress, such as the recent move by the local government to revise laws on death penalty, for example. It's thanks to my best friend's sharing with me about Troy Davis' case last year that I was eventually inspired to write to the national newspaper forum to abolish death penalty, and I believe this, together with other collective efforts by other activists, have helped make some positive changes in the laws.

[Book Review] "Jehovah Unmasked" by Nathaniel J. Merritt

I read someone's comments in Facebook mentioning about a book called "Jehovah Unmasked". I googled about it and managed to find an abridged version in PDF format. After printing it out last night, I went to sleep as I was tired. I woke up early in the morning about 5 am plus, still thinking about the topic, and decided to read the PDF book - found that it was quite interesting. The author was involved in Jehovah's witness and mainstream christianity for a number of years, before turning to buddhism for 12 years, and then began to study on christian gnosticism. He concluded the Old Testament god is not the true God, and there was no need for penal substitution, nor is there any eternal torment - and that Jesus came to reveal the true God, our heavenly Father, God of Love to us.

Here's sharing some interesting excerpts from the book:

"There are many such commands to fear Jehovah. I ask again, why would a supposedly omnipotent god be so insecure and egotistical as to command mere humans to fear it? The truth is, the real God makes no such commands. The Supreme Being utterly lacks Jehovah’s monumental ego, insecurity, and barbarism. Jehovah is manifestly a phony. He is the liar and the Father of lies! SATAN! The True God is Perfect Love (1 John 4:8, 1 Corinthians 13), hence no one has anything to fear from the Divine because “There is no fear in Love, because Perfect Love casteth out all fear.” (1 John 4:18) Actually, the entire verse reads: “There is no fear in Love; but Perfect Love casteth out all fear because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” That is crystal clarity. There is no torment or fear in the God who is Perfect Love.

Religious institutions are all about power and control and money. Your fear of God is what gives them power over you. If there is no fear of God, there is no power over you, no control, and no money. It's as simple as that. "Know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free!" (John 8:32). The True God judges or torments no one."

Yes, I believe the truth sets us free from illusion and ignorance, to know God as Love.

Christ came to set us free of the elohim: “And having disarmed the Archons and authorities, Christ disgraced them publicly, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:15 NJMV) Jesus Christ also imparted Gnosis (personal experiential Knowing) of the True God of Love, the Most High God, who dwells within us all, yet is covered over by our own ignorance and delusions. Christ did not come with any nonsense about original sin, “divine” wrath, hellfire or any of the other dark and negative lies attributed to him by the Catholic church under the power of Satan/Jehovah. Jesus did not “die for our sins” for the True God does not hold us responsible for the wretched state in which we were created and born, and is not a rageaholic demanding some sort of sadistic “satisfaction” via the agony and torture of blood sacrifice. All such teachings are the doctrines of devils, of the elohim, of Satan/Jehovah. The True God is unconditional Love. The books of the Nag Hammadi Library discuss these matters in greater detail, so I refer the reader to them. http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl.html

Yes, I believe Jesus came to set us free from the false god and his lies, and imparts personal experiential knowledge of the true God of Love, the Most High God, who dwells within all of us. I remember Jesus said that eternal life is knowing the one true God (our heavenly Father, not the Old Testament god), and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.

The word "enemy" occurs 96 times, "enemies" 251 times, "wrath" 139 times, "anger" 229 times, "rage" 18 times, "destroy" 230 times, and "kill" 82 times in connection with Jehovah in the Old Testament. I ask you; why would an  all-powerful, all wise, all good Loving God have enemies?

That's true, if the true God who is all powerful, all wise and all good and loving has enemies, why would Jesus pray "Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing"? Instead, Jesus might as well have prayed "O Lord of hosts, may you smite these Roman soldiers who nailed me to the cross and these Pharisees for mocking me". But yea, the fact that Jesus prayed to the Father for forgiveness shows that our heavenly Father is definitely different from the petty and vengeful god of the old testament - our heavenly Father is Love, and Love keeps no records of wrongs. Jesus understood that the Romans and the Jews crucified him out of their ignorance and blindness by the religious Old Testament god.

Hopelessness Leads to New Hope

I think hopelessness is part of the journey when we realise that the past religious notions about God that we have been fed by the institutional church systems are no longer valid or true. I agree with the view that by removing God (which would refer to the religious kind of God that is controlling and petty) gives us the ability to live life, and there is a lot of hope found in life. The analogy of death and resurrection came to mind - for every death, there will be a resurrection. In this case, I think hopelessness is a form of death when people realise that the popular view of God of the Bible turns out to be false or unable to be proven. But through that death, people will then be free from religion, and experience a resurrection of hope, when they realise that the illusionary kind of god with its mythical threats of hell and wrath can no longer bind them with fear and condemnation, and they can live their life freely, lightly and boldly, enjoying friendship, intelligence, rationality, nature, physics, beauty, even things like suffering and tears, which make up the richness and diversity of all that life is.

Similarly, I remember learning about the story of the two disciples who were walking to Emmaus and they met Jesus after His resurrection. Initially, they didn't recognise Him - they were dejected when news spread about Jesus who died like any other man, and it seems like "God" has failed to prove himself. Like them, we experience that hopelessness, when we don't know what to believe anymore, when nothing seems to prove that God exists. It can be a difficult thing to accept. But as the story goes, when the disciples' eyes were later open (spiritually), they realised who Jesus was, and He disappeared. In the same way, I believe through that hopelessness and removal of the religious god concept from our consciousness, we are ripe for understanding God in a new way - one that is not known literally or by the senses, but is known intuitively, subjectively, esoterically.

The author of the book "Conscious Love - Insights from Mystical Christianity" wrote in the Introduction:

"According to esoteric teaching, many of the ideas expressed in Christianity are not and were never meant to be taken as literal truths but refer to states of consciousness 'further in' ourselves. Even the story of Christ is not to be taken at face value; rather it symbolises our own predicament and destiny as humans. The God-man is born on earth; he lives and works and plays his part on the stage of history. He is crucified in wretchness and humiliation on a cross known as time and space. Ultimately, however, it does not matter. He is resurrected in a higher, purer form because what is truly real in him can never die; it can only be transformed.

This is the story of Christ. It is our story as well. Intuitively we know it to be so, and it is a fact, rather than the endless proselytising and self-aggrandisement of the faith's innumerable sects and denominations, that I believe most truly accounts for the enormous success of Christianity around the world. If we have some more conscious glimpse of this truth - and probably we will never have more than glimpses - we will not only know ourselves better but be able to love better. This is the central idea that I hope to explore in this work."

Yea, I think any worthy fruit of any spiritual study, whether of books or people's views, or at least from our own experiences, would be unconditional love. At the end of the day, I think it doesn't really matter whether we have all the right answers about God, because there are also people who are illiterate or have never read a sacred book, being born in a village, for example, and who can demonstrate love, kindness and acceptance. If any teaching about God results in a more loving community, in which people live loved and loving others, then I would say well and good - that teaching would sit well with me.

If there is a God, surely He is big enough to handle all our misgivings and doubts, and continue to love us immensely and infinitely

"A man of peace" - Osho

"A man of peace is not a pacifist; a man of peace is simply a pool of silence. He pulsates a new kind of energy into the world, he sings a new song. He lives in a totally new way, his very way of life is that of grace, that of prayer, that of compassion. Whomsoever he touches, he creates more loving energy. The man of peace is creative." - OSHO 

I agree with the power and purpose of a man (or woman) of peace in being creative and sending positive energy of grace and compassion. As a saying goes, "Still water runs deep." A man or woman of peace is usually one who spends time meditating and contemplating, and in the process is able to process information and come to a better understanding of how things are - "Be still and know I am". We are love, we are grace, we are the infinite. Peace gives us the stability to withstand any storm from the outside. We also see our own reflection (of our true godly nature) the clearest on still, tranquil water.

CON/science

I think the word "CON/science" is a creative play on the spelling and captures the essence of many religious teachings about the human "conscience". Yes, religion majors on the art of pricking people's conscience to the point it becomes a science of conning people to think there is something wrong with them and they need to fast, confess sins and/or do a thousand and one things to appease a displeased deity. It plays on people's guilt and fear of rejection, abandonment and punishment.

The preaching of penal substitution view of the cross doesn't really alleviate guilt either; it only perpetuates the illusion of an imaginary god with anger and ego problems. Hence, I believe when Jesus said you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free, He was saying that the truth will make us free from illusion, guilt, shame, fear and condemnation.

What is truth? 

Some evangelical christians think that telling the truth is telling people they will go to hell if they don't believe in Jesus. That's not truth because truth is synonymous with grace. Truth is about being free from illusion and ignorance. The good news is about God's unconditional love and our true identity in Him.

I also have been thinking about the question Pontius Pilate asked Jesus. After Jesus had told him "Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice", Pilate asked "What is truth?" I believe Jesus was saying those whose eyes have been opened to see the kingdom of God within themselves have known the truth, and therefore they hear His voice of love, grace and mercy. Those who were under religion (including the Pharisees) and world system (including the Roman governor) were still living in illusion and ignorance. They neither knew God as unconditional love nor knew their true identity.

When Jesus began preaching the gospel in Israel, He was essentially warning the Jews that in the days to come, there would be no more temple and no more sacrificial system. What then would the Jews do to get right with God (or at least they thoughts so)? They would probably experience a sense of alienation and condemnation when these outward rituals ceased to be. In the same way, today's religions still very much depend on outward rituals, like going to "church" etc, to get in the good books of "god". It's living in illusion. Truth is the antidote to illusion.

Truth is not con/science. Truth says we are already innocent, already blameless, beloved and favoured.

1 John 2 What Does “Love Not the World” Mean?

Does “love not the world” mean to renounce all worldly pleasures like listening to pop music or watching movies? Or does the “world” refer to the deserving system of the world based on do’s and don’ts, as opposed to God’s system of undeserved favour?

Samuel Mathew wrote an enlightening article on this topic.

1 John 2:15-17
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

The apostle John exhorts us, not to love the world and the things in the world namely the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. For these things are not of the Father, but of the world.

The “world” here refers to the world’s system in general. The whole world runs by the system of knowing right & wrong, good & evil and doing the good or right thing as much as possible. The reward is determined by one’s performance. The driving forces behind this system are called the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. The flesh denotes human strength and ability. The flesh always wants to live life based on one’s strength, will-power and ability. The prospect of living a life based on one’s resources and ability and achieving the end result looks very appealing (lust of the eyes). Pride in one’s ability is also a factor.

Verse 16 says that this system is not of the Father. In the garden of Eden, God told man, not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil. God never wanted man to live by knowing good & evil or right & wrong (Law), but He wanted them to live by eating from the tree of Life (God’s life). God made them in His image and likeness — just like Him. All they had to do was to live by His life and enjoy everything that He had created for them to enjoy freely. He did not give them 10 or 15 rules or principles on how to live a holy, moral, successful and prosperous life. The only command he gave them was to stay away from living by knowing good and evil or living by rules or principles. He warned them that eating that fruit would result in death.

But the tempter came and told Eve that eating this fruit would cause her to be like God. Remember, they were already like God, not by any of their works, but because they were created in His image and likeness. So Satan, put this idea in the mind of Eve, that she could be like God by her own doing and not by how God made her to be. She decided that she wanted to be like God, independent of God, by her own works by knowing good & evil. Gen 3:6 says that the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh) and it was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes) and a tree desired to make one wise (pride of life). By eating that fruit, man implemented this system of works or performance for the whole humanity.

Beloved, are you still eating from that forbidden tree by living by knowing good & evil or rules & regulations or are you living by the tree of life (the life of Jesus in you)? Living by rules and commandments may appear very good, may boost your ego by your performance and will satisfy your flesh, but the end result is death. Are you satisfied with how God has made you to be like Him — holy and righteous in Christ Jesus or are you trying to become like God by your holy living and good works? Verse 17 says that the world and its system will pass away, but he who does the will of the Father will abide forever. The will of the Father for you is to believe on the good news of the removal of your sins by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, whereby He has made you perfectly holy and righteous, just like Him, free from any of your works!

I think religious people, especially those in institutional churches, tend to target young people maybe because they are more impressionable and can be easily brainwashed with fundamentalist doctrines. Also they see themselves as "elders", and out of their insecurities, like to feel "respected" by young people, and do not like to see young people having fun and enjoying their life, especially while they think they are the ones serving "god" and working hard to "please the Lord". Miserable people love company, so they prefer the young people to join their misery as well. Deep inside, they are envious of the freedom young people usually have. As you also noticed, religious people don't like it when people in general are enjoying life and freedom - religious people think this is "worldly".

But if the truth be known, "worldly" actually means "conforming to the world system that is performance-oriented, and based on the principle of doing in order to become" (as we have learnt earlier). To be worldly is to be law-minded and sin-conscious. Anyone with common sense and growing to take responsibility for their own actions would rather abide by the universal principle of "all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial", rather than the oft-used religious threat of a mythical hell and God's wrath to try to keep other people and themselves under control.

Has God been Misrepresented by Christianity?

Video commentary:
There is hardly a man, woman or child who has not heard of the “wonderful” Christian God who will torment in eternal flames those who stubbornly refuse Him. How does this caricature affect the moral decisions of those who dare believe it? Martin Zender contends that such a heinous perception of God can only lower the standards of morality wherever it is taught. After all, why should a person behave any better than his or her Deity? Want to save people from moral ruin? Teach the God of Scripture!

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith (“righteousness by faith” teaching), giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron (being perpetually conscious of sins), forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”
(1 Timothy 4:1-4, comments in parentheses are mine)

I love what Martin Zender said about the doctrine of eternal torment (as in burning and suffering) in hell being a doctrine of demons (1 Timothy 4:1) because it is born out of sin-consciousness, and as he put it, it appeals to the self-righteous and religious sensibilities in people. This false doctrine needs to be refuted in order for people to experience true freedom in Christ, as well as know and appreciate the loving and gracious heart of our heavenly Father more fully.

Martin Zender considers himself the most outspoken Bible scholar. You can find out more about his ministry here.

Related links:
The Infamous Hall of Christian Terrorist Organizations of the World
Lazarus and the Rich Man

‘Hell’ is a Misunderstood Concept in Christianity

Someone asked in Yahoo Answers this question: “Do you believe in hell?” The following is a very good answer that is based on sound Biblical interpretation and historical research.
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‘Hell’ was a borrowed term from pagan tradition by Roman Catholic Church during the reign of Constantine.

In the Bible, the term ‘hell’ was mistranslated by the translators. So yes, it is an invention of the Church empire for the purpose of controlling of masses.

As for ‘heaven’, the apostle Paul stated it in Ephesians 2:6 that the entire Human race has been raised to heavenly places IN Christ Jesus. As in Adam all die, so in Christ ALL and the entire human race will be made alive as they come to knowledge of Christ. And it is my conviction that hell or heaven is in one’s consciousness. When the apostle John mentioned heaven in Rev 21:1, “a new heaven and a new earth” is not referring to terrestrial or celestial bodies, etc. Rather he was talking about ‘covenantal transition’ – the ending of the Old Covenant Mosaic world of sin and sacrifice and the coming in of the endless New Covenant age of mercy and GRACE – the ages to come, a “world without end” Eph 3:21; Isa 9:7; Isa 54:17.

I encourage everyone (NOT ONLY YOU) to not buy into the popular Church idea that “If you believe in Jesus you will go to heaven, and if you don’t believe in Jesus you will go to hell” — it is the most ridiculous idea that has been sold to us by the man behind the Curtain. The Bible says that when we die, the body returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). We don’t go to heaven or hell. That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life and there is nothing spiritual about it. It is all Pagan. The Christian religion set back history at least by 2000 years. We think the way people in Old Testament time thought because of the lie that we have been told all our lives.

You know what is the negative side of it all? Hell is nothing but ignorance or the absence of the love of God. Jesus said, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of HADES (most translations say ‘hell’) will not overcome it”. So, what is ‘hell’ in this context? Ignorance, living in the absence of love and grace and darkness is ‘hell”, so Jesus was telling Simon, “Son of Jonah, I tell you, you are Peter, son of God, upon this rock (UPON THIS UNDERSTANDING OF WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST) I will build My church.” (petros = a portion of rock from petra = a mass of rock) A chip of the old block! The ekklesia is the expression of the fact that the son of man is the son of God, the fact that man began in God, and His image and likeness is redeemed in human form! So, hell is nothing but “Identity crisis”. In my opinion. Be Free!!=:)

(Adapted from Yahoo Answers)

Related links:
Hell is a Christian hoax
Has God been misrepresented by Christianity?
Bible Translations that Do Not Teach Eternal Torment

Salvation Has Rescued Us From Darkness (Ignorance) To Light (Understanding)

I have been blessed reading about the successful rescue mission of the 33 miners in Chile who were trapped for more than 2 months underground (from August to October 2010). I have been following the news about their plight for the past few weekends when I read about them in the newspapers. I think it’s almost like a real-life parable or illustration of how we all are rescued or translated from darkness to light.

Colossians 1:13-14 says “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

We were once in darkness, a place of ignorance. We were blinded in our minds to the immense love of our Father in heaven. We did not know our true identity. We felt alienated from God, when all the while God has never alienated Himself from us. He wants us to KNOW Him.

I believe then that Jesus has come to save us from our ignorance. He has come to give us an understanding of who God is and who we are in Him.
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Someone may quote Philippians 2:13 and say that we need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (meaning to imply some work on our part to remain “saved”). But I think we need to look at the historical context of this verse as well as consider the audience relevance. Have done a bit of study on Philippians 2:12-16 – I think the Concordant Literal Version of the Bible kinda captures the original Greek thought better:

So that, my beloved, according as you always obey, not as in my presence only, but now much rather in my absence, with fear and trembling, be carrying your own salvation into effect, ¹³ for it is God Who is operating in you to will as well as to work for the sake of His delight. ¹⁴ All be doing without murmurings and reasonings, ¹⁵ that you may become blameless and artless, children of God, flawless, in the midst of a generation crooked and perverse among whom you are appearing as luminaries in the world, ¹⁶ having on the word of life, for my glorying in the day of Christ, that I did not run for naught, neither that I toil for naught.”
(Philippians 2:12-16, Concordant Literal Version)

Paul was writing to the first century christians who were living among the “crooked and perverse generation” which refers to the religious people in Israel – I believe the salvation in that context is referring to being saved from the destruction together with the temple in 66-70AD — indeed, none of the christians were reported to perish during the Roman army siege – they had heeded Jesus’ warning to flee to the mountains of Judea. Besides, the salvation they knew then was salvation in all its fullness (wholeness, preservation, protection, etc) – it comes from the Greek word soteria. And yes, salvation is also a Person – Jesus is the Yeshua of the world.
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If we know Jesus as He really is – that His name is Salvation (Yeshua) – we will know that He is the Saviour of the world. Love came to save, love came to serve, love comes to give – Jesus is love personified, and He is salvation personified.

Jesus is the Saviour of ALL men. (See 1 Timothy 4:10)

When we say we are in Jesus, we actually mean we are in Salvation.

The good news is that: Salvation is here – in us, with us, for us. Even for those who do not know Jesus, HE knows them – that is their security. It is WHO knows us that matters, not how much we know Him – we cannot never fully know Him, for that matter. We all may lose sight of Him at times, but He never loses sight of us.
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I have had a misconception about what salvation means. I used to think salvation means being saved from hell (whatever that ‘hell’ meant), but I have learnt that salvation is simply saved from having a wrong mindset about God and about ourselves.

‘Hell’ is a pagan concept that has been used by the Roman Catholic church to control the masses with fear. This website “Hell is a misunderstood concept in Christianity” explains the details.

You may also like to listen to this video ‘Hell as an invention of the church‘.

The lake of fire is not literal but metaphorical. If it were literal, how would it be possible for death (which is non-physical) and hades (grave) be cast into the lake of fire?

We all have (had) a part in the lake of fire, which was not meant to torture us, but to purify. Phillip explained it like this: “The Greek word for fire is pur. Strong’s Concordant of the Bible #4442. This is where we get our English word ‘purify’. The lake of fire is no more than a purification process that every man will endure. (Mark 9:49) So the lake of fire is symbolic and it is not a literal fire.”

Revelations 21:8 speaks of the old Adamic nature and the old identity that experience the second death. It is not referring to people being burnt and tortured forever.

In short, Jesus came not to save people from ‘hell’ (which is a pagan concept). He came to save us from having a wrong mindset about God and about ourselves. He came to show us that God is all the while with us and He has never alienated Himself from us. He came to show us God is love and to restore our sense of identity which is found in Him.
…..

“And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, blameless, and above reproach in His sight” (Colossians 1:21-22)

Notice that this sense of alienation and being enemies took place in our minds? Hence, God sent His Son to renew our mind (or repent – change our mind or change our thinking) to see ourselves in His image – that we are holy, blameless and above reproach.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ ALL shall be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)

In God’s mind, we are all made alive in Christ. We are new creations. We are the righteousness of God in Him. We are beloved children of God, accepted and highly favoured in the Beloved. We are the apple of God’s eye, and He loves us with an everlasting love.

When we awake to the truth that we are righteous in Him and He is in us, we will experience the abundant life He has given us – full of hope, full of joy, full of peace, full of health, full of finances. That is spiritual awakening at its fullness!

“Awake to righteousness (awake to the truth that you are the righteousness of God in Christ), and do not sin (do not fall short of the understanding that you are one with God and as a result living below the best He wants you to have); for some do not knowledge of God (who is in us and in whose image we are made).” (1 Corinthians 15:34; words in parentheses are mine)

Mary Lou Houllis said, “The Bible is not about the physical realm.” Indeed, the gospel (or good news of Christ) is about our belief system. What we believe will manifest in our lives. Our perception creates our reality. When we align our minds with the mind of God that proclaims we are one with Him, we will experience the truth of the gospel in tangible ways, in manifested blessings.

You may also like to listen to “The Creator You” by Mary Lou Houllis, who heads the New Beginning Oneness Center.

Recommended Readings:
“God’s Salvation Plan – Salvation of All” by Jath van der Westhuizen
“Misunderstandings about the meaning of hell (Part 1)” by Jath van der Westhuizen
“Misunderstandings about the meaning of hell (Part 2)” by Jath van der Westhuizen
“Redemption of Mankind” by Jath van der Westhuizen

[Salvation of All] "The Reconciliation of All Things" by Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr

DAILY EMAIL GOODIES
Issue #2554 December 14, 2010

THE RECONCILIATION OF ALL THINGS

“Having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:20).

Even though the Bible is a book specifically about the details of human redemption, Paul’s unequivocal testimony is to the reconciliation of “all things” that have been alienated from God – not just man.

According to Paul, “all things” will be reconciled to God – “all things … in earth” and “all things … in heaven.” We know what is alienated in the earth that needs to be reconciled to God; but what about “in heaven”? What is alienated there that is in need of reconciliation? Why, Satan and the fallen celestial powers, of course!

Satan and the fallen celestial powers are exactly what the backdrop of Colossians 1:20 includes. Listen to Paul, just a few verses earlier –

“… all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers” (:16).

Again, it is clear revelation given to Paul that there will be a reconciliation of “all things” – all things that have been alienated. The context is abundantly clear – the “all things created” ARE the “all things” RECONCILED.

Specifically included here in the “all things” are the exact same adversaries – the “principalities” and “powers” – against which we currently wrestle according to Ephesians 6:11-12. God says that they, too, will be reconciled. God will leave no corner of His vast and wonderful universe outside of His unfailing love.

Therefore, the context of the reconciliation of Colossians chapter one plainly includes Satan and the fallen celestial powers. Oh, the great grace, love and mercy of God that are abundantly demonstrated and magnified in the full extent of their reach – even to the reconciliation of Satan and fallen celestial powers.

Paul repeats these gloriously triumphant truths in Ephesians 1:10:

“That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him.”

Again you will notice the context of “heaven” and “earth.” This dual sphere is also repeated in Philippians 2:10-11:

“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This reconciliation is truly universal! No creature will be left out. Nothing will be left alienated or unreconciled to God. There will be an entire, universal “restoration of all things.”

“For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things …” (Romans 11:36).

“And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him Who put all things under Him, that God may be All in all” (I Corinthians 15:21-28).

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr,
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Salvation is for the Here and Now, Not One Day after We Die

The gospel of grace and peace proclaims that God has reconciled all things to Himself through Jesus’ finished work at the cross. (Colossians 1:20) Now that we know that all humankind has been reconciled to God, some questions may arise among those who have grown up in traditional or evangelical church teachings, such as:

• Does that mean there is no need for faith in Jesus?
• Is there still a need to preach the gospel?
• What about those who don’t believe the gospel?
• What exactly are we saved from?

The post below seeks to address these questions, and more.
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According to the gospel, Christ has been made unto us from God wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption. By one man’s obedience, all has been made righteous. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. We all are included in His redemption. We are redeemed from the curse of sickness, lack, identity crisis, low self-esteem, guilt and shame, etc.

I believe salvation is for the soul (mind, will and emotions), so faith in Jesus is necessary. (Hebrews 10:39; James 1:21) When we believe the good news that we are righteous and accepted by God who has never forsaken us from the beginning, we will experience peace for our conscience and healing for our mind and emotions. We begin to live life with hope and expectancy of good things to come, and enjoy the divine dance with our loving God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The kingdom of God is within us, and Christ in us is the hope of glory.

When someone dies without believing in  Jesus or having heard about Him, s/he will still be with God, for the spirit returns to Him who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). S/he will not be in a place called “hell” (which is implied as eternal separation from God or eternal damnation or everlasting punishment or torture). Hell or gehenna as mentioned in the gospel accounts refer to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD70 (which was described in the book of Revelations concerning the end of the old covenant age and the establishment of the new covenant world “new heavens and new earth”). Hades is simply grave or a place of the unseen (or ignorance of God’s love and of our true identity, which shall not prevail against the church).

When we proclaim this gospel of grace and peace, we are reminding others of their true identity. They will be awakened to who they really are, and start reigning in life through Jesus Christ. “Much more those who receive abundance of grace and gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One Jesus Christ (not one day after they die)“. (Romans 5:17; words in parentheses are mine) Praise the Lord for the good news. That’s why we continue to preach or proclaim the gospel so that more and more people will know the unconditional love and amazing grace of God, and become established in their true identity, and start to reign in life!

Steve McVey said, “the efficacy of the cross is done, whether we believe it or not. But by rejecting it, our experience will not be what our acceptance would facilitate. It’s the same ‘River of Fire’ (Dan 7:10) – God’s Love – that flows from the throne down upon all of us. To those who believe, it will be the joy of heaven.” I agree that those who believe the good news, it will be the joy of heaven.

As for those who don’t believe the gospel, I believe that it doesn't mean they will end up in a place called "hell" after they die. It simply means that they will not get to enjoy the benefits of salvation that believers enjoy while they are alive, which includes peace for the conscience, divine healing, freedom from guilt and condemnation, etc.

In the beginning, Adam and Eve became afraid of God after they disobeyed Him in the garden of Eden, but it wasn’t God’s love that caused them to distance themselves from Him because He draws people to Himself with lovingkindness. Rather, it’s the fallen human mindset that blinds people to see the reality of God’s love, and hence Jesus has come to show us how good and loving God really is. This good news of knowing how much God loves us will help to build our consciousness of God as our loving Father. In fact, our God is a triune God – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is in constant fellowship with us because He is a relational being, not a legalistic judge or book-keeper.

In conclusion, salvation is for the here and now, not one day in the future. “Behold, now is the accepted time (of favour); behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) Jesus came to save us from the Adamic curse of living a performance-based life marked by stress, guilt and condemnation, that we might live the abundant life freely and lightly, flowing with the unforced rhythm of grace (unmerited favour), where He works miracles among us by the hearing of faith (about our right standing with God).

The Meaning of "Salvation" Depends on Context in which It Appears in the Bible

Someone has asked a question which I’ve also been thinking about lately: “Other than being saved from the destruction of Jerusalem, is there anything that the 1st century believers were saved from?”

Since salvation (‘soteria’ in Greek) means wholeness, health, deliverance, preservation and prosperity (in spirit, soul and body), I think salvation includes healing, provisions, etc.

For example, after Peter healed the lame man in the name of Jesus, he went on to say that there is no other name except Jesus by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12), the context was healing.

Another example: When the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years was healed after touching the hem of Jesus’ garment, Jesus told her “Daughter, be of good comfort, Your faith has saved you.” The Greek word ‘sozo’ (saves) means healing in that context. So yea, salvation includes healing.

Related Post:
“Created for His Pleasure!” by Jath van der Westhuizen

Holy Condescension? No Way!

Jesus healed a blind man. (Luke 18)

While reading some posts in the Internet just now, I was reflecting to myself that I have a pet peeve - I think those who like to describe God as being the Almighty Being who condescends to lower Himself to man's level may run the risk of being condescending themselves since whatever they believe about God, they also become like Him.

I'm thinking why would God be condescending to His own image? God doesn't have an ego problem, so perhaps the word 'condescend' should be removed from the theological vocabulary about God. We don't find Jesus being condescending to anyone, not even a child. Instead, He lifted up those who are lowly, and embraced children who came to Him.

Maybe my mindset has changed too - in the past, I wouldn't think much about people describing God as the Holy One who condescends, but after having been meditating on how God and us are one and how we share the same divine nature with Him, I am learning to see God as divine Love without any trace of pride or ego or condescending spirit in Him. After all, Jesus described Himself as meek and lowly (not meek and mild, as J. B. Phillips pointed out in his book "Your God Is Too Small").

I'm renewing my mind even as I am sharing this and articulating my thoughts, as I also need to continue to behold His glory and grace, since I too need to be transformed in my thinking, and be transformed into His same image, since I have been religious in the past as well. There's a certain feeling of freedom and lightness of being in being conscious of our oneness with God and with one another in the universe - we are all on equal level, sharing the same humanity and divinity - no one is greater or lesser than one another. I believe this is the oneness that Jesus taught.