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Are we really surprised by the comments made by those who embrace the culture of death when it comes to abortion? I can say that I am not shocked at all, in fact, sometimes I wonder if I will ever hear something new, something I have never heard from pro-abortionists before. Fall classes have begun and it is time to get back out on the campuses to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have been waiting all summer for this time to arrive. Evangelism on College Campuses is by far my favorite place to go out and witness to others their need of the Savior Jesus. Normally I don't spend much time at our local community college because many students who attend the community college also work and while there are some who are full time students many are there for their classes and then off to work or wherever and off the campus, so I usually go out to Cleveland State because many of the students there are full time students and have more time to stand around and talk between classes. However, I really wanted to get out today and get on the campuses of our local community college because I know I will be at Cleveland State later this week and I at least wanted to give it a go and spend some time at LCCC, our local community college. And I believe I have been underestimating the community college, while I didn't have as many encounters as I have at larger colleges, I have to say I did have a great day. I believe I was able to hand out about one hundred gospel tracts, give or take, but regardless of the amount I know many of the tracts went out and I even had some students come back and tell me they read the tracts. I also had a few students who were Christians come and tell me that they like my sign and appreciated me being out there, and that was truly encouraging. (picture of my sign below)  As you can see, the sign I use accomplishes a couple things for me when I am out holding this sign. First, it addresses the evil of abortion and calls it exactly what abortion is, murder. Also the sign points out the reality that forgiveness for murder can only be found in Jesus Christ. This gives me the opportunity to speak on abortion pointing out just how evil it is and hopefully will cause young men and women especially to really consider what abortion is and think twice before even considering this wickedness as an option. And even more vitally important is this allows me to share with these young men and women their need for Jesus Christ. As I mentioned when I started this article, I am not really shocked or surprised by the things I hear young people say to me when I am out evangelizing. If you don't get out to evangelize on college campuses and want to see the state of our young people in America, you should go at least once and listen to the things they say to you, it might be a huge eye opener for many. On this occasion, I young lady came by and took a gospel tract from me and then when she looked at my sign told me to "stay safe man", to which I replied "why wouldn't I be safe", and just as said that to her another girl walked by and said that "my mom should have aborted me". (video below) Now I wasn't shocked by this comment, this is not the first time I have heard someone say that to me or other mean and hateful things. But it does reveal the heart of many of these young individuals. When you support a culture of death you have no problem wishing other people around you were dead, simply because you don't like the truth that is being exposed.
That really is what it comes down to right, abortion is murder, and the word of God say that we shall not murder (Exodus 20:13), and that God hates hands that shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17b), and the wages of our sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). So even for the murderer there is hope if they repent and turn to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sin. As the scripture says whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). So call on His name today and be reconciled to God through Christ Jesus. G220 Ministries Ricky Gantz May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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Evangelism out in public can be scary, for many people it is outside their comfort zone, the thought of going up to strangers and asking them to talk about Jesus, definitely not always easy for many people. Not to mention the fact that you may encounter obstacles along the way. Such as the security guard at a public event. Now to be far most security guards to a great job, they are hired to provide a service and keep safe the people who participate in an event and of course those who attend these events. Now to be clear there is a difference between an event that is private and one that is open to the public. If an event is private, on private property and may require a ticket to enter, well in that case the security may ask you to stop or leave the property. My advice in that situation would be to comply, for example if I go into a store like Walmart or Target and while I am in the store I am walking around passing out gospel tracts (which I have done on occasions) and a security guard or employee comes up to me and asks me to stop or leave the store, I would comply, because it is a privately owned business and their property. But what about a public event? Well, if the event is public and taking place on public property, then you have every right to be there and engage in evangelism. Just remember why you are there... to glorify the Lord and be a witness for Christ, so how you evangelize and engage does matter. That's not to say that you shouldn't at times be stern or bold in your witness but that you keep in mind the most important thing is to glorify God and see men and women come to faith in Christ. So what should you do when a security guard comes up and asks you to move along and/or tries to move you away from the event? First, I would say to be kind, remember the security guard is in need of the Lord just like everyone else, and there may be many reasons why they are asking you to move along. It could be they were asked by the event coordinators who hired them to move you along, or it could be that they are hostile to the message of Christ and just want to silence you, again though it is important to remember, they need Jesus also. So be kind, offer them a gospel tract, inform them that you are just going to continue to hand out tracts and talk to be and keep on moving. Colossians 4:5-6 says, "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." Here is a short clip of an encounter a brother and I had with security at a local farmers market. Thankfully the Lord provided us peace with the security guard the rest of the day. And while the interaction I had with the security guard was short, we interacted with kindness and yet still informed him we were going to keep on walking and handing out tracts. We had no issues the rest of the day by the security guard as we continued to evangelize. I was reminded of Proverbs 16:24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
One of those ways in which they seek to discredit God's Word is by claiming that the Bible is full of contradictions. One such foolish contradiction is that of the two creation accounts. The claim is that we have two different creation accounts between Genesis chapter one and Genesis chapter two. Genesis seems to be the most attacked book of the Bible, at least since Darwin and his theory of evolution, many claim that science disproves God's word and that instead of being created in the image of God, we are left with being pond scum that evolved over billions of years. Instead of life having value and meaning because God has created us with value and meaning, we are left with having no purpose but only coming into being by some random chance with no sense of value. And who is to say that since the claim is that we evolved from a common ancestor that we do not evolve back into that common ancestor or become like planet of the apes.  So the argument is that we have two creation accounts, and atheists use this argument to say that the scripture is contradicting itself. Any one who does any true research on this would see just how ridiculous this argument is and probably not waste anytime on dealing with it. However, I thought it might be helpful to some who are new believers and possibly even those professing atheists (again no such thing as an atheist) who would want to actually examine the claims made and not make the same foolish claims in their arguments.
Is there two creation accounts? The answer is... NO! Genesis chapter one gives a broad outline of the events of creation which begins on day one through day 6 with the creation of man in the image of God being the climax. Chapter two begins with the seventh day in which God rests. Some atheists make the claim that because God rests here on the seventh day and then in verse 4 we see the creation of man that there is an eighth day creation in which God creates Adam and Eve. This is really just another ridiculous attempt to discredit the Bible and shows a lack of understanding in their own arguments on the topic at hand. Chapter division in the Bible were developed by Archbishop Stephen Langton of Canterbury around A.D. 1227 and the first Bible to use them was the Wycliffe English Bible of 1382. In A.D. 1448 The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by a Jewish Rabbi named Nathan. Stephanus used Nathan's verse divisions of the Old Testament and was the first to divide the New Testament verses in A.D. 1555. This is where we have a first problem when you attempt to read it as if there was these divides and it somehow starts a new account or a contradiction. Now knowing this we can look at the end of Genesis chapter one and see here in the beginning of chapter two that after this broad outline of His six day creation on the seventh day He rested. Now beginning in verse four of chapter two, we see the writer Moses, going into a more focused view of God's creation with the emphasis on His creation of man and the garden in which God placed man along with the creation of Eve the first woman ever created out of the rib of Adam. So this is a more detailed account of God's creation of man in His image. So as you can see and I hope you see clearly here that this is not a contradiction but rather flows perfectly as only God The Holy Spirit can do as He moved in inspiration on Moses to pen this account of God's creation. Now let me move in a little closer on some of these verses that atheists use in their attempts to support their erroneous view that we find two different creation accounts. As taken from the Skeptics Annotated Bible online making this claim that the Bible contradicts. They state this... "In the first creation story, humans are created after the other animals." citing Genesis 1:25-27 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. They compare this passage of scripture with Genesis 2:18-19 and state this... "In the second story, humans were created before the other animals." Lets look at Genesis 2:18-19 and see if this is a contradiction. 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. What they would like you to believe is that leading up to verse nineteen we see the creation of Adam and then we see another creation of the land animals. Honestly, this should be obvious to the reader, especially if you understand that chapter one was a broad outline and chapter two is coming in and putting the emphasis on man. Verse nineteen is not saying that God created the animals here but reminding you of His creation of the animals which were created before man which was laid out in chapter one. Remember the emphasis being on Adam here in chapter two, if you continue to read verse twenty, Adam names the animals that God brings to him and in naming these animals in which God brings to Adam it is made clear to the reader that there was not found a helper that was fit for Adam. So the Lord causes Adam to sleep and God takes one of his ribs and creates woman. And Adam declares in verse twenty three.... "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Now you would think that should cover it completely but there is one more aspect of this story that is connected and ties together with what has already been said, I feel I am repeating myself but for the sake of being thorough I will continue just a little further. The also make this claim on the skeptics bible under contradictions... "In the first creation story, the first man and woman were created simultaneously." citing Genesis 1:25-27 then state... "In the second account, the man was created first, then the animals, then the woman from the man's rib." citing Genesis 2:18-22. Again what we have here is the broad outline of chapter one into the more focused emphasis on the creation of man in chapter two. Not two different creation accounts, not contradictions between the two chapters but a perfect cohesive account of God's creation. My prayer for you atheist or those who claim to be a Christian but seek to dismiss God's word by making claims such as this one, is that you would repent and believe in Jesus Christ. He is God in the flesh, the creator of all things, the very one you are arguing against when you attack His creation account. He is Lord and deserving of all glory, honor and worship. Bow the knee to Him today, repent and believe in Christ, who changes the heart of stone and gives you a heart of flesh, changing your desires, that natural desire to rebel against Him because we are born sinners because of Adam's sin, which if you continue to read in chapter three of Genesis, has been passed on to us which is why we need Christ to save us. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge and fools despise wisdom, don't be a fool in your self professed atheism, turn to Christ who is the wisdom of God. by Ricky Gantz  Recently, during an interaction with a local Hebrew Israelite, the passage of Isaiah 42 was brought up more than once. I was asked, who is this chapter referring to? One of the things Hebrew Israelites like to do is point to Old Testament scriptures that reference Israel as a proof that God has come to save His people Israel, which as someone who holds to Reformed Theology, I wouldn’t disagree. Although, I would disagree on their understanding of what that means. This creates many problems for Hebrew Israelites because they fail to see the differences between the type and the antitype in the scriptures.
What we are examining here is what is known as the “Covenant of Redemption” by reformed theologians. The covenant of redemption is the covenant made between the members of the Trinity (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit) before the world was created. I will only be touching on chapter 42 of Isaiah, with a few looks at connecting scriptures, but I would strongly encourage you to study out this covenant of redemption in greater detail. However, let me briefly explain what this means. Let’s look at Isaiah 42. The first seven verses are where I want to spend my time but let me quickly give an overview of the rest of the chapter. In verses 8-9 the LORD makes it clear He gives His glory to no other, which is another clear refutation to the Hebrew Israelites who deny that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, who shares in the same glory with His Father. (John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.) He speaks on how former things have come to pass and declares new things. In verses 10-13 the psalmist writes of singing a new song to the LORD, which will reach a gentile people, Kedar being referenced which is from the line of Ishmael, and the people of Sela, which was the capital of Edom. This is yet another clear refutation against the Hebrew Israelites. In verses 14-17 is a passage of prophecy, those whom God brings in through the right way, by His gospel message, through Christ, He will guide and be a light in the darkness leading the blind, but for those who blaspheme and reject the gospel, they will be put to shame. Hebrew Israelites should repent and turn to Christ and pray that He will grant them genuine repentance and that they will not be like Israel as we are about to see here in the next section of scripture. In verses 18-25 we look upon the failure of Israel to hear and see, listen to how God refers to them in verse 22, But this is a people plundered and looted; they are all of them trapped in holes and hidden in prisons; they have become plunder with none to rescue, spoil with none to say, “Restore!”, Israel did not take it to heart as stated in verse 25, and I plead with the Hebrew Israelites not to make the same mistake and reject the true gospel of Christ. Now going back to verses 1-7. I was told by the Hebrew Israelite I was in a conversation with that the servant here being referred to is the nation of Israel. Which is incorrect, this is not the nation of Israel being referred to, but the servant is Christ, the Son of God! God the Father is speaking here to God the Son. Christ will faithfully bring forth justice and establish it in the earth and bring His law to the coastlands (Isaiah 42:3-4). We see the same spoken of Christ in Isaiah 49:1-7 as the servant of the LORD, called from the womb (v.49:1,5), mouth like a sharp sword (v. 49:2), will gather the preserved of Israel, and a light for the nations, meaning gentiles also (v. 49:6), who is the redeemer of Israel (v. 49:7). In Isaiah 50 verses 4-9 the servant of the LORD who is Christ, speaks to the God the Father, as the prophesy about Himself in verse 6 says, I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard, I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. Christ was beaten with the cat of nine tails and the flesh ripped from His back, hit on the cheek and His beard plucked from His face, and spit upon. This suffering servant is God the Son, who is coming to judge you Hebrew Israelites and every other false worship of an idolatrous god. Do not be like those who we see, in Isaiah 42:18:25, who fail to hear and see. Open your eyes before it is to late, cry out to Jesus Christ who is God in the flesh to save your soul. Do not stay in the darkness but come to the one who opens the eyes of the blind and brings light into the darkness. Turn to Christ and live! For those in Christ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Ricky Gantz  As one who spends much time evangelizing out on the streets, you often run into interesting people who believe a variety of different views about God and His Word. From the atheists to the religious, you pretty much run into them all. One group of individuals I have run into and will focus upon in this series of articles addressing their teaching is the Hebrew Israelites also known as Black Hebrew Israelites. Every Saturday towards the evening we would head down to the city to preach the gospel in the open air and hand out tracts in the public square. One afternoon, we had the opportunity to get down there earlier than usual. While walking to meet up with others who were evangelizing with us we walked by a group of men who were standing near one of the bus stops holding up signs and proclaiming a message of some sort. They had a sign with a white Jesus who had devil horns on his head, a sign with a twelve tribes chart (which claimed only the Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans were the true Hebrew Israelites, and had them broken down into twelve tribes), another sign with RFID microchips as the mark of the beast, a sign about how America was going to be destroyed, and they were proclaiming how the white man is the devil they called Edomites, which they claimed were descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob. They used this reference because God says in the scripture, “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated” (Malachi 1:3, Romans 9:13). We stopped and engaged with them for a little while and attempted to have a dialogue, however, it wasn’t an easy task to do, because the group of men seemed more inclined to shout over you and weren’t really interested in hearing you out, only reading passages of scriptures that weren’t necessarily dealing with what they claimed it to deal with while shouting white devils at us. We preached the gospel to them and then went on our way to meet up with the group we came out to evangelize with. This would be the first of many encounters with this group over the years. With more interactions picking up in 2017 until this day, as the group has grown on the streets and the encounters have been not only on the streets but also on YouTube (which is the main platform they use to spread their message). >>>Just type in Ricky Gantz or G220 Ministries into the YouTube search engine and many videos will show up of either interaction with them or videos they made about me and the ministry.<<< Not only has this group of men who I ran into about four to five years ago grown in number, but other groups were starting to come together in the city as well. Different camps holding to many of the same things with some distinct differences that divide them from one another. Sometimes you hear them refer to their camp as the true Hebrew Israelite while they call out other camps. Now that we have a little context of the background in how I became aware of the Hebrew Israelites, let me explain why I feel this is important to address. There are many false religions that claim they have the truth and many cults who claim to be Christian and are not. The Hebrew Israelites are no different than other false groups that claim they have the truth. While they claim they are not a religion but a nationality, the real Hebrew Israelites the Bible speaks of, the reality is they are using the Word of God to promote their hatred and racism against others who do not fall into the list of their twelve tribes chart (Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans), especially their hatred of white people in which they claim are Edomites. Not much has been written against the Hebrew Israelite teachings, which I believe is due to a few factors:
Why I believe we should address them.
Now that we have established a basis as to why I believe this is important to address we can move on into the main body of what I want to deal with in this first article on the topic of blessing and curses. I have heard Hebrew Israelites say that you must first know who you are in the Bible before you can understand it. They make it more about a nation of people then about Christ. Which is why I can honestly say that I have never heard them preach the good news of the gospel of Christ, they preach what they believe is good news, which is them having the white man as slaves in the kingdom, but never preach Christ crucified on the cross and raised from the dead. They deny Jesus is God in the Flesh and teach he is a created being. I would agree we need to understand who we are, we are totally depraved by nature, separated from God because of our sin. I submit to you Chapter Six of the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith:
So, I agree it is important for us to recognize our state before a Holy and Righteous God. Hebrew Israelites though are not referring to the nature of man but rather the nationality of man which they believe is the Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans and they come up with this based upon some proof texts that they believe support their claim. One such text is Deuteronomy 28. In this chapter of Deuteronomy God is laying out the blessings and the curses. In verses 1-6 we see the blessings laid out:
Hebrew Israelites believe they have come into the truth and must keep the commandments of God because they are still in effect (Now to be fair this may not be all camps but from my interactions, there is a strong emphasis on keeping the law). My question is are you keeping ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS? Because it clearly states in verses 1 and 2 (underlined above) that you must be careful to do all his commandments and you will receive the blessings if you obey the voice of the Lord. If you violate in any point of Gods law you are a transgressor of the law. As stated here in James 2:8-13: 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Consider the underlined and highlighted scriptures above, verse 9 if you show partiality, you are committing sin! There is no getting around the fact that Hebrew Israelites promote and build a whole system around showing partiality for which they must repent. Now look at the next verse, if you fail in one point you are guilty of it all. There is never anytime in which you can keep the whole law perfectly, never has been and never will be in this life a time when you can keep the law perfectly. Which is why the need for Christ, who is God in the flesh come down to take upon Himself the sins of all those who would believe in Him. The righteous laying down His life for the unrighteous. No man was ever justified by the keeping of the law as the scriptures say.
So, you see law keeping cannot and never has saved anyone, through the law comes the knowledge of sin which again was stated above that if you have violated in one point you are guilty of being a covenant breaker a transgressor of the law. Which would bring us to the curses, if you are careful to do all Gods commandments and obey Him you receive the blessings laid out in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, however, from verses 15-68 God lays out the curses for the covenant breakers, those who do not obey His commandments. Verse 15 says, “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Sadly, the Hebrew Israelites claim to be the people of God is based upon how disobedient and a rebellious people they are to God and His word. Verse 45 says, “All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed according to the scriptures. Chapter 28 is filled with many curses and I just want to look at a few as we seek to refute the position of the Hebrew Israelite teaching that this applies to them. I have often heard from Hebrew Israelites that they are far more superior to all other nations in the world, meaning the Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans. I have heard them say things about sports athletes who dominate their sport, whether it be boxing, baseball, basketball, or football. I have heard the claims that the reason the athletes who dominate their sports do so is because they are Hebrew Israelite. I believe this is a bad argument for their position and I will explain why. First many of these athletes (who are Black, Hispanic and/or Native American) who are extremely talented in the field (sport) in which they are in, do not claim to be Hebrew Israelites, many of them do not adhere to the teachings of the Hebrew Israelite movement. So, based upon their own logic about the blessings and the curses, how is an individual who is viewed and more superior in the eyes of the Hebrew Israelites because they claim they are truly Hebrew Israelites prospering in the field or sport they are in if they are not being careful to do all the commandments and obey the voice of the Lord? Verse 20 says “The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. If Michael Jordan, who I believe to be the greatest basketball player to ever play in the NBA does not obey the Lord and is not careful to do all His commands and yet he is considered a Hebrew Israelite by nationality (using Jordan as an example, but you could fill in the blank with a name of any successful athlete), how has he prospered so much and not experienced what is mentioned in the verse above, confusion and frustration in all that he has undertaken in. Again, this is just an example, there are countless other examples of athletes who have won championships and done well in their field. Do the curses not apply to them even though they do not adhere to the commands to obey and worship the god you claim to serve. The one who brings the curses upon His people here in Deuteronomy 28. How does verse 28-29 apply to these successful athletes, movie stars and entertainers.
Verse 48 is used as a proof text because it mentions a yoke of iron around the neck. Which they use to say that this is a mention of their people who suffered under slavery. I believe it is important to point out that slavery in America was a horrible atrocity which took place in this nation and is not supported by the scriptures, even though there were men who tried to justify slavery by using proof texts within the Bible trying to fit their wicked theology into the scriptures by twisting the scriptures and not properly exegeting the Word of God. In this verse is says, “therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.” We must let the scriptures interpret the scriptures, we see this reference used elsewhere in scripture. Jeremiah 28:14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” Is this a literal yoke of iron around the necks of the people of all the nations? Well, NO! It is referring to them serving the king of Babylon as we see with supporting scriptures such as in Jeremiah 25:11, 27:6. Another curse that is almost unimaginable to even think would come upon a people, yet do to their wickedness and rebellion against God, He says this curse will come upon them in verse 52-53.
This is not an easy passage to consider that someone would eat their own sons and daughters, but this is what is stated in this verse. During a time of distress under a siege, which I will mention here shortly concerning AD 70. This is also referenced in Leviticus 26:27-33 which says:
Again, if you will not listen to God and walk contrary to Him, these judgments will come upon you, such devastation that it would cause the wickedness of man to eat his own children. Which is recorded for us by Josephus the Jewish Historian about the events in AD 70 when the LORD brought His judgment upon Israel. In His writings on The Siege of Jerusalem, AD 70, he wrote:
I struggled to read that honestly, but I wanted to point out how these curses against a rebellious people have been brought to pass at the end of the age in AD 70 on the covenant breakers of Israel. Finally, I want to address verse 68, this verse is used by Hebrew Israelites as a proof text in which they claim is speaking of the transatlantic slave trade. Let’s examine verse 68, which says:
Three things I want to touch on with this closing verse.
As Christians, we can rejoice in the blessing of God that He gives to His people the Church, those who are the true Israel of God. Knowing that all the curses for the true believers have fell upon Christ.
And we who belong to Christ are not saved by the works of the law but have been justified by faith in Christ. I point you back to the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith chapter 11:
This will not be the last of articles written to address and refute the claims made by those who hold to the Hebrew Israelite movement. And I pray that those who are caught up under the teaching of the Hebrew Israelites would come out from among them and turn to the one who can free them from the bondage of their sins and the bring them from death to life, the only way is through the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Who gave His life as a ransom for many, if by grace you believe by faith that Christ is who He says He is and has done what He says He has completed, salvation is only found in Christ alone.
May this also bring glory to the Lord by bringing Hebrew Israelites out of this movement, and for the edification of the true saints in Christ as they grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and His Word. For those in Christ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Ricky Gantz  If the title of this article seems shocking to you, it should! Not shocking that I would title this article, "Abortion is Premeditated Murder", because it is, but that you may be more offended by the title or thought that I would make such a claim rather than shocked by how many babies are actually murdered daily in this nation, at the predetermined and willful desire of mothers and fathers who request to have abortionist murders end the life of their child.
I would encourage you to listen first to what I have to say before you just dismiss it. Life comes from God, it's valuable because we are created in His image (Genesis 1:27). The Psalmist writes, For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:13-16). God said to Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" (Jeremiah 1:5) and Paul writes to the church in Galatia, "even before I was born, God had chosen me to be His" (Galatians 1:15). Children are a gift from God (Psalm 127:3) to be valued and loved and cared for, not to be murdered on the alter of convenience, simply because the mother or father says they are not ready for a child, or can't afford a child, or want to finish school, start a career, whatever excuse you want to come up with never justifies murdering your own child in a place that should be the safest for a baby, their mother's womb! God says, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13), that you are "not to shed innocent blood" (Jeremiah 7:6), and that He hates the "hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil" (Proverbs 6:16-19). What is more wicked and evil then shedding the innocent blood of your own child? Premeditated Murder describes a murder that was planned in advance and was carried out willfully. Which is exactly what happens every time a mother goes into an abortion provider to schedule an abortion and then follows through with ending the life of the baby. Every abortion is murder and every mother who has had an abortion is a murderer, every father who has participated or cooperated in the death of a child through abortion is a murderer, every grandparent who has forced their grandchild to have an abortion or encouraged and assisted in it is a murderer, every doctor who performs an abortion is a murderer, every escort who walks women into the clinic to shield them from the Christians who are pleading with them to come to Christ and not have an abortion is a murderer, and everyone who is pro choice is an accessory to murderer because you advocate for it. And sadly, many professing Christians and pro-life organizations are complacent in their stand against the murder of babies in this nation. Over 65 million babies have been murdered by legal abortion since Roe v. Wade. Christians cannot be silent on this issue, because it is not a political problem but a sin problem that manifests in the murdering of millions of babies in our nation every year. The Word of God says you shall not murder (Exodus 20:13) and no murderer will inherit the Kingdom of God, But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8). We are all sinners and children of wrath by our nature (Ephesians 2:3), at war with the very God who created us, in constant rebellion against Him. The scary thing is that if you continue without Christ you are storing up His wrath for the day of judgment. Worshiping creation over the creator (Romans 1:25), And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:28-32) However, there is forgiveness in Christ, by the grace of God through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). So that even those who have murdered their own baby or participated in anyway through abortion can receive complete forgiveness for the murdering of these precious babies by the only savior Jesus Christ. Christ died on the cross, taking upon Himself the wrath of God, for those who believe, and He became sin who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ. He was buried and rose from the grave defeating the power of sin and death. And for those in Christ there is no condemnation, Jesus paid the debt that was owed for the sins of those who believe and He commands you to repent and believe. Have you repented for the premeditated murder of your baby through abortion? Have you repented for the assisting of or participating in the murder of a baby through abortion? Christ can and will forgive you if you come to Him by repentance and faith, He heals the brokenhearted and brings you peace with God. May the Grace of God be with you Ricky Gantz  Doesn't world mean everyone when it is used in the Word of God? This is often a debated topic among professing Christians, often the very famous John 3:16 is quoted as a go to passage to say, the reference to world means everyone. However, is that truly the case or could there be more to it. Let's start by looking at this passage in John chapter 3.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.-John 3:16 The Greek word used here for world is κοσμον. A noun - accusative singular masculine kosmos kos'-mos: orderly arrangement, i.e. decoration; by implication, the world (in a wide or narrow sense, including its inhabitants, literally or figuratively (morally) -- adorning, world. We can see by the understanding of this word that it can be used in a wide or narrow sense, which is important to note and we will see as we look at other passages of scriptures using the word world. I want to start by looking at this word from the Gospel of John since that is where it comes into question the most for those who are advocating that world means everyone. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!-John 1:29 Ask yourself, does world here mean everyone? I don't want you to take that question lightly with this passage or any other passage we look at going forward in this article. If this literally means the world in the sense of everyone, then everyone has their sins taken away. Because the text literally says, "takes away the sin of the world!" If Jesus' death, burial and resurrection takes away every individuals sin, there would be no one who would be cast into the lake of fire because Jesus would have taken away their sin. I honestly don't want to sound like I am continuing to make the same case or argument throughout this article but I do believe this is truly important in helping others see clearly in order to be consistent with the scriptures and not make the same arguments that say it means the entire world, meaning all people. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”-John 4:42 Here again we see the implication in this verse that Jesus is "the Savior of the world". Does that mean He saves everyone? No, there are many references in scriptures that speak of those who have not believed in Christ will face God's wrath. So the idea that this means everyone is reaching for something that just is not there. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”-John 6:33 If world means every individual and you want to be consistent with that you will find yourself as a universalist, because there is no way then of arguing against universalism when the scripture above says about Jesus that he, "comes down from heaven and gives life to the world," this doesn't mean that I believe everyone who says that world means every individual is a universalist, however, I am only trying to demonstrate how you are being inconsistent by trying to apply that to the word when as mentioned already it can mean in a wide sense or in a narrow sense. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”-John 12:19 Now this cannot clearly be meaning every individual has gone after following Christ. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.-John 12:47 Here is an example as to why context is key when it comes to interpretations of the scriptures. One who holds to a universal atonement could easily try to say this verse is teaching that Jesus doesn't judge anyone (the world) but saves everyone (the world). Again, I don't want to come of sounding like a broken record but it seems that where we fail in understanding the text of scriptures is because we try to impose our own presuppositions onto the text, twist the text and misinterpret the passage. Please consider that when reading the Word of God! even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.-John 14:17 Thought this was an interesting verse to add, especially in light of this whole discussion comes about due to those who believe in a free will theology that limits the atonement of Christ in its effectiveness by saying it only makes it possible for man to be saved but ultimately comes down to mans free will choice. John 14:17 says the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit. Context is important brothers and sisters. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.-John 15:19 We see here the word world used five times in this one verse, now truly think about this passage because there is much to glean from it. The obvious stand out here for one holding to the Doctrines of Grace is the fact that Jesus says, " but I chose you out of the world," clearly world there does mean out of all the world but the next line states, "therefore the world hates you." Which is not in the wide sense but a narrow sense, not every individual is an unbeliever, and we know that Jesus said, "they will know you are my disciples by the love you have for one another." “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.-John 17:6 Let's really discuss this verse in the Gospel of John. Jesus says, "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world, " What a beautiful portion of scripture pointing to the fact that these individuals where given to Jesus by the Father and that it is they who keep His word. Ask yourself, if everyone in the whole world has been given to Jesus why do they not all keep the Father's word? Let me just add some more scriptures here from Jesus' pray to His Father in John 17 to hopefully help you understand why it is so important to be consistent with how you interpret the scriptures. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.-John 17:9 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.-John 17:11 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.-John 17:13-16 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.-John 17:18 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.-John 17:21 Now this last verse here (v.21) is another used to say that Jesus is speaking about the whole world again with the idea of including every individual. Which is way I put up so many verses from this chapter to give a better understanding of the context of John 17. Back in verse six Jesus tells us these are those whom the Father has given Him and that He is not praying for the world but for His own and those who will believe because of their preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, not every individual on the entire world. Which is further explained here in the next three verses. I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.-John 17:23-25 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.-John 18:20 Lastly in the Gospel of John we see Jesus say, "I have spoken openly to the world." The Mormons might like the idea of making that use of world to mean the entire world being as they believe Christ came to the Americas. However, that is not the meaning of the passage, Christ was using in the narrow sense. I will leave you with one last passage of scripture from the Apostle Paul concerning the world. Which hopefully if you are consistent with the scriptures you will see how this is referring to the known world at that time and not to the very ends of all the earth. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”-Romans 10:18 Romans 10 is another section of scripture that gets thrown out there when those who want to argue against Calvinism speak about whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord, which I would say, amen! The whosoever is the elect, but that would take us into a much longer article which might comes at a later time. However, in this verse, as stated above, Paul is saying that they have heard the and that their voice has gone out to all (side note there is that word all, which you could apply the same principles being used to understand the word world), the world. Clearly Paul who was the Apostle to the Gentiles did much of his missionary work in Asia Minor. Paul did not travel across the world neither did the other disciples at this time, he was speaking of the known world to them. My prayer in this is that it would help you to understand and see the importance of rightly dividing the Word of God. Being consistent with the scriptures and doing our best to not be inconsistent. Honestly, there are some with good intentions and a desire to reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ that may not fully grasp this but that doesn't give us the excuse to be sloppy with the scriptures and impose our traditions and/or presuppositions into the scriptures. We must look at the context of scripture and allow the scriptures to speak for themselves. Yes, I am aware that man is fallible, which is why we must study hard the scriptures and dig deep into the passages and have good exegesis. My prayer for you is that this will draw you closer to Christ, and that this would be encouraging and edifying to the body of Christ and help you answer some of those objections about John 3:16 referring to world as meaning every individual. May the grace of God richly bless you and draw you even closer to Him in your walk. Soli Deo Gloria Always Reforming Ricky Gantz G220 Ministries |
