Finding the Truth

The Truth About Lent
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The Truth About the Church
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The Truth About the Antichrist
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The Truth About Valentine's Day
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The Truth About the Rapture
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The Truth About Obama's Inauguration
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The Truth About Bible Statements
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The Truth About Sunday Worship and Blue Laws
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The Truth About Prophecy and Hamas
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The Truth About the Calendar
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The Truth About Christmas and Chanukkah
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The Truth About Christmas and December 25th
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The Truth About Thanksgiving
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The Truth About the Bible
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The Truth About the Name of Jesus
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The Truth About Halloween
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The Truth About Luther and the Reformation
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That's NOT in the Bible?
Truth about popular statements

By Daniel Rendelman
ravemet@comcast.net
www.emetministries.com

The Bible has affected mankind in countless ways. It is the best selling book of all time. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton once based their curriculum upon the Scriptures. For many years Webster's Dictionary predominately defined words from their usage in the King James Version. The message of the Bible has sparked wars like the Crusades, changed lives of horrible sinners like Jeffrey Dahmer, and become part of everyday speech. Phrases like "cleanliness is next to godliness" are repeated over and over as coming from the good book. But, do many of the popular sayings we attribute to the Bible actually originate from the Scriptures?

"God helps those who help themselves" is just one example of a quote that doesn't have Biblical origin. This statement was actually first made by Ben Franklin in the Poor Richard's Almanac of 1757. This isn't a bad idea, but it isn't Scriptural. How could the man on the cross next to the Savior actually help himself?

When problems plague a person the popular Christian catch phrase "this too shall pass" is often repeated. This statement can't be found in the Bible. Yes, pain is only temporary compared to the eternal glory of Heaven but you won't find this "verse" in your Bible. To read this quote, try opening the Jewish Talmud.

"Once saved, always saved" is a popular Baptist citation that isn't from the Bible either. The theology of eternal security can easily be argued as Revelation 3:5 speaks of blotting someone's name OUT of the book of eternal life. Don't be mistaken about this declaration.

Is money the root of all evil? Not according to the Scriptures. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:10 that the "love of money is the root of all evil." Money is a tool that can be used for good or bad. The love of money is greed. This desire to receive for self alone is indeed the force that drives all wickedness.

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" is a phrase from a newspaper in 1833. And "beggars can't be choosers" was first used in a 1546 book of proverbs.

Perhaps the most used unbiblical phrase derives from a hymn written by William Cowper. He wrote that "God moves in a mysterious ways." Today, this statement is repeated over and over by believers and unbelievers alike. The truth is that the Almighty is not mysterious whatsoever. The Creator can be known and understood through His word. We are the ones with a problem of understanding the infinite. For a Bible believer, nothing about the Creator should be mysterious as EVERYTHING can be for the good. Everything that occurs is not good but can work for our benefit. Romans 8:28, "And we know that all thing work together for the good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose."

Error brings more error. We delude ourselves when we erroneously attribute man's ideas for Biblical wisdom. The only way to know if what we think is in the Scriptures is to study and know the Bible. The truth of the Bible will set us free from error and misunderstandings. To learn more truth from the bible visit www.emetministries.com.

Finding the Truth about Luther and the Reformation

By Daniel Rendelman
ravemet@comcast.net
www.emetministries.com

Christians throughout the world celebrate the last Sunday in October as "Reformation Day." This is in remembrance of how Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. Luther's actions exposed the Catholic Church as full of false doctrine, superstition, and ignorance. His main disagreement centered on salvation by grace through faith.

After Luther's courageous acts, the Protestant movement gained popularity. Luther changed the Sunday worship service to focus on preaching instead of the Eucharist, but he left other Catholic traditions intact. The "new" Lutheran worship style differed little from the Catholic Mass. "Luther retained the basic order of the medieval Mass along with the ceremonial aspects of lights, incense and vestments," Maxwell, Outline of Christian Worship, page 77.

Luther talked much about the "priesthood of all believers" but did not allow the reformation to affect the services of worship. Luther said, "It is not now nor ever has been our intention to abolish the liturgical service of God completely," Luther's works, LII, 20. Accordingly, the pulpit and not the altar table is the central element in most contemporary churches. Many similarities still remain between the Catholic Church and most Christian denominations like Episcopal, Lutheran, and Methodist. Did Luther go far enough? Was the Reformation the needed resistance of evil and the complete return to righteousness?

Sadly, Luther's actions did little to change church worship. Yes, Luther led a drastically needed reformation of doctrine BUT the Protestant movement has continued to mirror many Catholic traditions. It's been almost 500 years since the first Reformation Sunday but the church is still stuck in incorrect Catholic practices. Here are a few examples:

"Is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify." Cardinal James Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 edition), p. 72-73 (16th Edition, p 111; 88th Edition, p. 89).

History shows that Christ-mass is a leftover holiday with symbols of Madonna and child which were borrowed from Egyptian worship of Isis and Horus. This is in violation of Exodus 20:3.

On June 29, 2008 the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments banned the sacred name of "Yahweh" from being used in liturgy or music. The name of "Yahweh" is seldom heard throughout Christianity. This is in violation of Exodus 3:30.

Catholicism and much of the modern church teaches that the Pastor or Minister acts as a mediator for confession, sin, or learning of doctrine. This is in violation of 1 Timothy 2:5.

Luther participated in a reformation that continues until this day. Many people are laying aside unbiblical practices and searching for the truth. This movement will continue until the return of the Messiah. The Savior will make His second coming when the truth faith is restored completely. He will return when there is a full reformation. "Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may he blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto You: Whom the heavens must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began," Acts 3:17-21.