Either there is no god and no paranormal... or there are billions of good liars and dreamers

Originally posted by tgambill
***Which verse is that exactly? I can't seem to find it. We are judged by our acceptance of Jesus Christ as savior. Jesus was not killed. He died and rose back again to live and in the glorifed body and he appeared to over 400 eyewitnesses after he rose from the grave.

Matthew 7

1Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Luke 6

36Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

37Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

39And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?

40The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.

No person who has not been saved by acceptance of the Lord Jesus' sacrifice on the cross will escape this horrifying judgment against sin. The Lord Jesus foretold of this moment.

It is a deception that you just need to believe in Jesus and be saved. Jesus says that those who truly believe will follow his word. The deception allows for people to break the commandments of god and feel they will not have to reap what they have sown.

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Matthew 7:

21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.


And then you go on to quote paul. In my eyes, only the words of Jesus have any true meaning. Jesus taught there is only 1 teacher, and it was not paul.

8But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

9And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

10Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

Of course, Paul comes along and sets up the exact opposite in the church.

And btw, you might want to take interest to this as well.

Matthew 23

27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,

30And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

"28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

****I'm sorry but this describes what you are doing. You take some truth from the Bible, twist in any way to suit you and then you come out with some off the wall conclusion. You are not telling the true meaning of the scriptures.

"It is a deception that you just need to believe in Jesus and be saved. Jesus says that those who truly believe will follow his word. The deception allows for people to break the commandments of god and feel they will not have to reap what they have sown."

******Do you really believe what you are writing or are you that blind? No where in the Bible does it say that you can break the commandments. Your statment is so far off track and convoluted that its not even debatable. You aren't even a master of double talk but you are just a novice.

"John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.'

*****You keep proving my point or you are just throwing out verses and hoping for the best that people will be confused and .....believe your assertions?????? You are like the Masons, scottish rite, or the New Agers and make believe.........An eternity is a long time....you are messing with where you are going to spend it. You are not keeping the word of God holy, you are changing the meanings and just throwing a verse here and there for good measure......you are the one that will spend an eternity of the bottomless pit. This is the kind version of it.

Originally posted by tgambill
"28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

****I'm sorry but this describes what you are doing. You take some truth from the Bible, twist in any way to suit you and then you come out with some off the wall conclusion. You are not telling the true meaning of the scriptures.

The people he was talking to and about were the people who had the strict interpretation of the bible. Over and over in the story of Jesus he is meet by these people. And he calls them hypocrites.

The pharisees were people who went to church every week. Paid large amounts of cash to the church and appeared very morale.

Originally posted by tgambill
******Do you really believe what you are writing or are you that blind? No where in the Bible does it say that you can break the commandments. Your statment is so far off track and convoluted that its not even debatable. You aren't even a master of double talk but you are just a novice.

Christians break commandments all the time. Love thy neighbor - so long as they aren't gay, want an abortion or whatever, don't love those people, hate them and persecute them in the name of Jesus. Hypocrites.

Thou shall not kill. Except of course, if you are christian then you can kill people in the name of Jesus - such as muslims and arabs, cuz they are different and they should just accept Jesus. It's ok to kill, as long as the church - who has taken gods role on earth into their own hands - says it's ok.

Jesus tells people to fear not people who only have the power to kill, to only worry about god. But these christians surely are in fear. And out of that fear, they support the breaking of commandments and go off and kill and hate their neighbors.

*****You keep proving my point or you are just throwing out verses and hoping for the best that people will be confused and .....believe your assertions?????? You are like the Masons, scottish rite, or the New Agers and make believe.........An eternity is a long time....you are messing with where you are going to spend it. You are not keeping the word of God holy, you are changing the meanings and just throwing a verse here and there for good measure......you are the one that will spend an eternity of the bottomless pit. This is the kind version of it.

No, Jesus says those who truly believe will follow his path and will not break commandments for any reason. There is no confusion in me.

I have no fear of anything in this world. There are things I'd rather avoid, but fear them I do not. And it scares the living crap out of people like you. I know the truth. I know I am eternal and when I leave this world I will go right back to where I came from. I am here by my own choice.

Telling me I have something to fear just isn't going to change my mind about anything. The only thing I truly do fear is being wrong. If you said something that actually made sense, I would happily change my mind, and I would thank you for showing me truth. But trying to get me to fear and accept things based on that fear brings 0 understanding, 0 wisdom and 0 knowledge. It is the sign of a poor fool in the eyes of god. The rich man in the eyes of god is the man with understanding, wisdom and knowledge. The 1st step in all these things is honesty.

When given the opportunity to show a more logical understanding, the wisdom, or even a hint of insight behind why Jesus said the things he did, why he is right, and why only the people who do these things are allowed in heaven or even why Paul's contradiction exist, you decline. Instead, you only quote the scripture in the literal word, and present god as immoral, uncaring, limited and someone who treats people like they are 5 year olds to ignorant to understand, so the response is - Because I say so. Or in your words - Because the bible says so.

There are logical and valid reasons why Jesus said and did the things he did. That when understood even the most hardcore atheist would take note of. Things that would turn science on it's end - and prove Jesus right. There is a reason god will not let you into heaven if you do not follow the commandments, and it has nothing to do with him not caring or getting upset with people that do not worship him or accept Jesus into their hearts as you present it. It's for the same reason you were removed from the garden in the first place, to protect everyone else because you are full of evil and do not understand how to live in peaceful society. It is foolish to think that you are going to get out of here without actually having these understandings and the faith to follow them. Jesus showed you how a life without sin was for a reason. Not to fullfil prophecy, but to give you an example and understanding.

And to get those understandings you need to look beyond just the literal word as the pharisees did, and see why these things were done. If you would like, I can give you reasons why Jesus did what he did, why it is needed to get into heaven, and why you will not be allowed if you do not follow. I may just do it anyway for others, but I've been up late working so maybe tomorrow.

For me, the first step was to understand John 14:20. After that, the rest just fell into place. Understand that Jesus and god are in you, feel that connection, understand there is only 1 observer, understand that it is the veil that creates the separation we feel and see. I don't think it's coincidence it says "on that day you will know", as there is no doubt that was the day I started to wake up to the truth. That was the day that started it all.

The rich man in the eyes of god is the man with understanding and knowledge - show me your wealth from god, not what you have taken from another man.

Also - I would quote the entire chapters of the verses I post if it wouldn't take up so much space. There is a forum rule against doing that.



[edit on 25-11-2008 by badmedia]

reply to post by badmedia


After reading your posts I believe there is something about you that you have not confessed.
Or, maybe you have, but I missed it somewhere?

I think it is possible you must be a homosexual.
You do seem to defend homosexuality with great fervor!

I will pray for your deliverance from thinking that Christians somehow HATE homosexuals.
We do NOT hate homosexuals.
We LOVE homosexuals, but we HATE the ACT!
There is NOTHING that dictates that a Christian must accept the ACT of homosexuality.
We are only called to LOVE the person.
We are NOT called to LOVE the sin.

Get your facts right.
The scriptures you post show you ignore the TRUTH concerning being a Christian.

You MUST ask Jesus to come LIVE inside of you, and that is the path to Eternal Life.
In that LIFE you MUST leave the door open to Salvation for ALL people!
And, that is what a TRUE Christian does!

The Christian in no way is called by Christ to accept the sins of others as righteousness.
And, that is exactly what YOU ask every Christian to do!

Originally posted by SaintlyMic
After reading your posts I believe there is something about you that you have not confessed.
Or, maybe you have, but I missed it somewhere?

I think it is possible you must be a homosexual.
You do seem to defend homosexuality with great fervor!

I think it's possible you are just making excuses. I am not homosexual, I'm married. It's called love thy neighbor as thyself, and if you actually followed Jesus then you would not think someone was gay because they stand up for the rights of others, even if it's not a right they do not use.

I will pray for your deliverance from thinking that Christians somehow HATE homosexuals.
We do NOT hate homosexuals.
We LOVE homosexuals, but we HATE the ACT!
There is NOTHING that dictates that a Christian must accept the ACT of homosexuality.
We are only called to LOVE the person.
We are NOT called to LOVE the sin.

Get your facts right.

You can make all the claims you want. Anyone can say they do these things, but I know you by your fruits. You persecute the person when you try to take away their rights, or use their actions against the person. That is not hating the sin and not the person, that is hating the person because of the sin.

Just as you ignorantly thought I might be gay for sticking up for someone else, as I hope would like for them to stick up for me, even if it's a right they may not use.

The scriptures you post show you ignore the TRUTH concerning being a Christian.

You MUST ask Jesus to come LIVE inside of you, and that is the path to Eternal Life.
In that LIFE you MUST leave the door open to Salvation for ALL people!
And, that is what a TRUE Christian does!

The Christian in no way is called by Christ to accept the sins of others as righteousness.
And, that is exactly what YOU ask every Christian to do!

I speak nothing but the truth. I got my understandings directly from god and the holy spirit uncorrupted.

Since you want to focus on gay people. Which commandment are gay people breaking? And which commandment are you breaking by persecuting them, and putting yourself over them?

The TRUE christian as you put is the one who follows the example of Christ. Jesus says walk the narrow path, you and the church offer the wide path, where you just have to "accept" this thing, and then you are saved and forgiven for anything you do. When the rich man comes to Jesus, does Jesus tell the rich man this is what he must do? No, he tells the rich man he must give his riches to the poor and walk the path. According to the church, all the rich man needs to do is accept Jesus and then he will be forgiven and can do whatever. How ridiculous.

You don't know Jesus. When someone actually talks about the things Jesus taught people, or actually starts walking that path - it scares people like you to death. To the point where you denounce that person, and try to beat them back down to your level.

[edit on 29-11-2008 by badmedia]

Im one of the lucky ones. WAs looking for the best way to find "HIM"....narrowed down to islam and christianity....he yelled"faith". I then went inside, and there was an entity in there. Everything was crisp and clean to look at . brighter and more sharp. I wasn'tthinking properly either. It was like my brain was overwhelmed and couldn't process properly. It's unfortunate that what is proof to me cannot be to you, however, since I've come to ATS, i've been enlightened, and i no longer have to use that situation to reaffirm my faith. What i'm saying is that you can have proof of God, like see him or whatever, but that in itself pales in comparison to knowing the truth of what he represents and who he is.

"I speak nothing but the truth. I got my understandings directly from god and the holy spirit uncorrupted. "

*****I'm here to tell you that you don't cite the correct verses nor do you cite verses when you can't find one, you make it up. God and the Holy Spirit has not been talking to you. I know because your words are Biblical. If its not supported by the Bible, King James Version only.....then the Inspiration comes from Satan and is the counterfeit Christianity.

Your words are clever but when one knows the true word of God the deception is obvious. For those not schooled in the Bible could be fooled.

its a shame that you are deceiving these people, but God has a special place for those that deceive. You best rethink what you are doing.

Originally posted by tgambill
*****I'm here to tell you that you don't cite the correct verses nor do you cite verses when you can't find one, you make it up. God and the Holy Spirit has not been talking to you. I know because your words are Biblical. If its not supported by the Bible, King James Version only.....then the Inspiration comes from Satan and is the counterfeit Christianity.

I don't need the bible. I did not learn from the bible. Why is it Christians talk about a personal relationship with god, but then it isn't actually allowed?

My words are not biblical, but my understandings are. Because you are blind and do not understand the truth Jesus told, you do not recognize it.

Your words are clever but when one knows the true word of God the deception is obvious. For those not schooled in the Bible could be fooled.

its a shame that you are deceiving these people, but God has a special place for those that deceive. You best rethink what you are doing.

Deception is the tool of the pharisees, those who only follow the strict interpretation of the law, but do not actually follow it themselves, as they do not understand what they do(What Jesus told those who killed him). They were the children of the devil, and they are the modern day church today, just as they were the modern church then. The bible says Christians will be persecuted, but the president of the most powerful nation in the world claims to be this, and believes just as you do. Throughout history those who have been persecuted have been the ones who spoke up as I have, and those who speak up like I have were often times killed, burned as a witch and so on for daring to speak up against the same authorities which killed Jesus. All the while those people never once stopped to realize they had just themselves broke more than 1 commandment in their own actions, which made them hypocrites.

I do not follow the commandments out of fear of how I may be punished if I don't. I follow them because I understand why they are important and need to be followed, and why people who do not follow them will not be allowed into heaven. You tell people it is punishment that they will not go to heaven, but it is done to protect those who can live by the commandments. If you want to get into heaven then you must live by the commandments. Jesus is your savior because he came and did what he did despite knowing he would be killed and treated badly. So that by his example and suffering you could see the truth and follow.

Your fear-fu is no good here.

"I don't need the bible. I did not learn from the bible. Why is it Christians talk about a personal relationship with god, but then it isn't actually allowed? My words are not biblical, but my understandings are. Because you are blind and do not understand the truth Jesus told, you do not recognize it."

*****Just for S & G's, where do you hear the words of Jesus. Do you and Jesus sit by the fireside and talk in his spirit? Do you wear a special hat like the Pope? Does he speak to your soul and tells you to ignore the Bible verses that they are all manmade quotes from him?

A personal relationship from God is not only allowed but this is what the entire reason for our creation is about. It is in fact, obvious that Satan has a hold on you and just like that satanically inspired writer, who Wrote "Conversations with God" I and II, Satan was speaking with him. I mean this sincerely as your soul is in danger. My eyes are wide open, as yours are in accordance with II Thess 2.......about believing a lie because you do not seek truth.

You fail to provide the references except for your personal reflections and homemade version of Jesus. Where do you hear his words exactly?
Deception is the tool of Satan. People didn’t create the universe and therefore do not possess the wisdom nor authority to set the rules or have the understanding necessary. Jesus wasn’t killed as you say. He died on the cross but came back from the dead to be savior and have victory over death. You are once again using the Bible and yet you don’t believe the Bible as you pick and choose what you want to which is not allowed as you will be deceived. You are in your own boat and not even close to speaking like those persecuted. You keep saying that Jesus is dead and fact he is not.
]
You will be punished for following is commandments as following from fear is not considered. Its whether or not you follow them period. I don’t tell people that they will be punished. God tells people through the Bible. Jesus came to be sin on the cross per his words.

You are far gone. You are twisting your words and confusing yourself and you don’t see it. It will become apparent when the Day of Judgment comes. It’s a dangerous game you are playing with your soul and God help you if you lead those seeking truth to follow your ill advice. You provide no scripture to back up what you say. The little scripture you do provide is massively unrelated but you spin it in your mind to make it so. Its for your own good that you see truth but you are not……

"I don't need the bible. I did not learn from the bible.

****If true, then how do your reference the words of Jesus if you are not using the Bible. If he is speaking to your directly then maybe you should form your own movement and call it "badmediaites" and they can call you father Bad.

"Why is it Christians talk about a personal relationship with god, but then it isn't actually allowed?"

******Where is this given in reference and which dogma or written word? Or, did you make this up from an direct inspiration from God in your own head. Source is from where?

Originally posted by tgambill
*****Just for S & G's, where do you hear the words of Jesus. Do you and Jesus sit by the fireside and talk in his spirit? Do you wear a special hat like the Pope? Does he speak to your soul and tells you to ignore the Bible verses that they are all manmade quotes from him?

Exactly as he says he will in the bible. 1st I had a vision on the day that John 14:20 happened to me, when I understood Jesus/God were internal, or what you call "new age". The vision asked me only 1 thing - If I wanted it to end(if I wanted to leave). I said no - there is still good out there, and then I was shown myself still on the earth in the next day.

From that point it has been dreams. I actually wake up most mornings thinking of these things, and contemplate my understandings in my sleep.

Numbers 12:6 - And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

And you know what? I didn't even know Jesus had said that until recently. I only knew he said that after I told someone what happened to me. Just as I didn't know John 14 said what it did, until after I had experienced it.

A personal relationship from God is not only allowed but this is what the entire reason for our creation is about. It is in fact, obvious that Satan has a hold on you and just like that satanically inspired writer, who Wrote "Conversations with God" I and II, Satan was speaking with him. I mean this sincerely as your soul is in danger. My eyes are wide open, as yours are in accordance with II Thess 2.......about believing a lie because you do not seek truth.

What you are claiming is that when a man asks for god, Satan will come in his place. This is a lie. This is to suggest that when a man asks for bread, God will instead give him the stone. Which Jesus says God would never do.

You fail to provide the references except for your personal reflections and homemade version of Jesus. Where do you hear his words exactly?
Deception is the tool of Satan. People didn’t create the universe and therefore do not possess the wisdom nor authority to set the rules or have the understanding necessary. Jesus wasn’t killed as you say. He died on the cross but came back from the dead to be savior and have victory over death. You are once again using the Bible and yet you don’t believe the Bible as you pick and choose what you want to which is not allowed as you will be deceived. You are in your own boat and not even close to speaking like those persecuted. You keep saying that Jesus is dead and fact he is not.

Already answered this. I was given understandings on why Jesus did what he did, and why it is so important to follow his path. You keep making these claims I'm being fooled, but yet the only thing I tell people is to walk in the path of Jesus - which Jesus says to do. I have provided you verse after verse where he says this. Which path is more narrow? The one where you must walk and follow the example of Jesus, or the one where you just "accept" Jesus?

You will be punished for following is commandments as following from fear is not considered. Its whether or not you follow them period. I don’t tell people that they will be punished. God tells people through the Bible. Jesus came to be sin on the cross per his words.

Jesus came to be sin on the cross? Jesus came to show you the example of how to live a sin free life despite the consequences. For god so loved the world that he gave his only son, that however might believe in him might be saved. Jesus says those who truly believe will walk the path.

You are far gone. You are twisting your words and confusing yourself and you don’t see it. It will become apparent when the Day of Judgment comes. It’s a dangerous game you are playing with your soul and God help you if you lead those seeking truth to follow your ill advice. You provide no scripture to back up what you say. The little scripture you do provide is massively unrelated but you spin it in your mind to make it so. Its for your own good that you see truth but you are not……

Again, I do not have to be here. I am here by my own choice. I only even bother with the bible for your benefit, not mine. Tell me, if the bible is divinely inspired, where do you think they got the info? And why do you for some reason believe that place is turned off?

Satan will come instead of God if we have not taken Jesus as savior.

"Tell me, if the bible is divinely inspired, where do you think they got the info? And why do you for some reason believe that place is turned off?"

****Revelation 22: 17-20 for one. He speaks to us by many different ways true. but the Bible tells us which voice is coming to us. The Bible is the basis for his Holy Word. Satan can and does talk to us and we have to sometimes use the Bible to discern the origin of the voice.

Originally posted by tgambill
"I don't need the bible. I did not learn from the bible.

****If true, then how do your reference the words of Jesus if you are not using the Bible. If he is speaking to your directly then maybe you should form your own movement and call it "badmediaites" and they can call you father Bad.

"Why is it Christians talk about a personal relationship with god, but then it isn't actually allowed?"

******Where is this given in reference and which dogma or written word? Or, did you make this up from an direct inspiration from God in your own head. Source is from where?

Why do you just keep wanting to prove you have no understanding of your own so called religion?

Why do I not form my own movement? Because I am not here to form my own movement. I do no try to lead people, I hope to free them from their own fears so they can have their own personal relationship with god. The entire reason I have a problem with Paul is because he did exactly what Jesus told him not to do. Jesus/God is the only teacher/leader. Jesus tells his disciples to not make themselves leaders. And that is also something I would never do.

For me to create my own movement would be doing exactly what I am told not too do. That is why I do not do it. Anyone who follows me is a fool, for there is only 1 to follow.

Originally posted by tgambill
Satan will come instead of God if we have not taken Jesus as savior.

"Tell me, if the bible is divinely inspired, where do you think they got the info? And why do you for some reason believe that place is turned off?"

****Revelation 22: 17-20 for one. He speaks to us by many different ways true. but the Bible tells us which voice is coming to us. The Bible is the basis for his Holy Word. Satan can and does talk to us and we have to sometimes use the Bible to discern the origin of the voice.

It says if you take away from this book. It is talking specifcally about the book of revelations. A bible is a collection of books. They weren't formed into the bible until long after the individual books were written. You are the one distorting things.

Furthermore, the point I was making is that the people who wrote the bible had to get their information directly from god/Jesus in order to write them in the first place.

But since you want to bring up Rev 22.

14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Exactly what I say.

I think it's partially because many people -grow up- in religious families and organized religion operates much like a business does. They need to keep their believers focused primarily on their -services- to keep the money flowing in. If the believers became distracted by things of paranormal or spiritual nature, that means they might start losing money. Just a possibility.

[edit on 29-11-2008 by laiguana]

No, you are distorting things because you are a new ager. The True word of God, King James version was written throughout the OT which was law, and predicted in perfect prophesy the events of the New Testament dedicated to the coming Messiah and Jesus was born exactly as the prophets of the Old Testament said. The bible is a cumulation of writings by 40 different authors, 66 different books over a period of 1500 to 1600 years. The last book was written no later than AD 70-95 period by John. The authors were eyewitnesses and were inspired by visions, actual direct communication with God [Old Testament only], Jesus while he was alive and after he came back to life, and finally when he departed Earth supernaturally the Holy Spirit........then took over. The follow on tranlations are clever attempts to distort the truth and lead mankind from Jesus.

"14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Exactly what I say."

****No you don't. You pick and chose verses at will and as you see fit. You are not being truthful but cleverly distorting the true word.

There was much confusion about who jesus was. Some thought He was a wise man or a great prophet. Others thought He was a madman. Still others couldn't decide or didn't' care. But Jesus said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). That means He claimed to be nothing less than God in human flesh.

Many people then and now don't understand that Jesus claimed to be God. They're content to think of Him as little more than a great moral teacher. But even His enemies understood His claims to deity. That's why they tried to stone Him to death (John 5:18; 10:33) and eventually had Him crucified (John 19:7).

"The soul who sins will die" (Ezekiel 18:4). That's hard for us to understand because we tend to evaluate sin on a relative scale, assuming some sins are less serious than others. However, the Bible teaches that all acts of sin are the result of sinful thinking and evil desires. That's why simply changing our patterns of behavior can't solve our sin problem or eliminate its consequences. We need to be changed inwardly so our thinking and desires are holy.

Jesus is the only one who can forgive and transform us, thereby delivering us from the power and penalty of sin: "There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Even though God's justice demands death for sin, His love has provided a Savior, who paid the penalty and died for sinners: "Christ...died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18). Christ's death satisfied the demands of God's justice,, thereby enabling Him to forgive and save those who place their faith in Him (Romans 3:26). John 3:16 says, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." He alone is "our great God and Savior" (Titus 2:13).

Lastly the big lie among others is that many people assume there are many paths to God and that each religion represents an aspect of truth.

But Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6). He didn't claim to be one of many equally legitimate paths to God, or the way to God for His day only. He claimed to be the only way to God - then and forever.